Browse content similar to 12/09/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Hello, will come to Westminster for the September edition of Scottish | :00:23. | :00:26. | |
Questions, the first since MPs returned after their long summer | :00:26. | :00:31. | |
break. Watch out for one thing, see who was the first MP to invoke the | :00:31. | :00:37. | |
name of Andy Murray! With unemployment in Scotland rising for | :00:38. | :00:41. | |
the first time in six months, the economy was also a major feature of | :00:41. | :00:46. | |
the debate, as was the constitution, and proceedings began with a | :00:46. | :00:50. | |
question from Labour MP Lindsay Roy, who wanted to know what would | :00:50. | :00:54. | |
happen to defence jobs in an independent Scotland. Order. | :00:54. | :00:58. | |
Questions to the Secretary of State for Scotland. Question number one, | :00:58. | :01:03. | |
Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, I have regular discussions with | :01:03. | :01:06. | |
ministerial colleagues on defence matters relating to Scotland. There | :01:06. | :01:10. | |
is no doubt that there would be far reaching implications for all | :01:10. | :01:15. | |
sectors of the economy, including the defence industry, should | :01:15. | :01:20. | |
Scotland become independent. Can I thank the Minister for his answer? | :01:20. | :01:27. | |
I am very proud of the defence work that has been undertaken in five -- | :01:27. | :01:31. | |
Fife, for instance Raytheon in my constituency, and their | :01:31. | :01:36. | |
contribution has been immense. According to the MoD, the new Type | :01:36. | :01:39. | |
26th frigate will be the backbone of the Royal Navy for decades to | :01:39. | :01:46. | |
come. Can the Minister advice, in the light of possible separation, | :01:46. | :01:50. | |
how likely it is that the frigates will be built in Scotland? First of | :01:50. | :01:55. | |
all, may I pay tribute to the hundreds of skilled workers in his | :01:55. | :01:59. | |
constituency who contributes so much to the United Kingdom and | :01:59. | :02:02. | |
international defence through the work they do at Raytheon and | :02:02. | :02:06. | |
elsewhere? I agree with them that this is not the time to be putting | :02:06. | :02:11. | |
that at risk. On the specifics of the Type 26, it is clear that if | :02:11. | :02:14. | |
Scotland were an independent country, the rest of the UK would | :02:14. | :02:18. | |
be applying EU procurement rules which give those contracts for the | :02:18. | :02:22. | |
domestic market. We would be locking ourselves out of the | :02:22. | :02:25. | |
potential of millions of pounds of work involving hundreds of jobs in | :02:25. | :02:30. | |
Scotland, and that is not acceptable. When the Secretary of | :02:30. | :02:33. | |
State agree that Scotland makes a magnificent contribution in terms | :02:33. | :02:38. | |
of manufacturing, but also in terms of bases and recruitment? Would he | :02:38. | :02:41. | |
not welcome the fact that the Secretary of State for Defence has | :02:41. | :02:45. | |
gone to great lengths to keep Scotland in the Union defence terms, | :02:45. | :02:49. | |
and we do not agree that if there were to be independence, that would | :02:49. | :02:54. | |
probably be lost? The honourable gentleman is right to focus on what | :02:54. | :02:57. | |
is at stake, where Scotland to become independent and separate | :02:57. | :03:02. | |
from the rest of the United Kingdom. The Scottish contribution to UK | :03:02. | :03:05. | |
defence is absolutely immense, but Scotland get a huge amount from | :03:05. | :03:12. | |
being part of the UK. We are safe as part of the UK, I do not want to | :03:12. | :03:17. | |
put any of that at risk at all. Angus Robertson. Since his | :03:17. | :03:21. | |
government took office, service personnel numbers are at a record | :03:21. | :03:26. | |
low, commitments have been broken on returning troops from Germany, | :03:26. | :03:30. | |
one facilities and the retention of historic Scottish regiments. Is | :03:30. | :03:33. | |
this totally embarrassing record the reason why the Secretary of | :03:33. | :03:37. | |
State for Defence has never even visited Scotland since taking | :03:37. | :03:42. | |
office? If we are talking about embarrassment on defence policy, | :03:42. | :03:45. | |
the honourable gentleman should look to his own party's policies on | :03:45. | :03:52. | |
