Torcuil Crichton
Main Page: Torcuil Crichton (Labour - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)Department Debates - View all Torcuil Crichton's debates with the Scotland Office
(2 days, 8 hours ago)
Commons ChamberThe Secretary of State and I are committed to supporting a flourishing broadcasting sector in Scotland and regularly meet its representatives. I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar was part of a recent engagement that the Scotland Office was delighted to co-host with MG Alba, where he spoke passionately about the importance of Gaelic broadcasting, and we share his commitment to it.
We islanders have always been international ambassadors, and I am delighted that some of the Lewis chess pieces are going to France—a little bit of Gaelic Scotland in President Macron’s pocket. Gaelic broadcasting also has a global reach: 1.8 million viewers watched “An t-Eilean”, MG Alba’s detective series. Gaelic is a big part of Brand Scotland. Requesting more money for broadcasting is a straightforward ask, but may I ask Ministers to think more imaginatively about growth deals? Can we see a Scotland-wide growth deal for Gaelic, for cultural heritage items such as the Lewis chess pieces and for childcare, so that we can grow the social infrastructure of Scotland as well as its physical infrastructure?
That is an interesting point. My hon. Friend has been advancing this case, and he is right: the whole objective of the growth deals is to enable people to live well in the places that they love. As he knows, the UK Government have delivered a historic spending review for Scotland, which includes ambitious plans for local growth to become the foundation of national renewal. The Scotland Office will continue to engage with him and with other Members on both sides of the House, and with Scottish local government, to ensure that local growth investment supports the change that Labour promised and the change that our communities want to see.