Banks and Communities

Brendan O'Hara Excerpts

Thursday 11th January 2018 Westminster Hall

[Brendan O'Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gapes. I congratulate the hon. Member for East Lothian (Martin Whitfield) on securing the debate.

The Royal Bank of Scotland’s decision to close 62 of its branches in Scotland—a decision that will leave 13 towns in rural Scotland without a single bank—is an absolute disgrace and will inflict further long-lasting reputational damage on RBS. That it announced that decision so callously, without even having the courtesy to hold consultations with the communities involved, is absolutely unforgivable. One would have thought that RBS, having been bailed out by the public purse to the tune of £45 billion, would display a degree of humility. Its decision to turn its back on so many communities, particularly those where the RBS branch is the last in town, is a scandalous abdication of its social responsibility to rural Scotland and to the people who were forced to keep it afloat when it risked sinking without trace during the financial crisis.

RBS plans to close three branches in my constituency: those in Campbeltown, Rothesay and Inveraray. Those ruthless closures will not only hurt local businesses and individuals; they will be hugely damaging to Argyll and Bute. We have worked hard to tell people that we are open for business. We have actively promoted Argyll and Bute as a great place to live, work, raise a family and do business. These closures undermine all that hard work.

It does not have to be this way. We, the people, pumped £45 billion into RBS a decade ago. We own it. The Government therefore can, should they wish, intervene to stop these closures in their tracks. My constituents know, as we all do, that the taxpayer owns 73% of the Royal Bank of Scotland and that the Government can—and, when they choose to, do—get involved. I am sure the Minister does not need me to remind him that when it was announced that Stephen Hester, the previous chief executive of RBS, was leaving, the then Chancellor, George Osborne, told the “Today” programme that

“as the person who represents the taxpayer interest…of course my consent and approval was sought.”

There is undeniable precedent for the Government to get involved in the state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland.

Just before Christmas, the Prime Minister told Parliament that she had chosen not to involve herself in the RBS branch closure programme. My constituents and I hope that the Government had time to reflect on that decision over Christmas and had a change of heart, and that the Minister will confirm today that they will summon RBS chief executive Ross McEwan to Downing Street and let him know that, in the interests of our rural communities, the branch closure programme has to stop. If that is not the case, will the Minister explain to my constituents exactly why the Government have chosen not to involve themselves in the closure programme? Will he explain that to the people of Inveraray, a tourist hotspot with retail outlets, cafés, bars, hotels and a huge, flourishing tourist industry, who will be left without a single bank and will need to make an 80-mile round trip to their nearest Royal Bank of Scotland branch?

In the coming weeks I intend to present three petitions from Campbeltown, Rothesay and Inveraray, so that the people of Argyll and Bute have their voice heard in this place. Until then, I will take every opportunity to press the UK Government to accept their responsibility, because we paid a very heavy price to own RBS and the least we expect is for them to protect our rural communities from the excesses of the Royal Bank’s hatchet men.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (John Glen)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gapes. I thank the hon. Member for East Lothian (Martin Whitfield) and my hon. Friend the Member for Stirling (Stephen Kerr) for securing this debate. I recognise the 10 passionate speeches we have had from the Back Benches and acknowledge the Backbench Business Committee for allowing the debate. I am glad that we can discuss such an important topic as I represent the Government for the first time as Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

It is clear—we all agree—that banks play an important role in our communities and that their services make a valuable everyday difference to millions of individuals, consumers and businesses. I will try to respond to some of the points made and set out some of the areas where I think there are some positives, before I conclude.

Banks exist to help us achieve our goals in life: a rung on the housing ladder, starting a new business, paying in that first pay cheque or saving for that first family holiday. We have heard a lot about the closure of physical branches and I feel that frustration, which has been expressed in my own constituency mailbag this week with the closure of Lloyds bank in Wilton, just outside Salisbury.

I acknowledge the frustration that so many hon. Members have expressed and that their constituents have passed on to them. It is frustrating and disappointing. The closures represent inconvenience and interruption in the pattern of local daily life. It also feels like a greater challenge in a community’s identity—a point made by a number of colleagues this afternoon—particularly in areas where local amenities are limited. That can sometimes be part of a wider changing profile for the high streets and there are a number of challenges that need to be overcome.

I understand hon. Members’ concerns about the announcement that RBS and other banks have made in recent months, and it is right and natural for those who represent the community to ask why those closures must take place. However, I need to be clear at the outset, before I can look at some of the mitigating measures, that these are, despite what we might hope, commercial decisions for each bank to take without Government intervention.

[Brendan O'Hara]

Will the Minister confirm that the Government can intervene if they wish to but have chosen not to do so?

[John Glen]

I will come in a moment to express where the intervention can take place and where that responsibility lies, but first I want to refer to some of the cases made in the debate.

The hon. Member for East Lothian referred to a bank branch closure where the nearest branch is 12 miles away, but there is a Lloyds bank within walking distance. I also want to refer to the point—[Interruption.] It is important that I try to respond to some of the points made, so let me progress. He and another hon. Member made the point about cash deposits at post offices. All post offices can take cash deposits up to £2,000, which covers 95% of transactions, but arrangements can be made by a bank with a post office should customers wish regularly to deposit more.