these matters. We have got access to a UK defence budget of �34 | :03:52. | :03:57. | |
billion, the fourth-largest in the world. We have got 15,500 service | :03:57. | :04:01. | |
personnel in Scotland, 40,000 people working in the defence | :04:01. | :04:05. | |
industry in Scotland, and 800 different companies. I think that | :04:05. | :04:11. | |
is an immense contribution to Scotland and Scotland to UK defence. | :04:11. | :04:15. | |
Service personnel numbers are just over 10,000, I'm sure he would wish | :04:15. | :04:19. | |
to correct the record on that. The Secretary of State is not denying | :04:19. | :04:22. | |
that the Secretary of State for Defence has not been to Scotland | :04:22. | :04:27. | |
since taking office. He was asked for a meeting in November, in March, | :04:27. | :04:32. | |
and nothing came of it. An offer was made of discussion through the | :04:32. | :04:35. | |
Armed forces Minister when I met him and the Joint Chiefs of Staff | :04:35. | :04:38. | |
in June last year, and there has been no formal response from the | :04:38. | :04:42. | |
government since then. Why is it the Ministry of Defence is so bad | :04:42. | :04:46. | |
at dealing with Scotland? completely reject of the honourable | :04:46. | :04:52. | |
gentleman has said. A whole series of ministers, myself and my right | :04:52. | :04:55. | |
honourable friend, have made visits to different installations around | :04:55. | :04:59. | |
Scotland, as we have been doing in the last couple of weeks. I | :04:59. | :05:02. | |
understand why he wants to dodge the serious issue, he does not want | :05:02. | :05:07. | |
to focus on SNP defence policy, or particularly the trick they want to | :05:07. | :05:11. | |
pull on NATO. They know that people in Scotland wants NATO Security, | :05:11. | :05:16. | |
but they want a pick-and-mix approach, take on none of the | :05:16. | :05:21. | |
obligations, it just will not do. Neil Carmichael. Number three, Mr | :05:21. | :05:27. | |
Speaker, please. With permission, I will ask questions 3 and 14 | :05:27. | :05:30. | |
together. The Secretary of State and I have frequent discussions | :05:30. | :05:34. | |
with colleagues on Common Agricultural Policy reform. I last | :05:34. | :05:37. | |
met with UK and Scottish Agricultural Ministers during the | :05:37. | :05:42. | |
Royal Highland Show. Thank you very much for that answer, Mr Speaker. | :05:42. | :05:45. | |
With the difficulties in the harvest this year and rising | :05:45. | :05:49. | |
commodity prices and with an interest in increasing productivity | :05:49. | :05:53. | |
and production in the world of agriculture, will those talks focus | :05:53. | :05:58. | |
on the need to actually recalibrate the common agricultural policy | :05:58. | :06:03. | |
towards our production and food costs and prices? Mr Speaker, I | :06:03. | :06:09. | |
think it is a matter on which we are in agreement with the Scottish | :06:09. | :06:12. | |
government, that the Common Agricultural Policy, and indeed | :06:12. | :06:16. | |
policies pursued by both governments, should seek to | :06:16. | :06:21. | |
maximise food production in Scotland. Anne McIntosh. Will the | :06:21. | :06:25. | |
Minister assure us that the Scottish minister will be heavily | :06:25. | :06:30. | |
involved in reforms to the CAP and, once agreed, that they will apply | :06:30. | :06:34. | |
equally in Scotland, England and all parts of the UK, particularly | :06:34. | :06:39. | |
as regards compliance measures? Speaker, the government has shown | :06:39. | :06:44. | |
by its actions that it is committed to involving not just the Scottish | :06:44. | :06:49. | |
government but all the devolved administrations in developing the | :06:49. | :06:55. | |
UK position on the Common Agricultural Policy reforms | :06:55. | :06:58. | |
negotiations, and that will continue to be our position. | :06:58. | :07:03. | |
Margaret Curran. Mr Speaker, I am sure that everyone in a house can | :07:03. | :07:07. | |
agree that the current negotiations in Europe may have a significant | :07:07. | :07:11. | |
impact on food prices, especially at a time when Scottish families | :07:11. | :07:15. | |
are under such pressure from rising food prices. Can I ask the Minister | :07:15. | :07:20. | |
if either he or the Secretary of State can tell us precisely what | :07:21. | :07:23. | |
