Blair McDougall MP: speeches

Speeches

• 25 Feb 2026 · Post Office Green Paper · Hansard source

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  I was going to make a cruel joke about the right hon. Member remembering the opening of that post office, but I am too fond of him to do that. He pays tribute to it, and I would gladly visit, perhaps on the way back to my constituency from Parliament one weekend. I have relatives in his part of the world, so perhaps I can double up on my reasons to visit. As I have mentioned, we absolutely understand the centrality of banking services to the sustainability of the Post Office. We had that roundtable, and even though the banking framework has just been renewed, we have already started conversations on this. Ultimately, those will be conversations between two commercial entities, but we are facilitating them, because we recognise their importance.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Postal Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  I will come to my discussions with Royal Mail shortly. I know that the right hon. Member and I are due to discuss this issue face to face in a few days’ time. I share the deep frustration that has been voiced today and agree that Royal Mail has not just a legal obligation, but an obligation and a responsibility in our democracy. There are special measures in place around postal votes. Royal Mail has traditionally taken on additional staff and done sweeps of post boxes during elections, and we would absolutely insist and expect that that happens in the elections that the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale raised. I met Royal Mail’s chief executive and senior management yesterday, specifically to raise concerns that Members across the House have shared with me in recent weeks. Royal Mail knows that it has not always delivered, and I was given an absolute commitment that it will work to deliver the best possible service to customers, while accepting that there have been service challenges. The hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden), my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish), the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan), the right hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mark Pritchard), my hon. Friend the Member for Southend East and Rochford (Mr Alaba) and the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) all mentioned concerns about NHS appointment letters not getting through. That is a particular issue that I am pursuing in conjunction with colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care, because there is an ability to make sure that those get through. I know that South Shropshire suffered widespread disruption in early January after storms, and as a result there were times when the rotation of mail processes could not be followed and deliveries were affected. The hon. Member for South Shropshire engaged with Royal Mail, and it told me that it welcomes such engagement; it thinks that it is important for hon. Members to continue to engage with it. I know that hundreds of hon. Members will have visited their local sorting offices over Christmas. I will personally ensure that every single issue that has been raised by hon. Members here today is communicated back to Royal Mail at a senior level, because customers, particularly those in rural areas, must see visible and sustained improvements in reliability, timeliness and delivery office performance. The discussions that we have had today will inform every engagement I have with Royal Mail. As I have said, yesterday I made it clear that people not getting their mail is simply not good enough.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Postal Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I congratulate the hon. Member for South Shropshire (Stuart Anderson) on securing the debate and on making such a passionate case on behalf of his constituents. As the Minister with responsibility for postal services, I was interested to hear him talk about how that dates back to the time of Henry VIII—a political figure who was hated in Scotland, who was dangerously overweight and who had trouble with his wife, so postal services are in much different and safer hands today. As so many Members have said, postal services in rural areas and, for that matter, across the country are not simply an administrative matter. If it was simply a case of a bank statement coming late, few of us would be so passionate about it. The hon. Member for Horsham (John Milne) set out how devastating the consequences of the postal service not working can be. Postal services are a lifeline, a point of connection and a cornerstone of communities. I know from my relatives in highland areas in Scotland just how essential that connection is—to reassure the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone), I will raise the issue of his wife’s missing dress and the diesel lorry with Royal Mail—and that is as true in the south of Scotland and rural areas as it is all over the United Kingdom. I say to the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell) that I am sorry that his grandson’s card did not arrive, and perhaps I can put a belated happy birthday in Hansard for him to in some way make up for that. All our constituents place immense value on reliable postal deliveries, accessible post offices and the assurance that even the most remote households remain firmly connected to the rest of the country. I pay tribute, as others have, to the posties and the postmasters and postmistresses across the UK who serve their communities well over and above the level of compensation that they get. My hon. Friend the Member for Corby and East Northamptonshire (Lee Barron) put it best in reminding us that whatever criticisms and complaints hon. Members have, they are in no way directed at those extraordinary staff members who work so hard.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Postal Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  As I mentioned a moment ago, when Royal Mail was taken over, the deed included all sorts of assurances about making sure that the owners cannot take value out of the company until they improve service. Their financial interests are deeply tied to the service that our constituents receive. Turning briefly to the rural post office network, we currently have a network of 11,500 post office branches around the country and most people live within 3 miles of one. However, as Members have pointed out, those averages do not paint the full picture. The Government have invested significantly in the post office network precisely because it provides essential services. Although it is publicly owned, Post Office operates as a commercial business with its own board of directors. It must have the commercial freedom to deliver the branch network within the parameters that we set. Several Members raised concerns about the Green Paper process and whether we would continue with the current level of service. Our starting assumption was that we would, but we thought it was right to have a debate given how long it has been since we had that conversation. Just finally, we absolutely recognise the importance of banking services and the Post Office, which the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney) spoke about. That is why I and the Economic Secretary to the Treasury held a roundtable last month to talk about continuing that relationship.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Postal Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member makes a really important point. Being a postie is a good job and we need to make sure that it is an attractive job. I will come to my discussions with Royal Mail on those and other matters shortly. Others have mentioned the broader technological changes in society that have reshaped how people live and work and created challenges for Royal Mail and the Post Office. It is important to remember that these institutions create a sense of continuity in a time of change. We are committed to the universal postal service—the guarantee that letters and parcels will be delivered at a uniform price to every address, however remote.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Postal Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member makes a really important point about staff retention. Obviously, management and the workforce are working on implementing not only reforms but the pay deal. Hopefully, that will play an important role in helping to tackle what he has just spoken about. In addition to my discussions with Royal Mail, I have had detailed discussions with Ofcom, which has an essential role in improving standards. As the hon. Member for Strangford has just pointed out, Ofcom has told Royal Mail that it must publish a credible improvement plan that delivers significant and continuous improvement, and made it clear that, without such a plan, it is likely that fines will continue to be imposed. The hon. Member for South Shropshire mentioned the context for this debate, which is the change in consumer behaviour and communication. The average household now receives only four letters per week, down from 14, yet the number of addresses in the country has risen by 4 million. To protect the USO for the long term, Ofcom has introduced reforms that are projected to deliver up to £450 million in annual savings, helping to get Royal Mail on to a more financially sustainable basis. We now need Royal Mail to work with its workforce and unions to deliver the service that we all expect. Several hon. Members raised concerns about now slightly notorious parcel providers other than Royal Mail. Ministers and Ofcom have made it clear that the way they are operating is not good enough and that they are on notice.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Postal Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  I will come to that point on other parcel delivery providers shortly. Before the takeover of Royal Mail, we secured commitments from its new owners, EP Group. In addition to retaining a golden share in Royal Mail, we secured a commitment to prevent further value from being taken out of it until the quality of service improves.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Business Operating Costs · Hansard source

