Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Wednesday 15th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Kirsty McNeill]

That is precisely one of the focuses of the Pride in Place programme. Our high streets have been neglected for far too long and are at the real heart of community pride. I am delighted that so many of the Pride in Place bids are focused on exactly that.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

3. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce energy prices for people in Scotland.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Douglas Alexander)]

The UK Government stand ready to provide the support needed by families in response to recent events in the middle east. The Prime Minister has set out our plan to deal with the immediate impact of the conflict on the cost of living, which includes cutting energy bills by an average of £117 per household, extending the fuel duty cut until September while closely monitoring prices at the pumps, providing £4.6 million for low-income families in Scotland who heat their homes with oil to tackle surging prices and, of course, continuing to push for de-escalation of the conflict itself.

[Wendy Chamberlain]

I welcome what the Minister has said, but the challenge is that the Government have yet to correct the challenges from the ECO4 scheme, which in North East Fife has blighted houses with not only a lack of insulation but poor installation of inappropriate heat pumps and so on. Can the Secretary of State advise me when the Government will start inspecting these properties and consider a compensation scheme for constituents such as mine?

St Andrew’s Day and Scottish Affairs

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Thursday 11th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

As the hon. Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie) highlighted in his opening remarks, as the MP for North East Fife, I represent St Andrews, so I thought it was important to be here today.

St Andrews was the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland until the Reformation, but it was not always a safe harbour for religious leaders. Cardinal Beaton, the last Scottish cardinal prior to the Reformation, was murdered by Fife lairds angered by the execution of Protestant preacher George Wishart. He was stabbed and his body was hung from the window of St Andrews castle. In the last Parliament, The House magazine invited MPs to write about something of particular interest in their constituency. I do not know what it says about me, but I chose to write about the murder of Archbishop Sharp, who was murdered by Covenanters outside St Andrews as his made his way there from Ceres. Indeed, the centrepiece of the annual parade and celebration by the Kate Kennedy Club, which is part of the University of St Andrews and celebrates its centenary next year, is a re-enactment of that murder. Members should definitely come and see it—it is great.

I liked the comments made by hon. Members about Charles I. When I give a tour of the Houses of Parliament, I take pleasure in pointing out, “That is where the Fifer was sentenced to death.” As a member of the History of Parliament Trust, I am clear that we should not refer to the English civil war but the war of the three kingdoms, because that whole conflict started in Scotland, with the first bishops’ war.

I pay tribute to some of the groups and organisations that work in St Andrews, such as the community hub; the St Andrews community council, which recently hosted the hoolie that marked St Andrew’s day in the town; and the university. I was here not that long ago marking the passing of my predecessor-but-one, the right hon. Lord Campbell of Pittenweem, or Ming Campbell, who was the chancellor of the university.

I note the debate that is taking place in Westminster Hall. I thank the hon. Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes)—who is not here, but in the other chamber—because he is marking Fairtrade. It is the 20th anniversary of the same group in St Andrews as well.

Let me mention the St Andrews Harbour Trust, which is not a normal trust, because it was gifted to the town by James IV. One of the challenges we have post- Storm Babet is that the harbour needs essential funding to maintain the whole coastline, and the trust is struggling to do that. I have written to the Secretary of State for Scotland looking for support because of how critical that infrastructure is.

As the MP for St Andrews, I get to be on the board of the Links Trust—my father does not share my politics, but he is a keen golfer, so he is very happy about that. We are known for golf, and the Open returns to St Andrews in 2027. Let me take this opportunity to highlight a recent report by the Links Trust, which demonstrates that St Andrews and the courses there deliver £300 million of economic impact to Scotland’s economy. Visitors and their families support nearly 1,700 full-time jobs in St Andrews and more than 4,000 jobs across Scotland. For every pound that passes through the tills of the St Andrews Links, an additional £3.43 is generated for other businesses in St Andrews. More than 100,000 visitors made St Andrews Links their destination in 2024, with more than 91% coming from outside Scotland.