correspondence and meetings he has had with other ministerial | :07:23. | :07:29. | |
colleagues to address this issue facing Scottish families? | :07:29. | :07:32. | |
Secretary of State and I have had a range of meetings with colleagues | :07:32. | :07:38. | |
across government and within the Scottish government, not just to | :07:38. | :07:41. | |
address the Common Agricultural Policy reforms, but to address | :07:41. | :07:45. | |
issues such as the cost of living and the economic policies being | :07:45. | :07:50. | |
pursued in Scotland. As the honourable lady well knows, our | :07:50. | :07:53. | |
views in relation to the Scottish government and the UK government | :07:53. | :07:57. | |
that we should be working together in relation to economic matters in | :07:57. | :08:01. | |
Scotland, and we would much rather that was the view of the Scottish | :08:01. | :08:03. | |
government, rather than the incessant focus on constitutional | :08:03. | :08:08. | |
matters. Margaret Curran. Can I thank the Minister for that | :08:08. | :08:12. | |
interesting answer? Yesterday in response to a question from myself, | :08:12. | :08:16. | |
the Secretary of State seemed to have no grasp of the impact of | :08:16. | :08:19. | |
rising food prices in Scotland. Last week, Save The Children | :08:19. | :08:24. | |
launched their first appeal to fund work in Scotland, revealing that a | :08:24. | :08:28. | |
quarter of parents have less than �30 per week to spend on food, and | :08:28. | :08:33. | |
Citizens Advice Scotland tell us that applications for support for | :08:33. | :08:38. | |
food and other May 6th has doubled. We all know, just as the minister | :08:38. | :08:42. | |
indicated, that this is a result of the choices that he and his Cabinet | :08:42. | :08:47. | |
colleagues have made. Is he and the Secretary of State proud that food | :08:47. | :08:50. | |
banks are fast becoming the hallmark of his government in | :08:50. | :08:55. | |
Scotland? I think the honourable lady was not present at the | :08:55. | :08:58. | |
reception in Dover House this week when many of the leading | :08:58. | :09:03. | |
stakeholders in relation to child poverty, including Save The | :09:03. | :09:06. | |
Children, were, and there was a very significant discussion of the | :09:06. | :09:10. | |
issues. She can be assured that both the Secretary of State and I | :09:10. | :09:17. | |
take these issues very seriously. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The so- | :09:17. | :09:21. | |
called breeding proposals, measures proposed for the new cap, have | :09:21. | :09:25. | |
caused consternation through the farming community. A recent survey | :09:25. | :09:29. | |
found that almost three-quarters of farmers thought they would have an | :09:29. | :09:32. | |
adverse environmental impact, half thought they would harm | :09:32. | :09:35. | |
biodiversity, and all thought it would cause financial problems of | :09:35. | :09:39. | |
their business. What is the Minister doing to make sure the | :09:39. | :09:43. | |
measures do not form part of the new cap? The Government is very | :09:43. | :09:47. | |
aware of those concerns, not just in Scotland but across the rest of | :09:47. | :09:51. | |
the United Kingdom, and the honourable lady's committee | :09:51. | :09:54. | |
reported to that effect. The Government will seek to do all it | :09:54. | :09:58. | |
can to minimise the impact of such measures if they were adopted. | :09:58. | :10:03. | |
Michael McCann. A question about the impact of the A Olympics and | :10:03. | :10:08. | |
Paralympics. With permission, I will answer questions four and six | :10:08. | :10:11. | |
together. �34 million worth of contracts were awarded to | :10:11. | :10:14. | |
businesses in Scotland, and businesses will have benefited from | :10:14. | :10:18. | |
the hugely popular events that took place in Scotland. The games have | :10:18. | :10:22. | |
been very successful and provided a great springboard for the Glasgow | :10:22. | :10:27. | |
Commonwealth Games in 2014. Speaker, I am grateful for the | :10:27. | :10:30. | |
Secretary of State's answer. The Games show how great sporting | :10:30. | :10:34. | |
events can be used to regenerate large parts of our cities and | :10:34. | :10:38. | |
surrounding areas. Can the Secretary of State ensure that | :10:38. | :10:42. | |