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  The Government are working hard to reduce operating costs for all UK businesses, including those in Chichester. We are working to reduce the annual administrative burden of regulation by £5.6 billion by 2029, enabling businesses to unlock growth and boost innovation across key sectors. We are introducing the most significant legislation to tackle late payments in over 25 years, providing a support package worth more than £4 billion over the next three years to help business rate payers and fully funding apprenticeship training costs for all eligible 16 to 24-year-olds.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Business Operating Costs · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is right to highlight the Government’s commitment to tackling inadequacies in the way rates are calculated, and that is exactly what my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury spoke about from the Dispatch Box the other day. Beyond the rates issue, we are protecting high street businesses from upward-only rental review clauses, and we are introducing a community right to buy so that people can take ownership of valued community assets on the high street. We also have rental options for empty properties on the high street and action on bogus businesses, as the Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade, my hon. Friend the Member for Halifax (Kate Dearden), mentioned. We are doing a great deal to help the businesses the hon. Member described.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Economic Growth: Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  The Government are committed to supporting growth in coastal areas such as Bournemouth West. The partnership between Business Growth Dorset and the new business growth service makes it easier for firms to access tailored support. The Department for Business and Trade is also strengthening the conditions for investment and helping high-value sectors such as advanced engineering, aerospace and digital industries to expand. Through national programmes supporting investment, exports and innovation, alongside Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council’s economic strategy, we will ensure that Bournemouth’s businesses benefit fully from UK-wide measures to boost economic growth.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Economic Growth: Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  I had a fantastic family holiday in Northern Ireland, driven by my son’s obsession with the Titanic—I had a very moving visit there. I have met my opposite number with responsibility for small businesses in Northern Ireland, and I am happy to have the discussion that the hon. Member suggests.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Economic Growth: Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  I am due to come to my hon. Friend’s constituency in little over a month—I do like to be beside the seaside. We often think of constituencies like hers as tourism and hospitality hotspots, but, as she said, they can also be a hive for the creative industries, of which she is such a champion. Through the £380 million creative industries sector plan, we are boosting innovation, skills and access to finance nationwide, which is helping firms, including in her constituency. She will know that businesses in her area also benefit from such a strong talent pipeline coming from her area’s great universities, and I look forward to working with her and learning more when I visit soon.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Modern Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  Yes, I can assure my hon. Friend of that. The industrial strategy recognises the great strengths of the north-east, for which he is such a strong champion. As part of the North East combined authority, County Durham is benefiting from targeted measures, including at least £30 million from the local innovation partnerships fund and the pilot to develop a resilient electric vehicle supply chain. This will support locally critical components and capabilities backed by DRIVE35. We will shortly set out further detail on our northern growth strategy, building on the commitment to invest up to £45 billion in Northern Powerhouse Rail.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Modern Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is such a powerful advocate for the industrial strengths of her part of the world, and it is on exactly those strengths that our industrial strategy is working to drive up business investment to create the high-quality jobs that will improve living standards and deliver better public services for everyone. The Government’s northern growth strategy aims to increase the potential of the northern growth corridor to catalyse growth in sectors such as those she describes, and I know we will continue to work with her to make sure her constituents get the most out of that.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Modern Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady is right to raise industry worries about the turbulent international trade environment. That is why it is so important that the Government are out in the world engaging—because businesses, including the one that she mentioned, need stability. I would be very happy to arrange that meeting with her.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Modern Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  We are focused on delivering our industrial strategy so that we are once again a nation that makes things, invents new industries and exports around the world. We are investing £100 billion in industries through the National Wealth Fund, directing £9 billion in research and innovation funding to key growth industries, and bringing forward a huge increase in support for exporters through UK Export Finance.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am very happy to do so. The right hon. Member will understand that Royal Mail is a private company regulated by Ofcom, but it is also a critical part of our national economic and social infrastructure. It is not acceptable if people are not getting their post, which is a message that I will deliver to Royal Mail in person next week.

