Oral Answers to Questions

Alistair Carmichael Excerpts

Wednesday 6th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Jim Sheridan (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (Lab)]

1. What assessment he has made of the potential effects of the legacy of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth games on the UK tourism industry.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Alistair Carmichael)]

The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth games provide a great opportunity to showcase Glasgow to the world. Following my recent meeting with Gordon Matheson of Glasgow city council, I am left in no doubt that the games will provide a long-lasting legacy of which the people of Glasgow can be proud. The United Kingdom Government are taking every step to promote the business opportunities that the games present, and I should be happy to receive suggestions in that regard from any Member in any part of the House.

[Jim Sheridan]

I welcome the Secretary of State to his first session of Scottish questions. I also send best wishes to his predecessor, who was a thoroughly decent man. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”]

Next year’s Commonwealth games will attract thousands of visitors to Scotland. I believe that the best legacy that we can give them is to ask them to come back and visit us again, but that may be extremely difficult for some, given the high rate of air passenger duty. Will the Secretary of State ask his colleagues in the Treasury to review the position, and to carry out an impact assessment of the effects of APD on tourism in Scotland and in the United Kingdom as a whole?

[Mr Carmichael]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his welcome to what is, in fact, my first session of Scottish questions as Secretary of State. I have been present for Scottish questions once or twice before.

Let me also associate myself with the hon. Gentleman’s tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), who did an excellent job. The additional powers that were given to the Scottish Parliament through the Scotland Act 2012 and the negotiation of the Edinburgh agreement are a lasting legacy from him.

I am aware that Glasgow airport is an important asset for the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, and I commend him for the vigorous way in which he prosecutes its interests. I always welcome any representations from Members in any part of the House, but air passenger duty is a matter for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the hon. Gentleman should get his representations in early ahead of the autumn statement. Good luck to him.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

I, too, welcome my right hon. Friend to his new position.

An important legacy from London 2012 was better working between the transport agencies and providers. May I urge my right hon. Friend to work with Transport Scotland and other agencies to ensure that a similar legacy can be secured for Glasgow?

[Mr Carmichael]

I hope very much that that will happen. A significant transport legacy has already been established by the organisers of the games, and I see no reason why the lessons of the Olympic games, which are substantial and readily available, should not be learnt by those in Glasgow.

[Margaret Curran (Glasgow East) (Lab)]

I join others in welcoming the Secretary of State to his new position, and in paying tribute to his predecessor.

The legacy of the Commonwealth games is vital to the people of Glasgow and their prospects, particularly in relation to jobs, but today that has been overshadowed by reports concerning the future of shipbuilding on the Clyde. The work force on the Clyde are renowned for their skills and expertise, but they now face uncertainty about their future. Will the Secretary of State assure the House that he will work with trade unions and with the company to minimise any potential job losses, mitigate the effects on communities, and secure the future of shipbuilding on the Clyde?

[Mr Carmichael]

I thank the hon. Lady for her welcome. I can give her every assurance that, as in the recent crisis surrounding the Grangemouth plant, I will work with any party in any part of the country where Scotland’s vital interests are involved. I extend that invitation to the hon. Lady, to the Scottish National party, and to the Scottish Government. The issue is clearly important. Today is a day that we always knew was coming, but I believe that we will meet the challenges much more effectively by working together.

[Sir Menzies Campbell (North East Fife) (LD)]

May I urge my right hon. Friend to take the opportunity, as soon as he can, to visit the sporting facilities that have been created in the east end of Glasgow, particularly the indoor athletics track and the velodrome which is named after Sir Chris Hoy? Does he recognise that they meet the highest possible international standards, and constitute a substantial sporting legacy for the city of Glasgow and, indeed, the whole of Scotland?

[Mr Carmichael]

For, very possibly, the first time in the 30 years for which I have known my right hon. and learned Friend, I am one step ahead of him. I have, in fact, visited those facilities, and I was immensely impressed, principally by the fact that they are already accessible to some 75,000 people in the area. They will indeed constitute a lasting legacy. Glasgow city council has the opportunity to provide a business legacy, and I am delighted to announce that it has made the Glasgow city chambers available to UK Trade & Investment and other organisations for the duration of the games so that they can promote business opportunities.

[Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP)]

I welcome the Secretary of State to his position. Today is a very sad day for many families in Glasgow, and I am sure the thoughts of everybody on both sides of the House are with them. How will the legacy to Glasgow of the Commonwealth games be affected by large-scale skilled industrial job losses in the city?