lessons about regeneration and legacy from London 2012 are shared | :10:42. | :10:48. | |
with Glasgow's Commonwealth Games organisers? Can I say that the | :10:48. | :10:51. | |
Honourable gentleman's focus on exactly the right issue of legacy? | :10:51. | :10:56. | |
I think when we congratulate for the Scots and others who have | :10:56. | :10:59. | |
participated in the Olympics and Paralympics, what a great festival | :10:59. | :11:03. | |
of sport we have had this particular summer, fantastic | :11:03. | :11:07. | |
outcomes. Apart from inspiring a generation, which is obviously | :11:07. | :11:11. | |
already under way, what matters is that we get regeneration in the | :11:11. | :11:14. | |
regions around London but also across the UK, but I believe the | :11:15. | :11:17. | |
economic legacy will be very strong, but the lessons from London are | :11:18. | :11:22. | |
ones that I hope will also be seen in Glasgow as well. Tom Greatrex. | :11:22. | :11:27. | |
Thank you, Mr Speaker. During the Olympic Games I was privileged to | :11:27. | :11:32. | |
be a gamesmaker along with a whole range of people. People from | :11:32. | :11:35. | |
different backgrounds volunteered to be involved for the first time. | :11:36. | :11:39. | |
In his discussions with the Scottish government, could he make | :11:39. | :11:42. | |
the point to the organisers of the Commonwealth Games to take the best | :11:42. | :11:45. | |
from that volunteering programme to ensure that people can get involved | :11:45. | :11:51. | |
in Glasgow 2014 in the same way? May I pay tribute to the honourable | :11:51. | :11:55. | |
gentleman, because indeed I saw him in the gamesmaker's uniform, and he | :11:55. | :12:00. | |
was indeed very helpful at Hampden Park when I visited to see the | :12:00. | :12:03. | |
United States versus France, he has clearly got talents for other | :12:03. | :12:08. | |
things as well as politics! But he makes an important point. The | :12:08. | :12:11. | |
legacy of the volunteers is one of the most important parts of the | :12:11. | :12:15. | |
Games, one of the more unexpected parts, and I do hope that in | :12:15. | :12:19. | |
Glasgow in two years' time we will see that legacy shown and that | :12:19. | :12:24. | |
people across the whole of Scotland will take part. Sir Menzies | :12:24. | :12:26. | |
Campbell also up would my right honourable friend like to take the | :12:26. | :12:31. | |
opportunity to congratulate the Scottish gold-medallist Andy Murray | :12:31. | :12:36. | |
on his quite remarkable marathon triumph in the United States? Has | :12:36. | :12:43. | |
he noticed that the term coined by the First Minister is very rapidly | :12:43. | :12:49. | |
to have fallen into disuse? And as he heard of any Scottish competitor | :12:49. | :12:53. | |
selected either for the Olympic Games or the Paralympic Games, or | :12:53. | :12:56. | |
indeed any medallist in either of these games, complaining about the | :12:56. | :13:00. | |
fact that they were representing the United Kingdom and not | :13:00. | :13:05. | |
Scotland? Let me join with my right honourable and learned Friend in | :13:05. | :13:11. | |
congratulating Andy Murray on his and innit gold medal and also on | :13:11. | :13:15. | |
securing his first Grand Slam title. -- and innit. It is an immense | :13:15. | :13:19. | |
achievement being celebrated all over the country. I think we saw | :13:19. | :13:23. | |
the great benefits of working together, both in terms of the | :13:23. | :13:27. | |
financing and of the training, but also in terms of the competition. | :13:28. | :13:32. | |
The very first Olympic gold was won by a Scot and somebody from the | :13:32. | :13:35. | |
south-west of England, and that perhaps make the point that we are | :13:36. | :13:40. | |
better together. Mrs Eleanor Laing. With the Secretary of State like to | :13:40. | :13:48. | |
further clarify that there is no conflict between being Scottish and | :13:48. | :13:52. | |
being British and that millions of reasonable people in the UK and all | :13:52. | :14:02. | |
:14:02. | :14:09. | ||
over the world live very happily as We are absolutely at one on this | :14:09. | :14:14. | |
issue. She is right and I am sure people will accept that being | :14:14. | :14:20. | |
Scottish and British can be done at the same time. Can we take this | :14:20. | :14:25. | |