• 8 Jan 2026 · Post Offices: Cheshire · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member for Chester South and Eddisbury (Aphra Brandreth) on securing the debate. In my previous role, she and I travelled the world with the Foreign Affairs Committee, so it is good to be dealing with matters that are closer to home. As she so eloquently argued, no matter is closer to home than the importance of post offices to local communities. I also thank the hon. Lady for giving me the opportunity, for the first time as the Minister responsible for postal services, to put on record at the Dispatch Box my disgust at the way postmasters were treated in the Horizon scandal. The reputations, livelihoods and lives lost as a result of that scandal shame the country, and it is my responsibility to ensure that postmasters get the redress, justice and recognition that they deserve. As the hon. Lady rightly argued, post offices are so valued by local communities, and not just because of their economic impact—they root local high streets, bring footfall to high streets and, as she said, in many places are the only shop in the village—but because they are essential community hubs.

• 8 Jan 2026 · Post Offices: Cheshire · Hansard source

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  On this matter, as on all matters in Macclesfield, my hon. Friend is a constant campaigner on behalf of his local community. I will absolutely raise that branch with Post Office management. The hon. Member for Chester South and Eddisbury mentioned Sandra and Tony, the local sub-postmasters in her area. In my community, I think of Nancy from Harvie Avenue post office in Newton Mearns. She plays a similar role—she not only serves people, but is the cornerstone of the local community. The network of 11,000 post office branches that the hon. Lady talked about makes it the largest retail network in the country, with an unrivalled reach into our cities, towns and villages, which is why it is so important to have this debate. As the Minister responsible for postal affairs, I am always happy to, and always do, raise issues with Post Office management on behalf of Members of the House. However, I know that the hon. Lady understands that although the Post Office is publicly owned, it operates as a commercial organisation aside from Government. That means it has the commercial freedom to deliver the branch network, but within the access criteria set by the Government, as she rightly pointed out. Those criteria are so important because they set the minimum level of service that should be provided to everyone across the country—for example, the requirement that 99% of the population live within three miles, and 95% of the total urban population within one mile, of their nearest postal service. The hon. Lady asked whether the Government will continue with those access criteria. It is some time since the Government have looked at those criteria, but we are doing so through the Green Paper and the responses to it. Our starting assumption was that we would maintain that number of post offices, with one eye on their importance to rural communities, which the hon. Lady rightly raised. However, as it has been so long since those access criteria were set, it is right that we take the time to ask whether they are still right for post offices, communities and postmasters. On post office provision within the hon. Lady’s constituency, 21 branches are operating in her area, serving thousands of customers each month and helping to support the local economy. She raised my Department’s research on the economic value of that across the country—some £5.2 billion in social value and about £1.3 billion for local SMEs—which is particularly felt in her constituency and others with large rural areas. Let me turn to Kelsall post office, which closed after the resignation of the operator, the Co-op. I completely understand the painful impact that a branch closure can have on a community. The fear that the service will never return can be disruptive. The hon. Lady comes from a small-business background herself, so she will know that, in a franchise model, there will be fluctuations, particularly in a network made up of so many small businesses and the commercial decisions behind them. I hope that the Post Office’s advertising campaign to find suitable alternative operators for that branch offers some reassurance to the hon. Lady and her constituents. The time it takes to reopen a branch varies depending on the individual circumstances, but at the end of that process the Government’s access criteria will ensure that, whatever form the network takes, services remain within reach of citizens. I hope that we can find a suitable operator for the Kelsall branch. The hon. Lady said that the Post Office, like any retailer, faces pressure from continually evolving consumer behaviour and all the other pressures that businesses face, and particularly small businesses. Although access to Government services in post offices is important to many customers, services are not utilised as much as they were in the past, and people are sending fewer letters through the post office network year on year. On the other hand, as she rightly said, cash and banking