My hon. Friend the Member for Ochil and South Perthshire (Luke Graham) intervened and talked about the branch in Alloa. There is a Yorkshire Building Society bank within walking distance. In Kinross, there is a TSB within walking distance. I would encourage constituents to vote with their feet. I may be destroying shareholder value in RBS and therefore the Government, but we should make clear where there are alternatives, because they do exist. The hon. Member for Argyll and Bute (Brendan O'Hara) referred to closures in his constituency—I think it was Campbeltown. There is a Halifax branch within walking distance. In Rothesay, there is a TSB within walking distance—[Interruption.] I can concede—I am not going to give way, I have very limited time.

RBS Rural Branch Closures

Brendan O'Hara Excerpts

Monday 18th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Ian Blackford]

Nice try. Having a bank on the high street that collects and issues cash and provides other banking services is instrumental to the economic wellbeing of all our communities. Individuals and businesses rely on the access in person to banking services. Why did we save RBS, if there is no recognition that there is a liability on the bank to serve its customers and communities? Customers who have been loyal to RBS for generations find branches being closed on them. That is happening to people such as Cyril French, who lives in Plockton and is a customer of RBS at the Kyle branch. Cyril is 87 and has Alzheimer’s. The staff at the RBS branch are of enormous assistance to him when he goes on his weekly visit to the branch. What is Cyril to do if the bank closes? The next nearest RBS branch would be in Portree on the Isle of Skye, more than 40 miles away. On highland roads, this would take more than an hour, and he would have to be taken there either by family members or by his carer. Is that what Cyril should have to endure to visit a local bank?

Let us think about the local businesses that rely on the bank for depositing and collecting cash. Where are they to go? Let us take businesses such as the thriving Eilean Donan Castle in Lochalsh, which uses the Kyle branch. It is 43 miles from the next nearest RBS branch in Portree. Eilean Donan Castle is a thriving tourist destination, with over 540,000 visitors a year. It deposits millions of pounds of cash a year at the Kyle branch. Its insurance policy demands that it has as many as three staff members to take the cash to the bank. The impact on it of their having to drive to Portree rather than Kyle would be considerable in terms of time and staff resource.

When customers visit their local branch, they will often do other shopping, go for a coffee and such like. The closure of the last branch in Beauly in my constituency will drive valuable business away from the town. Personal customers and businesses will go to Dingwall or Inverness and will more than likely take their other business with them to these places. Closing the last bank in town has a similar effect to the removal of services such as local schools, and it undermines the sustainability of our communities.

[Brendan O’Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)]

As my right hon. Friend knows, there are three Royal Bank of Scotland branches in my Argyll and Bute constituency—in Campbelltown, Inveraray and Rothesay—which are earmarked for closure. Is he aware of the profound anger and the sense of betrayal that is felt by rural communities across Scotland at these brutal closures? The bank closures are completely undermining the great work, being done by so many, of saying to the rest of the UK and the rest of Europe that rural Scotland is open for business. These bank closures must stop.

National Spitfire Project

Brendan O'Hara Excerpts

Tuesday 28th March 2017 Westminster Hall

[Brendan O'Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Mr Davies. May I be the latest to add my congratulations to the hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen (Royston Smith) on securing this debate on a subject that I know is dear to his heart and to those of many of his constituents? He spoke movingly about the sacrifice made by those in the Woolston and Itchen areas of Southampton where the Spitfires were originally built. I agree that the monument would be a fitting tribute to the memory of those who died when the luftwaffe destroyed the factories in September 1940.

It has been an excellent debate and there have been many first-class contributions. That all-too-rare beast, cross-party consensus, seems to have emerged. That tells the Minister that we believe the memorial is important and should be built, and that there is no more appropriate location than Southampton. I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for East Lothian (George Kerevan) that it is right for the monument to be seen as common to everyone in these islands. Regardless of what the future holds for their constitution, we have a shared history and the Spitfire is a central part of that. I commend the words of my hon. Friend the Member for Stirling (Steven Paterson), who was right to highlight the role that Scotland, and indeed his constituency, played in the development of the Spitfire. I could not—I would not dare—attempt to match the eloquence of the hon. Member for Aldershot (Sir Gerald Howarth), but I share the sentiment he expressed.

It is remarkable that in 2017 we are discussing with such obvious affection and warmth an aeroplane that ceased production 65 years ago. The Spitfire has almost uniquely embedded itself in the collective consciousness of the country, and has a unique place in popular culture. Apart from the Titanic I cannot think of many other objects that have taken up so many reels of celluloid—starting in 1942 with “The First of the Few”, starring and directed and produced by Leslie Howard, and co-starring the great David Niven. Then, of course, came “Malta Story”, in which Alec Guinness and Jack Hawkins told how the Spitfire provided the main defence for the island of Malta. My hon. Friend the Member for East Lothian mentioned “Battle of Britain”, which had a stellar cast—Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, Ralph Richardson, Michael Redgrave and Susannah York. The one that stands head and shoulders above them all is “Reach for the Sky”, the 1956 classic with Kenneth More playing the part of Douglas Bader. I saw it as a child, and have seen it many times since.

I am sure that we all have personal anecdotes from family and friends that link us directly or indirectly to the Spitfire. My story comes from my time as a youthful barman in the Royal Air Force Association club in Ashley Street, Glasgow, in the early 1980s. Back then the RAF club was a busy, thriving establishment with a loyal clientele of former RAF service personnel and their families. The walls were adorned with photographs and memorabilia, but pride of place was reserved for the Spitfire. The majority of members had not flown in them, but none the less the Spitfire emerged as the symbol that unified them as a group of RAF veterans.