opportunity as well to congratulate Andy Murray? All of Scotland and | :14:25. | :14:34. | |
the UK are celebrating this magnificent success. All of | :14:34. | :14:39. | |
Scotland was cheering on Team GB. We supported Scottish athletes, | :14:39. | :14:46. | |
athletes from right across the UK. Team GB was Scotland's team. Will | :14:46. | :14:50. | |
the Minister assure me he will work as closely as possible with the | :14:50. | :14:54. | |
Scottish government to ensure we secure the maximum economic | :14:54. | :15:02. | |
benefits of from the Commonwealth Games? I agree that the Honourable | :15:02. | :15:07. | |
Gentleman has consistently supported Scots and other British | :15:07. | :15:17. | |
:15:17. | :15:18. | ||
Olympians and Paralympians. As my right honourable friend was sailing, | :15:18. | :15:23. | |
-- was saying and, his point about legacy is important, but we have | :15:23. | :15:27. | |
already been working very closely with the organisers of the | :15:27. | :15:30. | |
Commonwealth Games to make sure they are a fantastic success and | :15:30. | :15:36. | |
the London Olympics has created a great platform for that. A question | :15:36. | :15:43. | |
about post offices. Colleagues regularly discuss issues about post | :15:43. | :15:48. | |
offices in Scotland and we recognise the importance of | :15:48. | :15:51. | |
maintaining post offices in Scotland, which is why this | :15:51. | :16:01. | |
:16:01. | :16:04. | ||
government has committed �1 billion. The Scottish government's DVLA | :16:04. | :16:09. | |
service has been trusted by the public, and I hope the minister | :16:09. | :16:15. | |
agrees that the DVLA contract should not be handed over to the | :16:15. | :16:21. | |
lowest bidder and. The service the Post Office have provided over the | :16:21. | :16:27. | |
years should be given waiting. ended be compulsory closure | :16:27. | :16:34. | |
programme that we inherited from the party opposite. We saw 5,000 | :16:34. | :16:39. | |
post offices close over seven years, 400 of them in Scotland. On the | :16:39. | :16:46. | |
issue of this contract, it has to be conducted by an EU programme at | :16:46. | :16:50. | |
rules, but it is not just cost, there are other important criteria | :16:50. | :16:56. | |
like service and we will make sure they all met. The one in five post | :16:56. | :17:00. | |
offices in Scotland are under pressure of closure because of | :17:00. | :17:04. | |
policies of this government. The nationalists criticise this but | :17:04. | :17:07. | |
they have scrapped the post of this diversification fund, showing them | :17:07. | :17:13. | |
to be no better than the Secretary of State and his friends. If you | :17:13. | :17:17. | |
have a post office that does not accept parcels and cash withdrawals | :17:17. | :17:23. | |
and does not provide DVLA services, do you have a post office? He is he | :17:23. | :17:28. | |
happy to sit idly by while the Tories and the nationalists destroy | :17:28. | :17:32. | |
our post office network? May I welcome the honourable gentleman in | :17:32. | :17:37. | |
his debut at the dispatch box. He has a strong record in Scottish | :17:37. | :17:42. | |
politics and I look forward to the debates people have in the future. | :17:42. | :17:47. | |
It is a bit cheap to lead with that particular question. Not least it | :17:47. | :17:52. | |
was his government that closed down 5,000 post offices across the UK, | :17:52. | :17:57. | |
over 400 in Scotland. We want to see a sustainable network and we | :17:57. | :18:01. | |
are investing in that and we are determined to ensure that services | :18:01. | :18:06. | |
across the country are put through the post office. He is the | :18:06. | :18:11. | |
Secretary of State aware that since 2005, the level of government | :18:11. | :18:17. | |
service through Post Office has fallen from a half down to one | :18:17. | :18:22. | |
fifth? If they DVLA contract is lost, this will have a dramatic | :18:22. | :18:26. | |
effect and lead to possibly the closure of many other post offices. | :18:26. | :18:30. | |
If the government cannot do anything about this, what is the | :18:30. | :18:36. | |
point of making it the front office of government? I share with him the | :18:36. | :18:40. | |
desire to see a sustainable post office network and we have reversed | :18:40. | :18:44. | |