St Andrews is absolutely vital to the wider Scottish economy as well as the wider North East Fife economy. Earlier this week, I was speaking to the owner of a hotel in my constituency outwith St Andrews, who pointed out how essential St Andrews is to their trade. However, they also pointed out how they are hampered by their rural location, poor footpaths between communities and poor local transport links. With the decision following the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance on a station in St Andrews being turned down, it is important that we get the other recommended transport links, so that we can connect tourists and the local workers who support the industries I mentioned but cannot afford to live in St Andrews.

I have aspired to the lofty opening of the hon. Member for Dunfermline and Dollar—he really tried to set the scene—but I will highlight one concern. As a former police officer, I thank my former colleague Martin Gallagher and “Jobs Forgotten” for their work on a particular issue in relation to the McCloud judgment. The McCloud judgment in 2018 and the changes to public sector pensions have been challenging for all Governments, but it seems that the Scottish Government have found it the most challenging. They have missed numerous deadlines, despite knowing since 2022—arguably since 2018, because that is when the judgment happened—that work to ensure remediation for the people affected by the McCloud judgment in relation to their public sector pensions was mitigated.

I am concerned to hear reports that retirement statements are apparently not being provided when requested, simply because an individual is yet to submit their intention to retire. Why would somebody make a decision on whether to retire if they do not have the financial information they need? That makes me wonder and be concerned about what the overall liabilities are, particularly given the 8% per year increase in interest rates in relation to those delayed decisions, which are paid for by UK taxpayers. The Chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee may be interested in that, because just recently, on 2 December, the chief executive of the Scottish Public Pensions Authority gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Public Administration Committee. He apologised, but he failed to provide information or confidence in the system or to say whether the issue can be totally resolved by 2027.

I have here a freedom of information request suggesting that less than 3% of individuals who retired on the grounds of ill health have had their statement in relation to the McCloud judgment. That is very concerning, and I hope the Minister will agree that the Scottish Government should not have got themselves into this situation. It is unacceptable for public sector workers such as firefighters and police officers—some of whom, as I mentioned, retired on the grounds of ill health directly related to their service—to be left in this limbo. In particular, there are concerns that back payments might need to be made and that they might lose money as a result.

It is really important that we have the opportunity to debate St Andrew’s day, our patron saint and Scottish affairs in this place, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to do so.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

Devolution in Scotland

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy) (Lab)]

Hon. Members may be aware that in May the people of Scotland sent 37 Scottish Labour MPs to this place—and a diverse bunch we are. It probably ages me to note that when my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) speaks shortly, he may talk about the referendum, and he will mean the one in 2014, when he was just too young to vote, whereas when I talk about the referendum, I mean the one in 1997, for which I was just too young to vote.

Of course, that 1997 referendum asked whether there should be a Scottish Parliament and if it should have tax-varying powers. At the time, I remember feeling that if I had been old enough to do so I would have voted yes to both. It was a long-held Labour manifesto commitment to bring decision making on hugely important issues—our health, education, community safety and economy—into the hands of the Scottish people. I still remember being in the car with my mum the day after the vote, listening to the news coverage and feeling excited that the result had been “yes, yes”. It felt like such a huge opportunity for all of us.

In his speech at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, Scotland’s then First Minister, the late great Donald Dewar, said that the Scottish Parliament was

“first a hope, then a belief, then a promise. Now”

it is

“a reality.”

The question today is whether the SNP Scottish Government are using the reality of those significant powers they hold, together with record levels of funding —an extra £5.2 billion this year alone—to make the greatest possible difference to the lives of our people. I believe the answer is clearly no, whether through incompetence or by design.

The Labour-led Scottish executives, as they were when the Scottish Parliament was first formed, took bold decisions: banning smoking in public places, the fresh talent initiative and action on sectarianism—something that too often is overlooked in Scotland. They took action and, crucially, delivered results, and we need far more of that in our politics in Scotland.