I fondly recall how many an evening on a quiet weekday shift I would sit at the end of the bar listening to some of those remarkable men, who, at the same age at which I was pulling pints, were clambering into planes to defend the skies of the UK and Europe from the Nazis. With hindsight, a bit of life experience, a slightly more cynical disposition and an ability to count, I am now convinced that at least one or two of those men sharing stories of derring do with a highly impressionable teenager must have had their Royal Air Force career thrust on them by dint of national service, and been more—how shall I put it?—Kenneth More than Douglas Bader. However, at the time it was a fascinating insight.

Regardless of whether they flew or not, the fact remains that everyone loved the Spitfire, and everyone who could be associated with it—however loosely, in some cases—wanted that association. It is without doubt a source of great pride for many, and a permanent memorial to remember those who built, designed, fought in and maintained the planes is well deserved. I am sure that when the memorial is built it will commemorate the immense contribution of the chief designer, R.J. Mitchell, the chief draughtsman, Joe Smith, and the chief test pilot, Jeffrey Quill, whose contribution to the success of the Spitfire it is impossible to overstate.

We have heard much of the role of the Spitfire in the battle of Britain, and it is worth remembering, as the hon. Member for Southampton, Test (Dr Whitehead) did, that it played a hugely important role throughout the second world war. He mentioned its use in photo-reconnaissance of the factories that were building the V-2. As I mentioned earlier, it played a crucial part in protecting Malta, and it was also involved in the Pacific theatre, defending Singapore in the early part of the war and, as part of the final push, driving Japan out of Burma. It played a crucial role in defending the city of Darwin in Australia from attacks by the Japanese. This country was not alone in using the Spitfire. I recall that the Soviet Union ordered 1,000, and they were used, in smaller numbers, admittedly, by the Americans and the Yugoslav Air Force. After the war they were still in production and were seen regularly in India, Ireland, Holland and Egypt, which all made good use of them.

The hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen was right to say that the role played by the Spitfire in the battle of Britain ensured that it would leave an indelible mark on the collective consciousness. Although, as the hon. Member for Aldershot said, they were fewer than the Hawker Hurricane—a plane that suffered far greater losses in the battle of Britain—it is the Spitfires’ role that has been preserved in the country’s collective memory, and rightly so.

However, let it be a true memory, because we were not alone in fighting the Nazis in the 1940s. The United Kingdom gave refuge to those fleeing fascism, and welcomed those, wherever they came from, who were willing to help defeat it. I hope that when the monument opens we shall not forget the 30 Australian, 30 Belgian, 84 Canadian, 90 Czech and Slovak, 13 French, two Caribbean, 10 Irish and 135 New Zealand pilots, the 30 from Southern Africa and, of course, the 147 Poles, who shot down more than 200 enemy aircraft.

[Graham Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

I am sorry to interrupt a fantastic speech, to which I was listening with enthusiasm. I was waiting to hear whether the hon. Gentleman would add to his list of those who should be recognised by the memorial the factory workers who built the Spitfires. Workers such as my grandmother spent many hours in factories. They were asked to work longer hours—six and seven-day weeks—to make sure that Britain’s war production was kept up. Should they not also be recognised in the memorial?

[Brendan O'Hara]

I thank the hon. Gentleman. I did make the point earlier in my speech that the memorial would be for the workers, designers, test pilots and everyone involved in the Spitfire’s success. I absolutely concur with what he says.

I will conclude by thanking the hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen for securing the debate, and for the work that he is doing to secure a permanent memorial to the Spitfire and all those who designed, tested, built, flew, repaired and maintained that iconic aircraft. I and my hon. Friends wish him extremely well in his endeavour.

Leaving the EU: European Social Funding in Scotland and the UK

Brendan O'Hara Excerpts

Tuesday 10th January 2017 Westminster Hall

[Natalie McGarry (Glasgow East) (Ind)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the effect of the UK leaving the EU on European Social Funding in Scotland and the UK.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Nuttall. During the EU referendum campaign last year, great importance was attributed, and a lot of time was given, to the debate about how much money the UK contributes to the EU. One spurious and now debunked claim was plastered on the side of a now infamous bus. However, seldom spoken of before, during or after the referendum campaign were the funds that come back from the EU to the UK, where they go and the difference they make. We live now in post-vote, pre-Brexit uncertainty, in which the vacuous slogan “Brexit means Brexit” is accepted as satisfactory political discourse, although it has little meaning. Indeed, Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, stated last week that even after high-level talks with the UK Government she is no further forward in understanding the UK Government’s negotiating plan.

The debate during the run-up to the referendum became so shrill and engulfed in dog-whistle politics that the many benefits of EU membership were ignored in favour of focusing on borders and migrants, even though those benefits make a huge difference to many communities in many constituencies, including mine. I am, of course, referring to European structural investment funds, which bolster and boost economic development across the EU’s member states and regions. Since their inception in the 1970s, European structural funds have enabled great progress to be made in reducing economic and social inequalities among the EU’s member states and regions.

My remarks, and indeed my concerns, focus predominantly, but not exclusively, on the European Social Fund. Like other nations across Europe, Scotland has benefited enormously from European social funding. That great investment in our people has created invaluable opportunities in employment and education in the city of Glasgow and across Scotland and the UK. In the current period—2014 to 2020—Scotland will benefit from the European Social Fund to the tune of £464 million. Those funds, matched by the Scottish Government, will see millions of pounds invested across the country to improve sustainable and quality employment, to promote social inclusion and combat poverty, to create opportunities in education and employment, and to fight youth unemployment.

