Euan Stainbank MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 15 Jul 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q What effect has anticipation of the RCM and the corresponding timetable, which I imagine your companies are now working to, had on your ability to make a final investment decision? Can you give us as much detail as possible about your current plans, spades in the ground and such? Noaman Al Adhami: Our project is a £2 billion investment. We need the RCM to be able to reach FID. We already have lenders on board, and that is the requirement they have asked us to secure before reaching FID. Our project was part of the windows of the advanced fuels fund. The original plan was to start construction by 2025—this year. We were planning all our development activities to be ready to start construction this year. Unfortunately, that is now not possible, because the RCM is now pushed to the end of 2026. Yes, immediately after I sign the contract—the day after—I will start constructing the site and reach FID. I will technically be ready by the end of this year. I am finishing FEED. We have invested more than £70 million in this project so far and we will finish FEED by the end of this year, so technically I am ready to start construction after the end of this year. If there are delays, we are worried. We are broadly very supportive of the Bill; our issue is timing. If I do not get the RCM by the end of 2026, then the project will be delayed, and then I will not be able to produce SAF as planned starting from the end of 2029, and then provide the market with the SAF quantities by 2030, when it is required, as per the mandate. The second-generation SAF is required in 2030. I will not be able to do that if there are delays. Sophia Haywood : We are currently in the FEED phase, which is front-end engineering and design—we are really good at acronyms in this space. Basically, what that means is that we are looking at the facility specific to the site and designing everything up with the site. It is a really important stage, before we then go to a final investment decision. We are expected to go to a final investment decision next year. That is what we came out publicly and said. Any policy uncertainty in this space, even if it is for a good thing, creates questions, but at the moment we are still working towards that timeframe. One of the things we are hearing at the moment on access to finance is a lot of positivity towards when you get to that final investment decision space. But again, who knows the full impact that this will have on the broader markets in the financial space as well? All eyes are on the UK; they have been, first with the SAF mandate, and now with the RCM. Also in Europe, there is a lot of looking to what the UK is doing. This is undoubtedly going to have an impact, but in all honesty it is very difficult to say right now what that impact could be until more details are available. From our perspective, the development of the scheme as swiftly as possible and, as Jonathon Counsell said, the competitivity within that, is important. It is about as much swiftness as possible. We are very supportive at the moment of what is happening.

• 10 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Earlier this year, the Government published their national procurement policy statement. Given that economic growth is this Government’s No. 1 mission, will the Minister update the House on how the new approach to procurement will ensure we deliver economic growth in every corner of this country, especially in the central belt, Forth valley and Falkirk?

• 3 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Yesterday, three organisations were proscribed. Two were neo-Nazi and ethnonationalist groups, and the other was Palestine Action—an organisation with unacceptable and often criminal tactics. This House was given a binary choice of voting for or against proscribing all three groups, although many hold substantial concerns about the proportionality of proscribing Palestine Action. Will the Leader of the House clarify what can be done when motions to approve statutory instruments insufficiently capture the views of Members?

• 3 Jul 2025 · Women’s State Pension Age: Financial Redress · Hansard source

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  First, I thank the many women across Falkirk who have taken the time to campaign on this issue, and to discuss the injustice done to women affected by state pension age changes and the lack of notification about those changes. I am here on their behalf. Both the ombudsman and the Secretary of State in her statement back in December were clear that there is an injustice in the way that women impacted by state pension age changes were notified. I invited WASPI women in Falkirk to meet me in December after the Secretary of State’s statement, and what I took from that meeting is that if we in this place believed that there was no injustice, compensation would never have been paid, regardless of fiscal circumstances. If we recognise that there has been an injustice—as the Secretary of State and the ombudsman do—we are justified in expecting that we will deliver, in some form, the redress recommended in the ombudsman’s findings. On behalf of the WASPI women in Falkirk who raised and continue to raise these questions with me, I will use this opportunity to ask again some of the questions I have previously raised with the Minister. I would welcome him addressing them when he sums up. Why can the Government choose when to implement ombudsman recommendations, and when not to? Is the 90% awareness figure used by the Government derived from a study specific to women who have been impacted by the pension age changes, and is the decision based on cost or genuine disagreement with the findings of the ombudsman?

• 1 Jul 2025 · Transport Infrastructure Funding · Hansard source

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  22. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of planned increases in funding for transport infrastructure on economic growth.