the damaging policies of the previous government already within | :18:44. | :18:49. | |
the last two years and we are committed to significant further | :18:49. | :18:53. | |
investment in that network. I do not see the same level of support | :18:53. | :18:59. | |
coming from his colleagues in the Scottish Parliament. Mr Speaker, | :18:59. | :19:05. | |
alcohol abuse harms individuals and communities throughout the UK. | :19:05. | :19:09. | |
Clearly a range of responses is required to address the problem. | :19:09. | :19:13. | |
The government continues to engage with the Scottish government on the | :19:13. | :19:17. | |
issue of minimum unit pricing. Given that this policy has the | :19:17. | :19:22. | |
potential to affect my constituency of Carlisle, what measures are the | :19:23. | :19:26. | |
government taking to introduce proposals what minimum alcohol | :19:26. | :19:33. | |
pricing in England and Wales? The government continues to | :19:33. | :19:39. | |
consider the position in the rest of the United Kingdom and certainly | :19:39. | :19:43. | |
before any proposals were introduced in England and Wales, | :19:43. | :19:48. | |
there would be an extensive consultation. One of the problems | :19:48. | :19:52. | |
that can arise from alcohol abuse is sadly people getting into | :19:52. | :19:58. | |
trouble in Scotland's coastal waters. There will be a delay of 15 | :19:58. | :20:02. | |
months between the Clyde Coastguard being closed and the maritime | :20:02. | :20:06. | |
operations centre being up and running. Is he concerned about the | :20:06. | :20:13. | |
safety implications? As the honourable lady will know, although | :20:13. | :20:18. | |
there are changes to the management arrangements of the Coast Guard | :20:18. | :20:23. | |
operation centres, the same local volunteers, the same local | :20:23. | :20:28. | |
lifeboats, at the same helicopters will apply in the coastal waters of | :20:28. | :20:32. | |
Scotland. There will be no change and it is wrong to suggest | :20:32. | :20:39. | |
otherwise. The East is a specific question about the use of firms | :20:39. | :20:44. | |
that have engaged in blacklisting of trade union. Regulations were | :20:44. | :20:49. | |
introduced in 2010 to outlaw trade union blacklisting in the UK. We | :20:49. | :20:53. | |
welcome the inquiry into blacklisting in employment and | :20:53. | :20:56. | |
encourage all honourable members and interested parties to feed back | :20:56. | :21:04. | |
into that inquiry. Can I also commend the Scottish Affairs Select | :21:04. | :21:09. | |
Committee for what they are doing on this but if there is tangible | :21:09. | :21:14. | |
evidence that government contracts have been awarded to companies | :21:14. | :21:17. | |
engaging in blacklisting Trades Union, can those contracts be | :21:17. | :21:21. | |
reviewed? I know the honourable gentleman is a strong campaign on | :21:21. | :21:26. | |
this issue and I suggest he puts that view forward the Scottish | :21:26. | :21:30. | |
Affairs Select Committee so that it may form part of its report. We | :21:30. | :21:36. | |
will certainly take its report very seriously. The Honourable Gentleman | :21:36. | :21:41. | |
will know that talk is cheap. What would he actually do, he must know | :21:41. | :21:46. | |
these blacklistings are happening today, what is the government going | :21:46. | :21:55. | |
to do if we identify people that are doing it? What will he do? | :21:55. | :21:59. | |
regulations which were introduced in 2010 provide a route for | :21:59. | :22:05. | |
individuals to feel that they have been blacklisted. I feel that the | :22:05. | :22:09. | |
evidence sessions being held by the Scottish Affairs Select Committee | :22:09. | :22:13. | |
is a very good way of reviewing how those regulations and other laws | :22:13. | :22:17. | |
are working in this regard and we will take their report re re- | :22:17. | :22:26. | |
seriously? Mr Peter Bone. The -- very seriously. No new official | :22:26. | :22:33. | |
figures have been published since last February. The most recent | :22:33. | :22:37. | |
estimate in October 2011 shows that the level of public expenditure in | :22:38. | :22:46. | |
Scotland was �10,165 per head for that year. So �10,000 a year is | :22:46. | :22:51. | |
paid by taxpayers on average two people in Scotland. In my | :22:51. | :22:54. | |