It is easy to distil facts and figures into rhetoric while missing the impact on the lives of real people in our communities, for whom European social funding helps to bridge a gap. In communities in my constituency, partnership working with local housing associations, such as that between Parkhead Housing Association and Glasgow Kelvin College, uses outreach to teach computing skills to people in their own communities and community centres, which lowers digital exclusion and helps people to attain the confidence and skills they need to achieve their potential. The system would otherwise leave behind many of those people.

The last round of European social funding—2007 to 2013—supported fantastic and worthwhile projects across Scotland. Glasgow City Council helped people out of gangs and into work. Coatbridge College provided employability services to school leavers. Glasgow Met worked with ethnic minorities to improve employability skills. The Wise Group helped people find routes out of prison. Fife Council tackled worklessness. Glasgow Clyde College provided community-based training. The Scottish Chambers of Commerce offered business mentoring. Dundee College helped people not in education, employment or training. ENABLE Scotland supported people with learning difficulties into work. The Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living helped people with disabilities to secure work.

[Brendan O'Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)]

My hon. Friend is making a compelling case about the impact of the loss of European social funding on Glasgow and the surrounding area. Does she agree that the loss of ESF funding will have serious consequences right across urban and rural Scotland, including on my constituency, whose fragile economy benefits greatly from ESF funding and whose people voted overwhelmingly to remain within the European Union?

[Natalie McGarry]

The hon. Member makes a very compelling case. He is a doughty fighter for his constituents in Argyll and Bute.

Battle of Jutland Centenary

Brendan O'Hara Excerpts

Wednesday 25th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Evennett]

I would be delighted to endorse that comment, which is so important.

Memories are important, and it is also important that schoolchildren and students learn about the battle of Jutland and about those who served their country. Commemorative events will take place across the UK, including on 28 May at Queensferry cemetery in West Lothian. There will also be events led by the Royal Navy on 31 May at Chatham, Plymouth and the Portsmouth naval memorial, which I understand my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South will attend. Events will also be held at Commonwealth War Graves Commission sites at Esbjerg new cemetery in Denmark, Fredrikstad military cemetery in Norway and Kviberg cemetery in Sweden.

Our key themes across the first world war centenary programme are remembrance, youth and education, and I am delighted that there are a number of resources for children, young people and adults alike so that they can learn about the battle on websites such as those of the Imperial War Museum and the BBC.

A number of key Jutland exhibitions are also taking place. Last week, the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth opened the exhibition my hon. Friend told us about—“36 Hours: Jutland 1916, The Battle That Won The War”. In London, the National Maritime Museum opened its new gallery, “Jutland 1916: WWI’s Greatest Sea Battle”. I would encourage as many people as possible and particularly families—perhaps during half-term next week—to visit those exhibitions to learn more about the battle.

[Brendan O'Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)]

I thank the Minister for giving way—he has been very generous. I, too, congratulate the hon. Member for Portsmouth South (Mrs Drummond) on her marvellous contribution. Will the Minister join me in congratulating the people of my constituency, and particularly of the town of Helensburgh, near Faslane, who turned out in such fantastic numbers just last week, along with members of our armed forces, our cadets and our veterans associations, to remember the battle of Jutland in such a fitting manner?

[Mr Evennett]

I would certainly be delighted to endorse that comment, and I congratulate those involved.

Communities across the UK that also wish to mark the battle should be aware that the Royal British Legion has made available resources to help communities run local events, including factsheets and other useful information.

In Belfast, the last floating ship that survived the battle of Jutland—HMS Caroline—will be open to the public for the first time. It is managed by the National Museum of the Royal Navy. Thanks to £12.2 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the National Heritage Memorial Fund, HMS Caroline will become a significant visitor attraction, where people will discover the role she played in the war and the role of the Irish sailor.

Iraq Inquiry Report

Brendan O'Hara Excerpts

Thursday 14th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr MacNeil]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right; I agree with all he said. To that, I add the other fallout from the Iraq war, which, we must remember, was demonstrated against by more than a million people on the streets of the UK. If a million people were demonstrating, we can be sure that many, many more—several factors more—were in support of them. I add to that the creation of Daesh or ISIL in the camps of Iraq. There was a myth at the time that America went into Iraq because al-Qaeda was there; that was part of the myth-making in America around regime change. The reality was that al-Qaeda was not there until the Americans went in, and then the Americans created something far worse in those camps. The responsibility for what was done there—the loss of lives, the costs and the terror created—hangs very darkly over the Iraq war. That is something from which we must learn. We must ensure that we get this report published fairly soon, because time is of the essence. Time is the big factor here. Kicking the can down the road even further is not acceptable.

On 29 October 2015, the Prime Minister seemed to be very unequivocal on clearance taking two weeks, which is the point of this debate today. He said:

“In relation to National Security checking, the Government will aim to complete the process as quickly as possible. As you know, National Security checking for the Savile Inquiry took two weeks to complete. It would certainly be our plan and expectation to take no longer than this, and we will look to complete the process more quickly.”

We need to do that for the families who are expecting closure. This inquiry should have started many years earlier.

In the debate of 31 October 2006, to which I referred, there was already frustration that it had taken so long to get the matter in front of this House of Commons. We used an Opposition day debate, but in those times, Scottish National party and Plaid Cymru Opposition day debates were few and far between. Thankfully, it is not like that today. This was before the creation of the Backbench Business Committee, which we should thank today.

