Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alistair Carmichael and David Mowat

Wednesday 15th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[David Mowat (Warrington South) (Con)]

6. What further plans he has for a Scottish constitutional settlement.

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

Lord Smith of Kelvin has agreed to oversee the process to take forward devolution commitments to Scotland. He will publish his proposals by the end of November, and the Government will publish draft clauses by 25 January.

[David Mowat]

My constituents are very much in favour of the direction of the settlement, but they fear that it may enshrine the £1,600 per annum public sector differential between England and Scotland. Can the Secretary of State assure us that that will be reviewed as part of the process?

[Mr Carmichael]

One of the express elements in the vow that was delivered to the people of Scotland was an assurance that there would be no change in the Barnett formula. I should add, however, that once we have delivered the extra tax-raising powers that I believe will go to the Scottish Parliament, the formula will obviously account for a lesser proportion of the Scottish Government’s income than is currently the case.

Scotland within the UK

Debate between Alistair Carmichael and David Mowat

Monday 13th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[David Mowat (Warrington South) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that part of this settlement needs to be a public spending agreement that is fair to all four nations of the UK? On that basis, will he be reviewing the Barnett formula to ensure that it continues to reflect relative need and will do so in the future?

[Mr Carmichael]

Part of the vow made by the three party leaders was that there would be no change to the Barnett formula, and that remains Government policy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alistair Carmichael and David Mowat

Wednesday 2nd July 2014 Commons Chamber

[David Mowat (Warrington South) (Con)]

5. What assessment he has made of the potential effect of Scottish independence on energy flows between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

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

Scotland has a thriving energy sector which benefits from unrestricted access to the integrated Great Britain energy market. That supports jobs, keeps bills lower and spreads the substantial costs over 30 million households and businesses.

[David Mowat]

The Scottish Government have now decided to generate 100% of electricity from renewables by 2020. The implied subsidy for that is £4 billion a year, or £1,000 per voter a year. Has the Secretary of State had any discussions with the Scottish Government about who would pay for that in the event of independence?

[Mr Carmichael]

What I can tell my hon. Friend is that at the moment the cost of the subsidy required for the development of renewables is spread across the whole United Kingdom market. In an independent Scotland, that cost would have to be met by households in Scotland, which would mean a difference of between £38 and £189 in Scottish energy bills. We do exceptionally well from the subsidies that come to Scotland as part of the United Kingdom.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alistair Carmichael and David Mowat

Wednesday 7th May 2014 Commons Chamber

[David Mowat (Warrington South) (Con)]

4. What discussions he has had with Ministers in the Scottish Government on the potential role of the Bank of England in the event of Scotland becoming an independent country.

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

I have not had any discussions with Ministers in the Scottish Government on the potential role of the Bank of England. If people in Scotland vote to leave the UK, they are voting to leave the UK institutions that support it, such as the Bank of England, which will continue to operate on behalf of the continuing UK.

[David Mowat]

I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. The majority of my constituents hope very much that Scotland will stay in the Union, but for the avoidance of doubt, will he confirm that in the event of a yes vote, there are no circumstances under which my constituents will underwrite the borrowing and spending plans of an independent Scotland, whichever currency it uses?

[Mr Carmichael]

I thank my hon. Friend for his support for the continuation of Scotland within the United Kingdom. The position on any currency union or central banking arrangements if Scotland were to vote for independence has been made very clear recently by the Chancellor and the Chief Secretary and also by the shadow Chancellor: there will be no such arrangements.