constituency and the rest of the East Midlands it is �8,000 per | :22:54. | :23:01. | |
person. Is that fair? The last time my honourable friend raised this | :23:01. | :23:06. | |
was following a discussion with his wife and other members of the | :23:06. | :23:09. | |
family. I appreciate she was distracted getting herself ready | :23:09. | :23:15. | |
for this weekend's charity run, and we wish her all the best. I regret | :23:15. | :23:19. | |
that when she focuses back on the politics, the answer she will he is | :23:20. | :23:24. | |
different very little to the one I gave a few months ago, namely that | :23:24. | :23:27. | |
the priority is to sort out the public finances and the mess that | :23:27. | :23:32. | |
we inherited on the party opposite, and that any future review will | :23:32. | :23:41. | |
have to wait until that is completed. Government spending was | :23:41. | :23:46. | |
higher in both London and Northern Ireland and in Scotland and with | :23:46. | :23:51. | |
8.4% of the UK population, does the Ministry knows that Scotland pays | :23:51. | :23:58. | |
nine when 6% of the UK's taxation - - 9.6%. It is more than paying its | :23:58. | :24:03. | |
own way. Spending around the whole of the UK varies quite considerably | :24:03. | :24:07. | |
and we need to take all of that into account but as for believing | :24:07. | :24:13. | |
the SNP's figures, we will have to continue to agree to differ. The | :24:13. | :24:19. | |
East is a question about the West Lothian question. I am in regular | :24:19. | :24:24. | |
contract -- contact with my neck right honourable friend the Prime | :24:24. | :24:33. | |
Minister about a range of issues are. We should have eight time soon | :24:33. | :24:38. | |
to discuss the findings. Is he confident that the commission will | :24:38. | :24:42. | |
report on time in spring 2013 and when he does so, it will bring | :24:42. | :24:47. | |
forward meaningful proposals and not just another recommendation for | :24:47. | :24:50. | |
another commission to kick this issue further into the long grass? | :24:51. | :24:55. | |
These are very serious issues and that is why we have got this expert | :24:55. | :24:59. | |
commission looking very seriously at them, which has got a cross | :24:59. | :25:04. | |
section of experts representing all parts of the UK. We look forward to | :25:04. | :25:11. | |
its findings and having a debate on what they show. I am glad she | :25:11. | :25:17. | |
caught the member for West Lothian. -- you called. How many questions | :25:17. | :25:22. | |
should be on the referendum in Scotland? I think there should be | :25:22. | :25:28. | |
one. The separate or stake in the UK. Does he agree? There should | :25:28. | :25:33. | |
only be one question on the ballot paper, I completely agree with the | :25:33. | :25:41. | |
honourable gentleman. I refer the honourable gentleman to the answer | :25:41. | :25:49. | |
which the Secretary of State gave to a previews question. After this | :25:49. | :25:52. | |
summer of sporting success, the last thing the people of this | :25:52. | :25:59. | |
country want is to see Team GB torn apart. Does he agree? I couldn't | :25:59. | :26:05. | |
agree more. The success of Team GB at both the Olympics and the | :26:05. | :26:09. | |
Paralympics has been celebrated as much in Scotland as in any other | :26:09. | :26:15. | |
part of the United Kingdom. Would the Minister agree with me that one | :26:16. | :26:20. | |
of the great successes of the Olympic Games was the role played | :26:20. | :26:25. | |
by London's mayor. I wonder what will happen to him in the future! | :26:25. | :26:30. | |
Would he agree that when we come to the Glasgow Games, it is essential | :26:30. | :26:35. | |
they are run by the City of Glasgow and that we do not have nationalist | :26:35. | :26:39. | |
politicians trying to muscle in. The honourable gentleman will know | :26:39. | :26:45. | |
that the mayor of London is a great supporter of Scotland and a great | :26:45. | :26:47. | |
supporter of the Commonwealth Games and ensuring that the legacy from | :26:47. | :26:53. | |
the Olympics is carried on into the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. | :26:53. | :26:59. | |
I'm afraid that is all we have got time for at the moment. Because of | :26:59. | :27:03. | |
party political conferences, there will be no Scottish Questions next | :27:03. | :27:08. |