[Brendan O'Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)]

Has my hon. Friend considered the reputational damage done to the United Kingdom by the series of earlier delays? If it is the EU referendum that is causing the current delay, does he agree that the reputational damage to the UK is in danger of becoming ridiculous?

[Mr MacNeil]

I am grateful for that intervention. As was said earlier, the UK risks becoming an international laughing-stock because of this infinite, eternal delay with this report. My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and the delay is annoying many people. It is certainly not to the satisfaction of the families, many of whom would concur with what he said about the EU referendum. Roger Bacon, whose son Matthew Bacon was killed in Basra in 2005, said:

“To allow the referendum to get in the way of it seems to me to be completely wrong and smacks of political manoeuvrings that should not be taking place really.”

Interestingly, the former member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and former Labour Member representing Thurrock, Andrew Mackinlay, called for the publication of Chilcot not to get lost in the case of the European referendum. He said:

“It would suit the security and intelligence services and some people in high places for it to be ‘lost’ in the flurry…of final days of the referendum campaign”,

so let us have it soon at the beginning of May. That is when this report should be out, on the Government’s word. We are looking for the Government to keep their promise and for John Chilcot to keep his. The families certainly deserve that.

Scotch Whisky Industry

Brendan O'Hara Excerpts

Wednesday 9th March 2016 Westminster Hall

[Brendan O'Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the contribution of the Scotch whisky industry to the UK economy.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Mrs Moon. I am delighted to have secured this debate and to see so many of my colleagues present, particularly as they were all made aware that this is most definitely not a tasting event. I sincerely thank them for their attendance.

I understand that several hon. Members want to take part in this debate. If I have learned one thing since coming to this place last May, it is that no one loses points for repetition. However, in order to let colleagues develop their own arguments, I shall endeavour to speak in fairly broad terms about the remarkable economic success that is the Scotch whisky industry. I shall highlight the industry’s success before touching on what measures I believe that the Government must take to build on the achievements that we are currently enjoying and to ensure investor confidence for many years to come. I shall also look at the importance of the industry for rural communities throughout Scotland.

Thereafter, I shall shamelessly indulge myself in promoting the beauty of my Argyll and Bute constituency, which, regardless of what some of my green-eyed colleagues may claim later this afternoon, is without doubt the world’s whisky centre of excellence. As the home to the world-renowned whisky coast, Argyll and Bute can boast no fewer than 14 distilleries, which are working round the clock to produce the finest whisky in the world, consumed in ever greater numbers both at home and abroad. That said, I am inclined to agree with Raymond Chandler, the great American novelist, when he said:

“There is no bad whiskey. There are only some whiskeys that aren’t as good as others.”

I have a theory that all Scots children are born knowing certain incontrovertible truths—the kind of thing that you just know and do not have to learn, such as the fact that everything good in the modern world was invented by a Scot, that that ball never actually crossed the line in the 1966 World cup final and that Scotch whisky is, as George Bernard Shaw so wonderfully described it, “liquid sunshine”.

That liquid sunshine provides a silver lining for the UK Exchequer, as sales of Scotch whisky both at home and abroad contributed more than £5 billion to the UK economy last year. Last year alone, almost 100 million cases of Scotch whisky were exported to every part of the world. That is 40 bottles every second of every day leaving Scotland, bound for Spain, Brazil, America, Canada, China and just about everywhere else in between. Those exports earned this Exchequer £4 billion—or, to put it another way, £135 every second of every day for the UK balance of payments. Indeed, Scotch whisky is liquid sunshine for the Chancellor.

To be fair to the Chancellor—please take note, as this is probably a once-in-a-career event—he had the foresight last year to cut spirit duty by 2%. Indeed, it was only the fourth time in 100 years that that had been done. Although that cut was very welcome, many of us feel there is much more we can do, as taxation still accounts for 76% of the price of a bottle of whisky.

It is worth remembering that last year’s cut in spirit duty was, by the Treasury’s own Red Book calculation, believed to result in a shortfall of £185 million to the Treasury. The reality, however, was very different: the 2% cut in 2015 actually increased the tax take to the Treasury by more than £100 million. I am not saying that every 2% cut in spirit duty will recoup £100 million for the Treasury, but I think we can argue with a great deal of justification that a cut in spirit duty helped to increase sales in the domestic market for the first time in several years. It also sent out a very important signal to potential investors in the Scotch whisky industry.

Investor confidence is vital. The initial duty freeze, followed by a duty cut, gave confidence to investors, who saw that, for the first time in decades, there was a Government who did not view the Scotch whisky industry simply as a cash cow. As we know, spirit can only become whisky after it has been laid down for three years; only then can it be classified as Scotch whisky. For at least three years, investors can therefore have little or no return on their money. The fact that nine new distilleries have opened across Scotland in the past two years, with no fewer than 40 in various stages of planning and construction and hoping to come on stream over the next two decades, is in no small part due to the change in policy of not hiking spirit duty at every possible opportunity.

In fact, such is the confidence in the industry that there are advance plans to open a new distillery in the Scottish borders. To put that into context, the last distillery in the Scottish borders closed its doors in 1837—the year Queen Victoria ascended to the throne, and shortly after the birth of the great Mark Twain, whose love of whisky was such that he was moved to say:

“Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whiskey is barely enough.”