[Mr Carmichael]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his welcome. As I have already said, we are working with UKTI to bring more business opportunities to Glasgow. As for the announcements, we will hear from the Secretary of State for Defence later today what the full extent of these developments is going to be, but they will be best tackled if we all work together. We have known for a long time that this day was coming.

[Angus Robertson]

And the legacy to Glasgow will be serious if nothing is done to help those who need it, so what can the Secretary of State and his Government do to help people in these circumstances?

[Mr Carmichael]

I will be doing what I have been doing since the day and hour I took over this job. I will work with the hon. Gentleman’s colleagues in the Scottish Government, if they are prepared to work with me. I will work with the councillors and officers at Glasgow city council. I will work with UKTI and, most of all, I will work with BAE Systems, which, in very difficult circumstances, has handled itself in a way that should be commended.

[Pete Wishart (Perth and North Perthshire) (SNP)]

2. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the display of materials from the “Go home or face arrest” campaign in the Glasgow UK Border Agency office.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Alistair Carmichael)]

I recently met both my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and my hon. Friend the Minister for Immigration to discuss a range of immigration matters, including the campaign to which the hon. Gentleman refers. In a written statement last week my hon. Friend the Minister for Immigration informed the House that the poster campaign has no future in Scotland.

[Pete Wishart]

I thank the Secretary of State for that answer, but was it not absolutely appalling that these disgusting and xenophobic materials graced a public office in Scotland, contrary to everything we have tried to achieve through good and positive community relations in Scotland? This is all about a race to the bottom with the UK Independence party on immigration. We do not even do UKIP in Scotland. We do not even do Conservative; we have got the one lone panda of a Minister, the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell), sitting there. Can the Secretary of State reassure me that we will never see the likes of these posters again in Scotland?

[Mr Carmichael]

This is a serious issue, and I accept that these posters were not appropriate, but I think a slightly more measured approach than the hon. Gentleman’s is appropriate to questions such as this. It was made clear in the Immigration Minister’s statement last week that these posters will not be back. I am content with that position.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

What is the Secretary of State’s estimate of the number of illegal immigrants in Scotland?

[Mr Carmichael]

I do not have that figure to hand, but I will be more than happy to make the appropriate inquiry and write to my hon. Friend.

[Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)]

I understand that the Secretary of State personally intervened to oppose this campaign. Can he tell us about the fate of the vans that were central to this campaign? Are they going to be pulped—or maybe recycled and used as ministerial vehicles?

[Mr Carmichael]

For me, the ministerial vehicle remains, while I am in London, the No. 159 or No. 3 bus, so I do not think I would derive any benefit from the right hon. Gentleman’s proposal. The vans were not used in Scotland, of course. There was, however, substantial concern about the use of the posters in the UKBA office there, which I have to say was particularly inappropriate given the good efforts of Glasgow city council and the wider community in Glasgow to ensure that the tone of the treatment of people coming to the city is appropriate.

[Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)]

If the Scottish nationalists want to give everyone such a warm welcome in Scotland, can those of us whose grandfathers fought in the first world war with the Highland Light Infantry and whose great-grandfathers fought with the Gordon Highlanders and who consider ourselves in large part to be Scots, and consider Scotland in part to be home, have a vote in the referendum as well?

[Katy Clark (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)]

I welcome the Secretary of State to his post and pay tribute to the hard work that his predecessor put in. Positive Action in Housing, which he will be aware works with asylum seekers in Scotland, has called the posters “shameful and deeply offensive”. Given what he said about the tone, does he agree with that comment?

[Mr Carmichael]

I have made it clear that I consider the posters to be inappropriate. They were part of a trial, they have gone and they will not be back. I do not think anything else really matters.

[Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP)]

3. What recent discussions he has had on the effects of increasing energy prices on households in Scotland.

--- Later in debate ---

[Cathy Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab/Co-op)]

7. What recent discussions he has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on household and business energy bills.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Alistair Carmichael)]

Rising energy bills are obviously a serious concern for consumers and businesses. Over the past weeks, I have discussed the issue with representatives of the major energy companies. We continue to work closely with Scottish Government Ministers on all matters facing the economy in Scotland, including energy prices.

