Scotland Act 1998: Section 35 Power
Angela Crawley Excerpts(1 year, 3 months ago)
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Mr Jack
No. I hope people will realise that the United Kingdom Government have been given legal advice that raises concerns for women and children, for their safeguards and protections, and about adverse effects to UK-wide legislation, and that we are acting on that advice and have the backs of women and children across the United Kingdom, including in Scotland, if safeguards and single-sex spaces and so on are impinged upon. If that is the concern in the statement of reasons, we believe it right to act on it for all citizens of Great Britain.
Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East) (SNP)
In 2021, the Women and Equalities Committee published a report stating clearly that the gender recognition certificate did not—as is still the case—impinge on the rights of women or girls. It stated unequivocally that the exclusions applied in all instances and that women and girls would continue to be protected regardless of the gender recognition certificate. The same applies in the case of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, and nothing in the proposals contradicts that. Will the Minister outline clearly to the House what legal advice he has been given? We are still waiting for an answer.
Mr Jack
In short, two different regimes create adverse effects.
Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill: Section 35 Power
Angela Crawley Excerpts(1 year, 3 months ago)
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Stephen Flynn
No.
Let me return to the points I was making about democracy, on the right to strike, EU legislation, Brexit, but also, importantly, on Scotland’s right to choose. As we found towards the end of last year—if the Father of the House wishes to awaken from his slumber—[Interruption.] No, Mr Speaker, he does not appear to awaken from his slumber. It is very distracting to see that in front of you in a democratically elected Parliament.
If we are to reflect on democracy, last year Scotland was denied its right to choose by this UK Government. The Supreme Court was clear that we do not have power under the constitutional settlement to have a second independence referendum, irrespective of the views of the people of Scotland. Yet the only answer that the UK Government can give to any question in relation to that is, “No. You cannot have your say.” No matter which way we turn or what the issue of the day is, this UK Government are not interested in Scotland’s democracy. Let us look in closer detail at the Conservative party position on that.
Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East) (SNP)
Does the statement of reasons not clearly state that the Government do not have any legal basis on which to challenge this legislation? The simple fact is that the Secretary of State for Scotland has opened himself up to judicial review, because he will simply find that he has no modification of the Equality Act 2010, and that there are no examples—none—indicating that he has justifiable reasons for outlining a section 35 order.
Stephen Flynn
The Secretary of State has opened himself up to many things, ridicule among them, by his failure to see the blindingly obvious.
To revert to my previous point about the wider Conservative position, let us be clear and in no doubt whatsoever that the Conservatives are seeking to utilise this issue for a culture war—nothing more, nothing less. These are the dying embers of a failing Government who see the polls, who know they are on their way out, and who know their Members will lose their seats. In a last gasp attempt to create division, they are using some of the most vulnerable people in society to create a culture war.
Ian Murray
The hon. Lady might say that from a sedentary position, but the hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn) quoted Donald Dewar at great length. Donald Dewar will be turning in his grave at what is happening in relation to devolution and Scottish politics, because he created the section 35 process for the very reasons the hon. Lady just said. Section 35 is a process to enable cross-border problems to be resolved.
Ian Murray
Let me finish my point.
The Government have come forward with 13 pages that they think show that the Bill adversely affects UK-wide legislation. I think the statement of reasons is thin, although I have not had a chance to read it all the way through. [Interruption.] It might be rubbish, but people have concerns that we have to alleviate. We have to bring people with us. What the SNP has forgotten about this entire process—Labour is very experienced at this because we do it all the time—is that when a Government are passing major equalities legislation they have to bring people with them. If that means they have to get people around the table—[Interruption.] Should you not have to bring people with you? If people raise concerns, you should just dismiss them? [Interruption.] No, this is me saying it. Equalities legislation is difficult and you have to bring people with you. These adverse effects might be “rubbish”—as I have said, at an initial glance I think they are pretty weak and flimsy—but the courts will have to decide whether they like this or not, because that is where this is going. The Scottish Parliament has the right to pass this legislation, because this is devolved, but the Scotland Act, protecting the Scottish Parliament, also contains a mechanism, written by Donald Dewar, to ensure that if there are cross-border concerns, those are dealt with. That is the way it is in this particular process.
Oral Answers to Questions
Angela Crawley Excerpts(1 year, 3 months ago)
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Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)
Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East) (SNP)
Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)
Mr Jack
The hon. Lady quotes statistics for the two years following Brexit, but those of course are two years where we had other factors to take into account, not only covid and many lockdowns across Europe, but the illegal war in Ukraine. In the first two quarters of 2022, the United Kingdom did more trade with the European Union than it did in any quarter when we were members of the European Union.