I have heard several people question how we can call for a further cut in spirit duty while at the same time campaigning in Scotland for a minimum unit price on alcohol. Let me say immediately that those are not contradictory positions. The adoption of a minimum unit price was never intended to affect sensible, moderate drinkers, and it would have no impact whatever on the production, consumption or export of Scotch whisky. Minimum unit pricing is designed to impact on the most harmful drinkers and is targeted at own-brand spirits and ciders that are high in alcohol but usually very cheap at the point of sale.

In the past few years, we have seen a signal to investors that Scotch whisky is a solid and sound investment. It is an investment that creates jobs and prosperity. The industry already supports directly and indirectly more than 40,000 jobs, many of which are highly skilled, across the United Kingdom. Included in that figure are 7,500 jobs in rural communities, where it is often very difficult to find alternative employment. A classic example of that is the new Isle of Harris distillery, which opened last year with the aim of producing 300,000 bottles of single malt a year. That one distillery has created 25 new jobs in the town of Tarbert, which has a population of barely 1,000 souls. That is an oft-repeated story across the highlands and islands of Scotland, where whisky distillation and high-skilled local employment have gone hand in hand for centuries.

As I said at the outset, in my opinion—and as chair of the all-party group on Scotch whisky, I suggest that that opinion is not to be taken lightly—the finest whiskies in the world come from Argyll and Bute, although I fear that my right hon. Friend the Member for Moray (Angus Robertson) and my hon. Friends the Members for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford) and for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Drew Hendry) may be of a different opinion. On our whisky coast in Argyll, we have 14 distilleries producing some of the most famous brands in the world. We have Bowmore, Ardbeg, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Kilchoman, Isle of Jura, Glengyle, Springbank, Glen Scotia, Tobermory and Oban—and if you can still reel those names off after a good night, perhaps the night was not as good as you thought it was. As well as producing great whisky and creating employment, those distilleries attract tourists to the area in their tens of thousands. Indeed, visits to distilleries have rocketed in recent years; I saw a figure suggesting that one in every five visitors to Scotland visits a distillery.

[Stuart Blair Donaldson (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (SNP)]

I thank my hon. Friend very much for securing this debate. Will he join me in welcoming the fact that Royal Lochnagar distillery in my constituency —the home of the first distillery tour, for Prince Albert and Queen Victoria—has almost doubled its visitor numbers since 2008, with 16,384 visitors visiting in 2015?

[Brendan O'Hara]

I absolutely join my hon. Friend in welcoming that, and that statistic is replicated across the country. Islay, for example, which has a population of just 3,000, has eight working distilleries with two more currently under construction. In 2014, Islay had 125,000 visitors to its distilleries—that is 41 visitors for every permanent resident on the island. The importance of tourism, and whisky tourism, cannot be overstated, and if hon. Members have not holidayed in Argyll and Bute, I suggest that they put it on their bucket list immediately.

I used to think the sky was the limit for our Scotch whisky industry, but it appears that I was wrong. It seems that there are absolutely no limits on what our industry can achieve, as I recently discovered, when I was told that a quantity of Ardbeg was sent into outer space to the international space station—for research purposes, I believe. Who would have believed that Argyll and Bute would be exporting liquid sunshine into outer space? Indeed, if that is not an argument for awarding the UK space station to Machrihanish, I do not know what is.

[Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab)]

My intervention is not specifically on that point. Sadly, I say as a Welshman that there is no whisky industry in my constituency, but there is one not very far away, and it produces wonderful Welsh whisky—one day perhaps there will be competition. My point, however, is that not only is Scotch whisky tremendously important to Members’ constituencies and Scotland as a whole, but to the United Kingdom. Given that the Scotch whisky industry is worth some £3.3 billion directly and £1.7 billion indirectly to the UK economy, does the hon. Gentleman agree that it is important not only locally in Scotland, but to Wales and the United Kingdom?

--- Later in debate ---

[Brendan O'Hara]

I could not agree more with the hon. Gentleman—my honourable Welsh friend—about the importance of the Scotch whisky industry. For all these islands, it is absolutely vital and I am delighted that the Government have shown a commitment to creating a more level playing field than there has been in the past.

The Scotch whisky industry is not just one of Scotland’s oldest, most iconic and most culturally significant industries, but one of our largest and most successful. As I said, it contributes massively to the UK balance of payments, supports 40,000-plus jobs and pays out £1.5 billion in salaries. Exports are up, domestic sales are up and investor confidence is at an all-time high. There is a golden future for Scotch whisky, and I urge the Government to keep faith with that industry and allow it to build on recent successes by applying a further cut to spirit duty in next week’s Budget. Together, we can boost the industry and the wider economy for the benefit of us all.

[Mrs Madeleine Moon (in the Chair)]

Before I call Andrew Percy, I will just say that there is a lot of interest in this debate; I have eight people down to speak and I can see a lot of people who will want to make interventions. I suggest that speakers take five minutes maximum each, if all are to get in, which will include the time that hon. Members give for interventions.

--- Later in debate ---

[Brendan O'Hara]

Thank you, Mrs Moon, for your excellent chairing.

In the moments that are left to me, I thank the Minister for his reply. Without putting any pressure on him, I hope and feel that we have in him a real champion for the Scotch whisky industry, which does so much for the economy.

As I said earlier, Scotch whisky is liquid sunshine, so let us not put a cloud unnecessarily in front of that sun, and let us also push the Chancellor for a cut in duty on whisky in next week’s Budget.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the contribution of the Scotch whisky industry to the UK economy.

