Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between James Murray and Euan Stainbank

Tuesday 8th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[James Murray]

Although my hon. Friend is right that fuel duty is one cost that families face, they also face a number of other costs, including through insurance. He is a formidable campaigner on a range of issues, so I would be happy to meet him to discuss this issue, or to ask my colleague, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Northampton North (Lucy Rigby), to do so, if she is better placed to respond.

[Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)]

I welcome the Government’s fuel duty freeze for working families, alongside the road tax holiday for hauliers and the diesel fuel duty cut. Fuel costs for businesses in my constituency, such as Northfield quarry near Dunipace, have nearly tripled due to the Iran war and the previous Government’s tightening of eligibility for red diesel. In the Budget, will the Chancellor consider extending fuel duty reductions for industries such as quarrying, which is essential for house construction and provides good local jobs for working families?

[James Murray]

I thank my hon. Friend for his request of the Chancellor at the Budget. As the Chancellor set out earlier, he will take those decisions at the Budget in the normal way, but my hon. Friend has made a powerful case for his constituents and used this opportunity to ensure that all of us on the Treasury Front-Bench team have heard what he has to say.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between James Murray and Euan Stainbank

Tuesday 9th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)]

9. What fiscal steps she is taking to support industry in the Forth valley.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (James Murray)]

As my hon. Friend will know, last year the Government signed a £100 million Falkirk and Grangemouth growth deal with the Scottish Government. At the Budget this year, we further recognised Grangemouth’s centuries of history as a key UK industrial site by announcing additional investment of up to £14.5 million to support industrial projects that can create jobs. Alongside that, the National Wealth Fund is ready to invest £200 million alongside the private sector to help unlock Grangemouth’s full potential and secure our clean energy future.

[Euan Stainbank]

I welcome the additional £14 million-plus to get new industry delivered quickly in Grangemouth and the £25 million to finalise the freeport in the Budget two weeks ago. Forth Valley college is vital to giving local working-class kids the skills they need to grasp the new opportunities that must come to Grangemouth, but it has been failed by the SNP Scottish Government’s staggering 20% cut to colleges since 2021. The Alloa campus now faces closure. Will the Minister consider stepping in with direct skills support for this vital college?

[James Murray]

Education and skills policy, including the funding and operation of colleges, is fully devolved to the Scottish Government. That means that it is for Scottish Ministers to decide how to support Forth Valley college with the overall settlement. As my hon. Friend will know, the spending review provided the Scottish Government with their largest settlement in real terms since devolution in 1998, and the Budget provided an additional £820 million to Scotland through the Barnett formula. In the months ahead we will be campaigning to ensure that decisions about how to invest that funding in Scotland’s future will be taken by Anas Sarwar and a Scottish Labour Government.