Angela Crawley
Brexit has cost the UK £40 billion a year in tax revenue. That would be enough to fill the black hole caused by the Tory mini-Budget, along with yet another round of Tory austerity. Scotland did not vote for Brexit, for this Government, the last one or the one before that, so does the Secretary of State think it is right that Scotland should suffer due to his party’s extreme Brexit ideology?
Mr Jack
This Government respect democracy. We respect the outcome of referendums. There was a referendum in 2014 on Scottish independence. We respected the result; the Scottish National party has not. In 2016, the United Kingdom, which we are all part of, voted to leave the European Union, and we delivered on that.
Scottish Independence and the Scottish Economy
Angela Crawley Excerpts(1 year, 6 months ago)
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Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)
A few weeks ago, Christine Grahame MSP and I co-hosted a cost of living support event in Gorebridge in my constituency. We invited along energy providers, community groups, food banks and suicide prevention charities. As constituents arrived and were able to access the help they needed, I started to think that it was a great success and that it was brilliant to see so many people there. But then I had to stop myself, because I started to think, “How did we get here? How did we become a society where food banks are normal and where we simply accept that poverty is growing and that suicide prevention charities face record numbers of calls?” The fact that we needed to hold that event at all is an alarming sign that the UK state has failed. When a country cannot guarantee its citizens a decent standard of living, with a roof over their head, heat in their home and food on the table, that country has failed to uphold its end of the social contract.
The most shocking thing about this crisis is that so much of it is inflicted by the Government. For instance, the energy crisis is far worse in the UK than it is elsewhere, because the Government have kept the energy companies private, ensuring that the money from bills goes towards profit, not investment that could help to ensure security of supply. The severity of the cost of living crisis has been exacerbated by the Government’s incompetence, with a kamikaze Budget sending mortgage rates skyrocketing and the pound crashing, which means that there is less money in people’s pockets and that the money that remains is worth less.
The truth is that the UK has been the poor man of Europe for years because the economy is set up to funnel wealth to the super-wealthy—to people such as the current Prime Minister—rather than to distribute it fairly to support those who need it most. Now, we are reaping what has been sown.
There is no doubt that this is a global crisis, but while other societies have been ready to catch the poorest in their safety nets, the net in the UK is a glaring hole. Somehow, British exceptionalism has kept its grip on policymaking, and although we are no longer a particularly well-off society but one where a tiny number of people have immense wealth, the idea that we are exceptional has meant that the Government have refused time and time again to look abroad and follow best practices.
To take the windfall tax, other countries have got serious about taxing the record profits that oil and gas companies have been making, but we have ignored the issue for months. Now we are left reeling from a failed Thatcherite experiment and looking down the barrel of austerity 2.0, with an economy so deliberately trashed that there is little option but to put money directly into people’s pockets, although the Government cannot even get that right. I recently met an 89-year-old constituent who cannot afford to heat her home because she, like thousands across Midlothian, relies on heating oil. The price of heating oil has skyrocketed to the point where she has spent £2,000 on it this year and expects to fork out at least another £1,000 over the coming winter. Yet the Government’s proposed support package for people using heating oil is £100—not even enough to get through a tenth of the winter.
Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East) (SNP)
Constituents in my area of Lanark have written to me about the fact that oil prices have continued to go up and that Government support is frankly woeful. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government must do more to support those who are off the grid, especially in rural communities, because they simply have no other choice?
Owen Thompson
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. The support that is in place is welcome—I do not deny that, and I do not think anyone else here would—but we need much more, because far too many people, and especially those who are off the grid, have been left behind.
At the moment, we are on a sinking ship. The UK’s future is not bright, and there is little reason to doubt that our children’s economic prospects will only become worse than ours. Therefore, the question is whether we look around the sinking ship, shrug our shoulders and say, “It’s been fine up till now. There’s no point trying to change it. We’ll be just fine,” or we try something different. We do not have to go down with this sinking ship. Certainly for those of us in Scotland, there is a lifeboat; it might be smaller than the boat we are currently on, but we get to be its captain, and the folk we share it with have the same direction in mind as us. Once we are out on the open water, we will realise that there are plenty of other wee boats out there that are the same size as us and that they are working together so that they can weather the storms far better than the lonely old SS Britannia ever could.