Equitable Life

Brendan O'Hara Excerpts

Thursday 11th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Ian Blackford (Ross, Skye and Lochaber) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to sum up the debate. I warmly thank the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) and those who signed the motion. As has been pointed out, the wide-ranging all-party parliamentary group has 195 members from all parties, which demonstrates the interest hon. Members take in this matter. It was also said in the debate that, in each of our constituencies, there are around about 2,000 Equitable Life policyholders, which shows the scale of the problem we face and why we must take the matter seriously. I am delighted that we are having this debate today.

The hon. Gentleman talked about the outrageous scandal, which is exactly the point. He went on to talk about the perceptions of market risk—markets going up and down—and the promises that were given to Equitable Life policyholders. However, in the main, we are not only talking about promises, because Equitable Life gave guarantees to its policyholders. We ought to reflect on that point, particularly in the light of what he said in the debate about who knew within the company, the regulator and the Government. Ultimately, the Government must stand behind the regulator when there is market failure of the degree that took place with Equitable Life. That is their responsibility.

The hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Huw Merriman) spoke at the tail-end of the debate. I say to him that everybody understands that all parties want a balanced budget, but we also have a moral and ethical responsibility to protect the consumer interest. That is what we are talking about today. I ask the Minister to reflect on what was said by the hon. Member for Harrow East and others on looking for those who have pre-1992 annuities and considering what can be done for them.

Two broad themes have been mentioned time and again in the debate: fairness, which was mentioned by the hon. Members for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Gordon Henderson) and for North Devon (Peter Heaton-Jones); and regulatory failure, which goes back to the Government’s ultimate responsibility, and which was mentioned by the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Antoinette Sandbach).

The hon. Member for Romsey and Southampton North (Caroline Nokes) made the point about the 2,000 members and the fact that all hon. Members are still getting letters from constituents. Many of my SNP colleagues have had them in the past few weeks.

One of the most important points was made by my hon. Friend the Member for Angus (Mike Weir) and others. We must have confidence in the financial markets. If we are not going to stand behind the policyholders in this case, that undermines the savings culture that we want. We want people to invest in pensions and know that there is consumer confidence problem. We must tackle that.

I want to put this debate in the context of the good debate we had just a couple of weeks ago on the Financial Conduct Authority. One much-discussed theme was the importance of consumer protection and trust. On the back of scandals such as those involving Equitable Life policyholders, it is clear that many consumers are concerned about whether they can trust the providers of financial services products, whether they can trust the regulatory regime to protect them, and whether the Government will discharge their obligations to protect the consumer interest. The significance of that cannot be overstated.

[Brendan O’Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)]

Given that the regulator was there to protect consumers and that the Government were standing behind the regulator, does my hon. Friend agree that, when that regulator failed to protect the consumer, the Government had a moral obligation to step in and protect policyholders?

[Ian Blackford]

I strongly agree. I can hear my hon. Friend the Member for East Lothian (George Kerevan) commenting in the background—he made that same point in the debate, as did the hon. Member for Reigate (Crispin Blunt). There is unity in the House on wanting a savings culture. We want people to retire with decent pensionable income, but we will create that confidence only if we show that we are prepared to stand behind the Equitable Life consumers. They were let down by the company and the regulator, and the Government have that moral and ethical responsibility to step in. That should not be underestimated.

Tax Credits

Brendan O'Hara Excerpts

Thursday 29th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)]

It is not normally my business to welcome Conservative contributions in the House, but I have to acknowledge and welcome the contributions from the hon. Members for Stevenage (Stephen McPartland), for Aberconwy (Guto Bebb) and for Tiverton and Honiton (Neil Parish). It goes without saying that SNP Members agreed with almost everything they said. They were brave and very welcome contributions—perhaps more welcome on the Opposition Benches than the Treasury Bench. That will probably be the only time I welcome Conservative contributions in this Parliament.

I am sorry that the SNP amendment was not selected, but I am still grateful to have this further opportunity to set out the SNP’s opposition to the cuts. I will devote a large part of my speech to addressing the proposals put forward by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Frank Field). We have much to agree on. His proposals are marginally better than the Chancellor’s, but they do not protect all low-income households from the Chancellor’s ideological wrecking ball that he is taking to social security. I am glad the right hon. Member for Birkenhead said he was proposing his measures speculatively. I hope that we will see greater consistency from the official Opposition in challenging the Tory tax credit cuts. I think that we can do much better.

We formed a strong and united opposition on Tuesday because we spoke with one voice against these cuts. Since Monday, however, we have had three different positions from the Labour party on tax credits. First, there was a push for a delay in the other place on Monday night, with opposition to scrapping the cuts outright. Secondly, to the credit of Labour Members, they joined the SNP in completely opposing the changes on Tuesday. Today we are presented with a watered-down opposition, which would still remove a significant amount of money from low-income households.

[Brendan O'Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that, in 2015, making families rely on an unelected Chamber to protect their tax credits from this Government is a ridiculous position to be in? Does he further agree that the interests of Scotland’s low-paid would be far better served if all welfare were devolved to the Scottish Parliament immediately?

[Neil Gray]

It goes without saying that I agree with and welcome my hon. Friend’s intervention.

Under the plan of the right hon. Member for Birkenhead, every household earning more than £13,100 would continue to lose out—and in a more brutal fashion than under the Chancellor’s plan. The House of Commons Library briefing highlights that under the right hon. Gentleman’s plan, a full-time single-earner household with two children and an income of £16,000 would still lose out by £700 annually. The level at which tax credits would be removed thereafter is 65p in the pound. We are still going to see the budget balanced on the backs of low-income households.

