Pete Wishart
Main Page: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and Kinross-shire)Department Debates - View all Pete Wishart's debates with the Scotland Office
(2 days, 23 hours ago)
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Mr Alexander
Let me congratulate the volunteer-led Darvel Improvement Group, to which my hon. Friend refers, for securing £200,000 from the Pride in Place impact fund. She is right to recognise that the world owes an immeasurable debt to Sir Alexander Fleming, and it is entirely right that his birthplace in Darvel stands at the heart of celebration of his truly monumental scientific achievement.
Pete Wishart (Perth and Kinross-shire) (SNP)
Perth is still the only city in Scotland that has not received one penny from the Conservatives’ levelling-up fund or the Government’s Pride in Place programme. When I wrote to the Minister at the last allocation, she told me that we did not meet the methodologies or indices of deprivation. The Secretary of State was once a failed candidate in the city of Perth and surely noticed that we have poverty, just like every other city in Scotland. Why have we not received a penny, and when will we get our share?
Mr Alexander
The hon. Gentleman is entirely right: I did fight Perth for Labour, although Perth fought back pretty effectively. I am fully aware of the contribution that the fair city of Perth makes to the economy of Scotland, and I am also very aware of the methodology that we have used, which is an objective basis on which to allocate British public funds.