Today’s reality for many in my constituency, and across Fife and Scotland as a whole, has been bitterly disappointing after almost two decades of SNP division, diversion and failure. One in six Scots languish in pain on NHS waiting lists—over 40,000 of them in Fife. Indeed, more people are waiting over two years for NHS treatment in Glasgow alone than they are in the whole of England. A third of ambulances wait at hospitals for more than an hour while the patients in them wait for a bed. Last winter, medics at my local hospital, the Victoria hospital in Kirkcaldy, had to set up a makeshift ward outside the hospital, because the queues of ambulances were so great. SNP Members may not think that that matters—they may think it is a record to be proud of—but that is not what my constituents feel at all.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

The Victoria hospital is not in my constituency, but it serves my constituents. Does the hon. Member share my concern that the proposed downgrading of the neonatal intensive care units in both Dundee and Fife will means that our constituents will have to travel much further for critical need, and that their premature babies will be far away from home?

[Melanie Ward]

I thank the hon. Member; I have seen the work she has been doing on this issue. It is essential that the special intensive care treatment available for premature and sick babies at the Victoria hospital does not change in any way. I wish the Scottish Government would get on and act to put at rest the concerns that our constituents no doubt share about that.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Murray]

My hon. Friend gets exactly to the nub of the issue. We have seen good debate, gestures and discussion in Scotland, but we have not seen the concomitant focus on policy, delivery and outcomes. The Scottish Parliament has been a success; the Scottish Government have not. It is important to draw that distinction.

A highly centralised structure has concentrated decision-making in St Andrew’s House, to the detriment of local communities. As we have heard, councils have had their funding and influence hollowed out. There has been a proliferation of quangos and agencies; there are now more quangos in Scotland than there are Members of the Scottish Parliament. That breeds a clientelism and elitism that shut ordinary people out of decision-making processes.

[Wendy Chamberlain]

The hon. Member is making a very strong and powerful point. Does he agree that, as a result of those quangos and the things he is describing, we have actually seen a loss of power to the Scottish Parliament, where MSPs are not getting the opportunity to put things forward? Often, that is because the Scottish Government are bringing forward framework Bills that do not have proper policy decisions, which is why the implementation of so many pieces of legislation ultimately fails.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Wednesday 4th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Kirsty McNeill]

When this Government took office, we inherited a £22 billion black hole, which required emergency action. We said at the time that our decision on the winter fuel payment was a difficult one that we did not want to make, and we are very pleased to be in a position to reconsider it.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

4. What discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on support for the higher education sector in Scotland.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Kirsty McNeill)]

Scotland’s universities are of course world-class, but I am very concerned about the financial difficulties faced by several of them. As the hon. Lady will know, higher education is a devolved matter, and Scotland’s universities, their staff and their students all need a Scottish Government with a proper plan to turn this crisis around.

[Wendy Chamberlain]

International students are hugely valuable, not just when it comes to sharing cultures and knowledge, but to our universities and local economies. In North East Fife in 2021-22, that value was estimated at £159 million. What discussions has the Minister had with the Scottish Government about the economic impact of the reforms relating to international students in the immigration White Paper? Can she update the House on whether an economic impact assessment has taken place?

[Kirsty McNeill]

We are in ongoing discussions with the Scottish Government and Scottish universities, but I want to be absolutely definitive about this, because there has been some confusion in the press. Education policy is devolved, and the international student levy will not apply in Scotland unless the Scottish Government decide to introduce it. I met Universities Scotland just this week and made that very clear, and I am pleased to do so again today.

Budget: Scotland

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Tuesday 7th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[Kirsty McNeill]

I will make some progress. We have also confirmed that all 12 regions of Scotland will be covered by a growth deal. Our investments include nearly £890 million of direct investment into freeports and investment zones, the Argyll and Bute growth deal and other important local projects across Scotland.

[Wendy Chamberlain]

Will the Minister give way?