[Mr MacNeil]

As a fellow islander, may I say that it is good to see an Ileach, an Islay man, at the Dispatch Box? With my constituency suffering the highest level of fuel poverty in the UK, can the Secretary of State investigate the benefits that some renewables might bring to offset that? Although it is good that the islands will have different renewables strike prices, he well knows that not all islands are the same. Will he represent that view to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, to make sure that all islands can benefit and we can tackle these high energy prices?

[Mr Carmichael]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for allowing me the opportunity to remind the House of this Government’s great achievement in establishing, and putting out for consultation, a strike price for island communities, which will make the development of renewable energy in communities such as his and mine a viable proposition at long last. That may have a contribution to make to tackling fuel poverty. I have already worked closely with the leader of his local council in this matter, and I urge him to do the same.

[Mark Lazarowicz]

The Government have been giving strong indications that they intend to move some of the cost of paying for energy efficiency to general taxation, and the Scottish National party Government have said that they want to do the same. Unless we also have measures such as Labour’s energy price freeze, would such a transfer not just let the energy companies off the hook and reduce the pressure on them to control prices?

[Mr Carmichael]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to say that the position announced by Nicola Sturgeon takes money off energy bills but is going to have to be made up for elsewhere. At a time when there is already a £3.4 billion black hole in the SNP figures, one has to think that that is not going to offer much hope for people struggling to pay their energy bills already. We all know the problems associated with his price freeze, and I have no doubt that they will be rehearsed in the House later today. My particular concern relates to the position of smaller energy companies, which are at risk of being forced out. If we reduce the number of companies in the market, we will see prices go up—that cannot be good.

[Cathy Jamieson]

The Scottish Government and UK Government Energy Ministers appear to have joined forces to suggest that Labour’s plans for an energy price freeze would put the lights out. I know the Secretary of State to be a sensible man, so has he talked to the Scottish Government about this and does he agree that the energy price freeze would deliver a £120 saving to my constituents?

[Mr Carmichael]

I am afraid that we have heard dodgy figures from the Labour party before, and I think we have just heard yet another one from the hon. Lady. The truth is that Labour’s price freeze does risk reducing the number of companies in the market. If competition is reduced, the price goes up. That is basic economics and the Labour party should learn it.

[Mr Alan Reid (Argyll and Bute) (LD)]

People who are on SSE’s “Total Heating, Total Control” system have been told by SSE that their system will not work properly if they switch to another supplier, which means that they are totally dependent on SSE and the huge price increases that it places on them. That is an unacceptable abuse of a monopoly, so will my right hon. Friend investigate it?

[Mr Carmichael]

I am aware of the issue from my own constituency mailbag, and it relates to those currently on the “Total Heating, Total Control” tariffs. It is a fairly complex position, but I say to SSE that it has enormous customer loyalty from throughout the highlands and islands. When we get the answers to the questions that my hon. Friend poses, I shall be looking at them very closely, because I want to ensure that the customer loyalty that its hydro has in the highlands and islands is valued, and not abused.

[Mike Crockart (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

Ofgem has estimated that £27 of the average annual fuel bill pays to help the fuel poor, £21 pays for renewable obligations and £6 pays for feed-in tariffs. That comes to a total of £54, which is less than the tax paid on a single tank of petrol. Does the Secretary of State agree that that is a good return on a small outlay?

[Mr Carmichael]

My hon. Friend makes the point very well that although there are such charges on electricity bills the money is then spent wisely on improving the quality of housing and energy efficiency. That, of course, is the real opportunity offered by the energy debate and I think that the Government are sensible to pursue it.

[John Stevenson (Carlisle) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that the way to reduce energy costs overall is to encourage competition, support innovation, increase supply and remove unnecessary costs rather than a price freeze?

[Mr Carmichael]

I wonder whether my hon. Friend and I might have a slight difference of opinion in what we consider to be an unnecessary cost, but with that one caveat I have absolutely no difficulty in agreeing with him. Such an approach runs wholly counter to the Opposition’s proposals.

[Sandra Osborne (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (Lab)]

11. Last Saturday, my advice surgery was full of desperate people who do not know how they are going to get through the week, never mind through the winter. If the Government are not prepared even to consider the price freeze, what action will they take right now to help people to get through the winter?