--- Later in debate ---

[Richard Arkless (Dumfries and Galloway) (SNP)]

I welcome the Chancellor’s announcement that he made on Tuesday to bring measures forward to mitigate the changes to tax credits. I suppose the question on all our lips is how far his inclination to mitigate will stretch—will he mitigate for some or all? My message to the Chancellor is very clear: changes must be offset in full; tax credits should be tapered so that people do not lose out; the changes should be phased in; and the so-called package of changes must increase incomes at the same rate as tax credits are tapered off.

It is easy to admit that I have some sympathy with the principle. I think every sensible Member would agree that work should pay—of course it should. I would much prefer it if the cost of subsidising poor wages were borne by business. In an ideal world, the Government would not need to prop up wages, but we do not live in that ideal world at the present moment. The economy is not in that position. The Government had intended to put the cart firmly before the horse.

As a cynic, I do not believe that the Chancellor’s statement had compassion at its heart. For me, it was driven by fear—fear of losing power in the phoney constitutional war now started with the other place.

[Brendan O'Hara]

I agree with my hon. Friend that the second Chamber has forced the Chancellor’s hand, but does he agree with me that its intervention does not legitimise the constitutional absurdity of an unelected, unaccountable and ever-growing legislature at the end of the corridor?

[Richard Arkless]

Members will not be surprised to learn that I agree completely with my hon. Friend’s statement. The fact that the other place has seen sense on one particular issue does not legitimise the mess, in my view, that the other place represents. The Chancellor’s statement the other day was predicated as much on the fact that the other place was an unelected Chamber that had stuck its nose into financial matters as on anything else. If anything, that corroborates our view that the other place should go.

Our urge to change these proposals comes from compassion: from putting ourselves back in the shoes in which many of us walked not so long ago; from figuring out what ordinary people in our constituencies would lose; and from finding that completely and utterly unacceptable. We were elected to this place to protect vulnerable people, not to punish them.

I was going to use this time to talk about some of my constituents in detail, and to explain precisely how the tax credit changes could destroy their lives. I was going to tell the House about Katy and her son Olly, and I will tell the House a little bit about them. They will lose more than £100 a month from a budget that is already impossibly tight. That could mean that Katy and Olly may no longer be able to go on mountain bike trips at weekends. Katy tells me that she will move from fresh to frozen food. Katy has no support network for Olly. She has no choice but to work part time. Her sister Nikki recently passed away, and when Olly is not at school, she must be available to be with him. She already works all the hours that are available to her. She has absolutely nowhere to go with this.

I was going to tell the House about Jenny, who is a self-employed child minder. Her partner is also self-employed. They will lose about £130 a month. Jenny worries that her customers who are receiving tax credits will no longer be able to use her service. She told me that she literally lies awake at night wondering what this place is going to do to destroy her life.

I was going to tell the House more about Jenny and Katy, and about some others, but then I realised that those stories would only have an impact if they were listened to by Conservative Members who displayed some compassion. It is true that most of the speeches that we have heard today have moved into the realms of compassion, and I welcome that, but it is the compassion of the 300 Conservative Members who are not present that really concerns me.

Instead of considering how the cuts will affect Katy and Jenny, perhaps Conservative Members should consider how the cuts will affect them, as Members of Parliament. What have they to fear? One of the first changes that they may notice—and all us of may notice them in our constituencies—is that our high streets start to struggle even more than they are now. High streets are already struggling in my constituency, and the removal of £4.4 billion from people’s pockets—these are not internet bargain hunters; they are people who shop in our high streets—will compound an already precarious situation. If we remove the disposable income from the very people who shop in our high streets, the failure of small businesses will inevitably follow. We must prepare for more charity shops.

Members may begin to notice that the police in their local areas are busier than they used to be, and they may wonder why the number of instances of crime has increased. It will be because desperate people—young people with no hope; people who have been disfranchised from their communities and the Government—often turn to crime. If we can mitigate these changes in full, it may well be cost-effective.

Over the course of the next Parliament, Members may notice that the performance of their local schools is beginning to drop. They may see those schools falling down the league tables, and they may wonder why that is happening. It will be happening because hungry children do not learn well. Katy is beginning to worry about Olly’s education because of the proposed cuts.

Inevitably, the food budget will be the first thing that struggling families will cut, and that will have an immediate impact on the educational achievements of children in all our constituencies. How many Conservative Members—how many absent Conservative Members—enjoy dining out? Quite a few, I suspect. It is nice to have a range of different restaurants to choose from. Well, they should enjoy those restaurants while they can, because they, too, will be under threat.

The hospitality industry, in which I was brought up—in a rural area—depends entirely on a thriving local economy to sustain it. Many of the people whom we welcome to Dumfries and Galloway when they go there on holiday are people from the rest of the United Kingdom who cannot afford to go abroad: people who are receiving tax credits. The holiday will be one of the first culls from the annual budget.

Do I need to continue? Make no mistake: these tax credit cuts will have an impact on the absent Tory MPs as well. If the Government cannot mitigate the cuts in full, they will be responsible for the demise of all our communities. Those in Tory constituencies will not thank them, and I doubt that they will re-elect them. I look forward to hearing how the Government will mitigate, in full, the wide and far-reaching effects of these unnecessary and wholly ideological cuts.