[Kirsty McNeill]

I will make some progress. Those are all the choices of a Government resolutely focused on the future. In conclusion, the Budget does exactly what Scottish Labour was elected to do. It secured billions for Scotland; the SNP voted against it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Wednesday 1st May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jack]

My hon. Friend is absolutely correct. It is the Conservatives who are trusted to defend the whole of the United Kingdom. The SNP has consistently proposed abandoning our nuclear deterrent, including in its most recent independence paper. The irony is that the SNP wants to be part of the NATO alliance, but not part of a nuclear NATO alliance.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

A vital part of defence spending is ensuring that military personnel live in safe and suitable accommodation. At last week’s debate on the Renters (Reform) Bill, my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) ensured concessions from the Government on the standards of military accommodation. What assessment has the Secretary of State made of that in Scotland?

[Mr Jack]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right. As the father of a serving soldier, I completely agree with her. I hear from members of the military that they are disappointed with the standard of accommodation. I have raised the issue on a UK-wide basis and discussed it with the Defence Secretary. He said the programme of improvements, which started before last winter, amounts to £400 million of spending.

Petitions

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Tuesday 30th April 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Robin Walker (Worcester) (Con)]

I rise to present the petition of my constituents in Worcester. My petitioners include a constituent who lost her mother to this scandal; a dear friend of mine, who is a long-standing councillor and former chairman of my association, who lost his beloved wife and the mother of his children; and a constituent who was infected as a child with HIV and hepatitis, but went on to found the Tainted Blood campaign.

The petition states:

The petition of residents of the constituency of Worcester,

Declares that people who received infected blood and who have suffered as a consequence have, along with their families, waited far too long for redress.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to implement the recommendations in the Second Interim Report of the Infected Blood Inquiry without delay.

And the petitioners remain, etc.

[P002967]

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

I rise to present a petition on behalf of the residents of North East Fife. In common with those presented by the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and other right hon. and hon. Members, the petition relates to the recommendations of the infected blood inquiry. Like the hon. Member for Strangford, I pay tribute to the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Dame Diana Johnson) for her work on the issue.

Two of the families directly impacted in North East Fife came into my office on Friday to sign the petition. One lost his father to hepatitis C as a result of the scandal, and the other’s husband was infected as a child at school.

The petition states:

The petition of residents of the constituency of North East Fife,

Declares that people who received infected blood and who have suffered as a consequence have, along with their families, waited far too long for redress.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to implement the recommendations in the Second Interim Report of the Infected Blood Inquiry without delay.

And the petitioners remain, etc.

[P002968]

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Wednesday 28th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jack]

Not only do I champion it, I plant trees myself.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

10. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on trends in the level of child poverty in Scotland.

[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

14. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on trends in the level of child poverty in Scotland.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (John Lamont)]

This Government are committed to tackling child poverty and protecting the most vulnerable in society. In the recent Budget, the Chancellor announced additional support measures for households and families across Scotland and, indeed, across all parts of the United Kingdom. A further example of support for families was announced earlier today, with the UK Government making childcare more affordable.

[Wendy Chamberlain]

Almost 90,000 food parcels were given to children in Scotland last year, and the Trussell Trust’s “Hunger in Scotland” report shows that single parents make up only 2% of the population but 17% of those who have gone hungry. This is about insufficiency of income. The adult rate of benefits should be restored to single parents under the age of 25 on universal credit, which would be a practical way for the UK Government to support them. Does the Minister agree?

[John Lamont]

I recognise the work that the hon. Lady undertakes with the all-party group on food banks. The Government are protecting the most vulnerable, with a £94 billion support package for households, and we have helped nearly 2 million people out of absolute poverty, after housing costs, since 2010.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jack]

I join my right hon. Friend in paying tribute to my close friend Alasdair Houston, and I send my deep sympathies to his family. Ali was a proud Scot, a lover of Dumfries and Galloway, and a formidable champion for Gretna, his home town, and the Star of Caledonia would be a very fitting tribute to him. He will be missed by many.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

What discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) the Scottish Government on harmonisation of covid-19 guidance on international travel.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Duguid)]

I and other UK Government Ministers are in regular contact with the Scottish Government and other devolved Administrations to try to secure the harmonisation particularly of covid-19 guidance when it comes to regulations on international travel, while at the same time of course respecting devolved competence in matters such as public health.