That is what independence promises; it is not an instant fix, but it is the only reasonable path to a better future. Now, in a context where being part of the UK has left us with record inflation and soaring poverty, the idea that Scotland cannot afford independence is simply laughable. Norway was one of Europe’s poorest countries when it became independent in the early 20th century, and Ireland’s era of independence began with war and destruction. For them, however, independence was not the problem; it was the solution. Independence allowed them to grab hold of all the economic powers at their disposal and to respond to crises however they wished. Now, we look to both countries as models of stunning economic success.
The truth is that we are in pretty dire straits as part of the UK. Even if we choose independence, we will inherit the mess that being part of the UK has left us with. That is not an argument against independence; it is a fundamental part of why we need it now. We can no longer afford to remain a part of this broken Union, and the people of Scotland need to be able to have that say, and have it soon.
Oral Answers to Questions
Angela Crawley Excerpts(2 years, 10 months ago)
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Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East) (SNP)
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Alister Jack)
May I start by saying that the dream is over, and my commiserations go to Steve Clarke and the Scottish team now that they are out of the Euros? Us Scots will now turn our attention to Wimbledon, where we have won the men’s singles twice in the last eight years. I also congratulate Wales and England on proceeding to the knockout stages of the tournament, and I wish them well in that.
In answer to the question, it is a tragedy that drug deaths in Scotland are the worst in Europe and about four times those of England and Wales. The majority of the levers to tackle drugs misuse are delivered and devolved to the Scottish Government, including health, education, housing and the criminal justice system, but as the First Minister has admitted, they have taken their eye off the ball. The United Kingdom Government are keen to work with the Scottish Government to tackle this scourge, and the Minister for Crime and Policing, my hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse), held a UK-wide summit in Glasgow. He also invited the Scottish Government to be part of a new scheme, Project ADDER, which aims to protect communities from the harm caused by drugs. The Scottish Government have, sadly, so far declined.
Angela Crawley [V]
The Scottish Government intend to open an overdose prevention centre in Glasgow to tackle drug deaths and HIV infection rates. They are prevented from doing so by this Government’s reliance on the out-of-date, ill-fitting drugs legislation, the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Ahead of Saturday’s “Support. Don’t Punish” day of action, will the Minister speak with his Cabinet colleagues about the need to reform the Act and support the Scottish Government’s call for an urgent four nations summit on this issue?
Oral Answers to Questions
Angela Crawley Excerpts(3 years ago)
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David Duguid
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I share his enthusiasm for all things related to energy renewables, but he will know as well as I do that, by law, transmission charging is a matter for Ofgem as the independent regulator. I imagine that he will also be aware that Ofgem is currently considering some aspects of transmission charging arrangements through its access and forward-looking charges review.
Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East) (SNP) [V]
The SNP Scottish Government have committed to doubling their climate change justice fund if re-elected next week. This £21 million fund is used to help combat the effects of climate change in the global south while we tackle carbon emissions at home. In the year of COP26, will the UK Government follow Scotland’s lead and commit to a comparable climate justice fund to help those affected by climate change?
David Duguid
Not only will we commit to a comparable financial commitment, but the recent spending review committed to spending £12 billion on green measures to support the 10-point plan and boost the UK’s global leadership on green infrastructure and technologies, not just ahead of COP26 this year, but beyond as well.
Oral Answers to Questions
Angela Crawley Excerpts(3 years, 8 months ago)
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Mr Jack
I utterly disagree with the hon. Gentleman. This legislation strengthens the United Kingdom. Scotland does 60% of her trade with the rest of the UK—over £50 billion. We want to protect that trade. We want to improve the Scottish economy. In no way is a single power being removed from the Scottish Government. It is quite the contrary: powers are being increased.
Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East) (SNP)
Stewart Hosie (Dundee East) (SNP)
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Alister Jack)
I have frequent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of matters relating to the UK internal market. The UK internal market is vitally important for our economy. As I have said a number of times over the past five minutes, sales produced in Scotland to the rest of the UK are £51.2 billion per year and over 60% of our exports.
Angela Crawley
By contrast to the Secretary of State’s power surge, the European single market’s principles, for example, are based on equality, co-operation and consent, with agreed standards for all member states. If he claims that the policy on the UK internal market is not a power grab, will he guarantee a mechanism for negotiation, agreement and consent between the four nations of the UK?
Mr Jack
The hon. Lady points towards frameworks, which is exactly what we are doing. For standards, frameworks will be by consent across the United Kingdom. There is the opportunity for parties to opt out. As a safety net for business, we are introducing mutual recognition, which underpins the European single market, and we are introducing non-discrimination.