[Mr Carmichael]

I take seriously the hon. Lady’s point. That is a real and deep concern for households across the country and that is why the Government have taken action on a number of fronts. This year, 230,000 homes will be warmer because of the increased energy efficiency measures that we support and 2 million vulnerable households will get help under the warm home discount. That is £135 off electricity bills for some of the poorest pensioners. The ongoing winter fuel payment for older people and the £25 cold weather payment have been made permanent by this Government.

[Margaret Curran (Glasgow East) (Lab)]

Labour’s energy price freeze would save Glasgow and Edinburgh city councils, Scotland’s two largest local authorities, close to £3 million a year. That is equivalent to 71 teachers and 140 care workers. In the vote later today, will the Secretary of State vote with the Tories and side with the energy companies or will he vote for Labour’s energy price freeze and side with the people of Scotland?

[Mr Carmichael]

I will be supporting the coalition Government and I am proud to do so, because we recognise that there are no easy answers in this debate and that the proposals from the Opposition will end up putting people’s prices up.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

4. What assessment he has made of the effects on businesses in north-west England of Scotland remaining part of the UK.

--- Later in debate ---

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

5. What assessment he has made of the effects of the privatisation of Royal Mail on people in Scotland.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Alistair Carmichael)]

The privatisation of Royal Mail will protect the universal mail service for the people of Scotland. The Government, with their 30% stake, remain a substantial shareholder committed to the future growth of the company. By transferring the liabilities of the Royal Mail pension plan in April 2012, the Government have safeguarded the benefits for postal workers in Scotland and across the UK that had accrued up until that date.

[Graeme Morrice]

But can the new Secretary of State provide answers to the many people living in rural Scotland, along with the dwindling band of Scottish Lib Dem supporters, who believe that the coalition Government’s privatisation of Royal Mail is wrong and will lead ultimately to the end of the universal service obligation?

[Mr Carmichael]

If this privatisation was a threat to rural Scotland I would not support it. This is a privatisation born not from ideology but from necessity. Without it, the real threat would be Royal Mail losing business hand over fist, as it has since his Government liberalised the letter-post market.

[Sir Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the privatised Royal Mail, free from state aid restrictions and competition rules, offers the best opportunity of promoting the last-mile delivery service and securing the jobs of our dedicated local posties?

[Mr Carmichael]

My right hon. Friend has a rural constituency that I know well. The points that he makes are very well made. This was necessary to save the universal service and, for the first time, legislation privatising Royal Mail brought with it meaningful protections for that universal service.

[Mr Ian Davidson (Glasgow South West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Does the Minister agree that the privatisation of Royal Mail is likely to increase the cost of letters to Govan shipbuilders? Does he therefore agree that action must be taken to guarantee the future of Govan shipbuilders as quickly as possible? Does he also agree—

[Mr Speaker]

“Also” is not required.

[Mr Carmichael]

I commend the hon. Gentleman for his ingenuity in getting a reference to Govan shipbuilders on the record. He will have to wait to hear the full extent of the announcement. I assure him that Govan shipbuilders will benefit from the same mail delivery protections from Ofcom as everyone else.

[Mr Mike Weir (Angus) (SNP)]

Under the Postal Services Act 2011 the only protection for consumers is from Ofcom. Given the less than stellar performance of other utility regulators, why should consumers in Scotland have any confidence that their services will be protected?

[Mr Carmichael]

As I think the hon. Gentleman knows, but as he continues to ignore, the difference is that this time we have included meaningful protections that give Ofcom the power it needs to protect communities such as mine and his.

[Alison McGovern (Wirral South) (Lab)]

8. What assessment he has made of the potential effects on cultural tourism in the UK of a yes vote in the referendum on Scottish independence.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (LD)]

9. What recent discussions he has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on cross-border strategic roads.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Alistair Carmichael)]

My office keeps in regular contact with the Scottish Government on all transport issues concerning Scotland. The Government set out their commitment to a feasibility study on improvements to the A1 north of Newcastle. I am not aware of any such commitment on cross-border routes from the Scottish Government.

[Sir Alan Beith]

If Ministers want to give a very clear signal that England and Scotland are better together, may we have some tangible evidence before the referendum vote that the strategic road linking eastern England and Scotland will be dualled completely?

[Mr Carmichael]

I add my commendation to my right hon. Friend for the longevity and the quality of the service he has given to his constituents and to this House. He will know that we have already announced a feasibility study. That demonstrates our commitment to the case for further work. I am more than happy to work with him and with the Scottish Government if that is necessary in future.

The Prime Minister was asked—