[Wendy Chamberlain]

Golf tourism plays a major part in the local economy of North East Fife, particularly as St Andrews is the home of golf. There is a whole ecosystem built up around golf tourism, including accommodation, hospitality and inbound tour operators. The majority of these tourists come from north America and then travel to other golf courses around the UK, and there are concerns about the incoherent travel rules between the four nations and restrictions within the four nations deterring those visitors. Can I therefore ask the Minister to outline what steps he is taking to reach consensus, particularly in relation to the US?

[David Duguid]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question, which is pertinent not just for golf tourism but for whisky tourism and tourism in general across Scotland. The UK Government are committed to full alignment with the devolved Administrations, because we recognise the importance of such alignment for public compliance, as well as for business confidence and for tourism. We share the data, and we have created the structures to make that happen. However, we also respect the right of the devolved Administrations to make their own decisions on devolved matters. Thankfully, the differences in the exemptions, particularly for international travel, are not currently that material and can be justified as legitimate differences, but I do take on board the comments she made about golf tourism specifically.

Scotland: General Election and Constitutional Future

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Wednesday 17th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

Across the two debates and the two motions, the SNP has totally failed to engage with the issue that people across the UK and the world have lived with, grieved over and endured over the past year. The reality facing millions of ordinary Scots is the recovery from the pandemic. As others have said, SNP Members could have used this time to discuss the issues that matter: jobs, the economy, climate change, and education. When the SNP wants to consider elections to the Scottish Parliament, as they do in the motion, it seems that the only thing in which it is interested is the constitution. Today, a Survation poll shows that independence is one of three top priorities for only 8% of Scots. The pandemic was not deemed important enough to be mentioned in the motion. I am afraid that, after 14 years in power in Scotland, the SNP is consumed by internal problems and is out of touch.

Recovery from the pandemic is important for my constituents. When I think of the small business owners in North East Fife who have contacted me over the past year—the restaurants, cafés, holiday parks, hair salons, wedding organisers and mobile caterers; when I think of the problems facing almost 4,500 constituents who have got in touch with me over the past year; when I think about constituents in higher-priority groups who have contacted me and are still wating for their jab four weeks after the First Minister said that she was “satisfied” that everyone in those groups had been offered a vaccine; when I think about people who have got in touch, concerned that covid case rates in Scotland are the highest in the UK, or who are worried that yesterday there were 17,000 covid tests in Scotland, compared with 1.5 million in England; I think what do they want, and what is their priority? What is Scotland’s priority? Is it to pursue a referendum this year, as the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, Europe and External Affairs wants at a time when Scottish GDP has flatlined, after a record fall in 2020? Is it to advocate for an agenda that creates endless uncertainty for business about everything from the currency that it uses to the way in which pensions are nominated, at the very moment when many of them are on the brink?

I will be clear. Now is the time to put recovery first—that is what Scottish Liberal Democrats want. We want investment in green jobs, high-quality education, good mental health services, and measures to tackle the climate emergency. If the SNP had focused on those things during its 14 years in power, how much better life would be for people across Scotland. Over the past year, everyone in the House has dealt with many pieces of casework from constituents struggling through the pandemic and lockdown, and from people who have tragically lost loved ones. They want our focus over the next few years, as we approach the May elections, to be on how we recover. The Scottish Fiscal Commission estimates that the Scottish economy will not recover to pre-pandemic levels until the beginning of 2024—almost two years later than the UK a whole. When does the pandemic really end? If we do not focus on recovery now, there is a risk that the 2020s will become a decade of stagnation in Scotland. After 14 years of SNP rule, we have seen so much opportunity wasted. Let us put recovery first.