services have become so important to the Post Office. She asked for reassurance on that. I absolutely recognise how essential that part of the business is for the Post Office. I welcome the banking framework 4 agreement between the major banks and the Post Office, which has come into effect this year. It will mean that the Post Office will be able to increase the income that postmasters receive for delivering banking services, further recognising their important role on high streets. It is clear that the Post Office must continue to evolve and adapt to shifting needs and trends in local and national economies. That is why our Green Paper, which I mentioned a moment ago, seeks to open a dialogue on the future of the Post Office, from the services that it provides and how we can modernise and strengthen the network, to how we change the culture—particularly with regard to the legacy of the Horizon scandal—and the way in which the Post Office is managed. Thousands of individuals, postmasters and stakeholders have contributed to the consultation, and I thank them for doing so. We will publish our response in the coming weeks. The hon. Lady also mentioned Malpas post office. I congratulate her on her successful campaign. As she will know, cash services at that branch were reinstated in November. More generally, we remain completely committed to the future of the Post Office. We are providing £83 million in subsidies for the network this year, and half a billion pounds of investment over the next few years to help the Post Office transform so that it has a sustainable future and to ensure that postmasters are better remunerated, in addition to the subsidy I mentioned, which aims to keep particularly uncommercial and rural parts of the network open. That ambition will, I know, be supported by Members across the House who recognise how important post offices are in anchoring our local communities. Question put and agreed to.

• 11 Dec 2025 · Royal Mail: North-west · Hansard source

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  On this, as on all things, my hon. Friend is a strong voice for the problems faced by her local people. I know that she raised those concerns about local services and resourcing challenges, particularly in Middleton, with Royal Mail. I understand that Royal Mail has recruited 17 more staff in the past few weeks, and that the Middleton delivery office is now fully staffed. As I say, I am discussing such issues with Royal Mail, and it recognises the need to improve. Mr Speaker, on behalf of the whole House, I wish all our heroic posties a merry Christmas at this most difficult time of year for them.

• 11 Dec 2025 · Royal Mail: North-west · Hansard source

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  I have discussed Royal Mail’s performance with the chief executive of Royal Mail and its parent company, and they recognise the need to do more to meet service delivery targets. In addition, Ofcom fined Royal Mail £21 million for failing to meet its service targets, and told it to urgently publish and deliver a credible plan that delivers major and continual improvement.

• 11 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am happy to join the hon. Lady in pressing for that action. It is a running theme that when we in this place vote to introduce more support, the money goes through to the Scottish Government but is not passed on to grassroots communities around the country. The question that she asks is the same as that asked by constituents in my area: where has all that money gone?

• 11 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that issue, and I know that he is a constant campaigner for small businesses in his constituency. In addition to my answer a moment ago about the measures within the business strategy, it is important to note that this has to be a cross-Government effort, including tackling issues such as bogus businesses and retail crime that have such an impact on the character of our high streets, as well as the footfall that ultimately leads to profitability for those small businesses.

• 11 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady intervened on me to make a similar point in yesterday’s debate. She and her party knew that the transitional covid relief was coming to end and that revaluation was coming, because that had been agreed when the Conservatives were in Government. The difference with this Government is that we have put in more than £4 billion to cushion that transition. That shows our support for small businesses, versus them being thrown overboard by her party when they were in government.

• 11 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I, too, enjoyed small business Saturday; I got to return to Beveridge fishmongers in Giffnock in my constituency, where I used to work. According to Small Business Britain, the boost given by small business Saturday has been the biggest in six years, so there is real room for optimism for small businesses as we go into the new year. Through the small business strategy, increasing access to finance, cutting red tape and ensuring that we tackle late payments, we will support small businesses in my hon. Friend’s constituency and across the UK.