Oral Answers to Questions

Kirsty McNeill Excerpts

Wednesday 15th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Kirsteen Sullivan (Bathgate and Linlithgow) (Lab/Co-op)]

5. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues through the Pride in Place programme to support regeneration in Scotland.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Kirsty McNeill)]

Through our ambitious Pride in Place programme, we are empowering local people to shape the future of their neighbourhoods. The Pride in Place impact fund is investing £12 million across Scotland over two years, including £1.5 million in North Ayrshire. We will invest up to £480 million in 24 Scottish communities over the next decade, including £20 million each for the Irvine and Three Towns neighbourhoods in North Ayrshire, and for the Fauldhouse, Whitburn and Blackburn neighbourhood in West Lothian. This locally led funding can be used to directly support regeneration, high streets and heritage. Best of all, decisions will be made by local people—those who know and love the places the most.

[Irene Campbell]

I am pleased to say that after a huge amount of hard work was put into a Pride in Place application, investment has been successfully allocated to the three towns of Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston in my constituency. Does the Minister agree that the £20 million of UK Government Pride in Place funding will provide great opportunities for community projects that can improve our town centres and regenerate our shorefront areas?

[Kirsty McNeill]

Huge congratulations to my hon. Friend and her constituents. These three towns have tremendous untapped potential that has been long neglected and underutilised. Our coastal towns are a huge part of our identity on these islands, and I look forward to working with her to champion the pride that people rightly feel about living in this beautiful part of Ayrshire.

[Kirsteen Sullivan]

Years of under-investment and the loss of major employers have left Whitburn and Blackburn facing deep economic and health inequalities, weakened high streets and people generally feeling left behind, yet the strength of local organisations and businesses shows great ambition for renewal. With £20 million of Pride in Place funding from this Labour Government, local people are finally at the heart of decisions on local regeneration. How does the Minister see this programme rebuilding community cohesion and inclusion so that people feel valued and that their contribution matters?

[Kirsty McNeill]

The communities of Fauldhouse, Blackburn and Whitburn all face long-standing economic challenges, but as my hon. Friend rightly says, there is also so much pride and passion locally, and she is a great champion of that. Our Pride in Place programme is there to ensure that all local people have a stake and a say, and that they can work together for a future that is truly worthy of their ambitions for the places they love.

[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

Does the Minister share my disappointment that my constituency of Edinburgh West was the only one in Edinburgh that was not considered for a Pride in Place programme, including areas like Drylaw and Stenhouse which have particular problems that could have been helped by this programme?

[Kirsty McNeill]

The hon. Member and I have had a chance to discuss this matter previously and, as I have indicated, these are Labour priorities guided by Labour values. We have committed to targeting funding at the places that need it most, based on a double deprivation index, and I am afraid her constituency simply did not qualify.

[Alex Easton (North Down) (Ind)]

Does the Minister accept that if Pride in Place in Scotland is to mean anything, as with elsewhere in the UK, it must include targeted funding for high streets and town centres to bring long-term vacant premises back into productive use?

[Kirsty McNeill]

That is precisely one of the focuses of the Pride in Place programme. Our high streets have been neglected for far too long and are at the real heart of community pride. I am delighted that so many of the Pride in Place bids are focused on exactly that.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

3. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce energy prices for people in Scotland.

--- Later in debate ---

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

4. What steps the Government are taking with the National Institute for Health and Care Research to support cancer research in Scotland.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Kirsty McNeill)]

Tragically, cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in Scotland. I want Scots to benefit from the very best research. The National Institute for Health and Care Research works in partnership with the Scottish Government to support and enhance health and social care research across the UK, even though healthcare is devolved. Researchers in Scotland can now apply for funding, which has, for example, allowed the outstanding researchers at the University of Dundee to identify a newer, simpler type of mammogram that can reliably show how breast cancer responds to chemotherapy before surgery.

[Clive Jones]

Cancer Research UK’s manifesto for cancer research and care in Scotland recommends that the Government should increase

“strategic institutional research and innovation funding…investing in and supporting the delivery of a new Scottish Health and Biomedicine Institute (SHBI) to deliver new innovations that will benefit people and the economy in Scotland.”

What is the Minister doing to support that manifesto?

[Kirsty McNeill]

I commend my hon. Friend for his ongoing and dogged advocacy for this cause. As he will know, the UK Government are committed to ensuring a partnership approach between the health services of Scotland and the rest of the UK, and we are focused on ensuring that higher education, and other forms of innovation, are part of our work on cancer.