• 1 Jul 2025 · Transport Infrastructure Funding · Hansard source

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  I declare an interest as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on British buses. Our £15.6 billion commitment to regional transport through the spending review should be good news for bus manufacturing. However, Alexander Dennis’s ongoing consultation threatens 400 jobs in Falkirk, putting another major employer at risk just after the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery. The Scottish National party’s ScotZEB 2 scheme famously failed to invest in Scotland. Where things are built and by who matters, so will the Chancellor act to guarantee that our investment in transport is of maximum benefit to Scottish vehicle manufacturers?

• 30 Jun 2025 · Armed Forces Family Housing · Hansard source

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  13. What steps he is taking to improve housing for armed forces families.

• 30 Jun 2025 · Armed Forces Family Housing · Hansard source

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  This Saturday, hundreds will join to mark Falkirk Armed Forces Day in Callendar Park, belatedly. Many of those who are currently serving and veterans in Scotland rely on the activities of charitable organisations such as the Ancre Somme Association, which is hosting the event, and Veterans Housing Scotland, which provides affordable housing for those who have served. Do the Government have any plans to supplement the essential and welcome £1.5 billion additional investment for service housing with additional support for registered charitable organisations that are working tirelessly to safely house veterans?

• 26 Jun 2025 · Bus Manufacturing · Hansard source

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  16. What steps she is taking to support the bus manufacturing sector.

• 26 Jun 2025 · Bus Manufacturing · Hansard source

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  I declare an interest as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for British buses. As the Minister has outlined, this Labour Government will double real-terms transport spending in city regions by the end of this Parliament. While this should be very good news for bus manufacturing in this country, Alexander Dennis—in my constituency and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Alloa and Grangemouth (Brian Leishman)—is, in a contradictory move, seeking to end more than a century of bus manufacturing in Scotland and put 400 workers in Falkirk out of their jobs. What actions will the Secretary of State and Ministers, in conjunction with Cabinet colleagues and the Scottish Government, take to maintain strategically necessary bus manufacturing in Falkirk?

• 26 Jun 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Sadeq Nikzad has been convicted of a horrifying sexual assault in Falkirk in October 2023. Shamefully, Mr Nikzad continues to maintain that he has done nothing wrong; during sentencing, his lawyer claimed that this was due to cultural differences. To be clear, no one from any culture or background in our community believes that his actions were anything other than disgusting and criminal. Will the Leader of the House clarify that, once it is in force, clause 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill will ensure that those who commit such serious offences will be unable to claim refugee status in our country ever again?

• 19 Jun 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Sam is a trans man who has been out for eight years. He recently told me about his long-term avoidance of public bathrooms, and due to his lowly place on the gender recognition certificate waiting list, Sam could not marry his fiancée before her father passed away last year. We committed in the Labour manifesto last year to removing indignities for trans people by modernising the law. When do the Government intend to legislate to that effect?

• 12 Jun 2025 · Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate. It is important to acknowledge quality of life with this drug, but we also have to acknowledge that many people with Duchenne are living with 24/7 care needs, including my constituent, Dylan Phillips, who lives at the excellent care home in Glenbervie. Does my hon. Friend agree that those living with Duchenne in Scotland should be protected as they would be in England under continuing healthcare schemes, rather than having to bear the cost of their social care and living on only £35.90 a week with universal credit and adult disability payment, as they do not qualify for continuing healthcare in Scotland?

• 11 Jun 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill · Hansard source

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  I welcome this tremendous legislation, which comes not a minute too soon after the previous Government self-admittedly sat on their hands. The Bill will enable the essential move to the production of British sustainable aviation fuel, and I put on the record my thanks to the ministerial team and officials for bringing the Bill forward and for their answers to my extensive written questions. Unless it is the will of the House to cry for the end of aviation as a practice, it is imperative that we back the sustainable use of biofuels, municipal waste, cover crops, ethanol, and even carbon dioxide straight out of the atmosphere, for aviation fuel. The mandate provides a modest progression for the aviation industry towards incorporating this fuel into its mix. We have genuinely world-leading research and development on Teesside, such as through Project Speedbird and Lighthouse Green Fuels. The green shoots of industry there must be supported by Government to enable their outcomes. Both airlines and airports recognise the environmental and economic imperative of building a domestic SAF market. They understand that relying on imports to meet the mandate increases costs and introduces risk to our energy security, aviation resilience and national competitiveness, and there is the geopolitical risk of exposing ourselves to a cheap Chinese market. We shamefully saw the previous Government be willing to do that, as exposed by the hundreds of jobs now on the line at Alexander Dennis in my constituency due to aggressive state-subsidised Chinese industrial practices capturing an incrementally increasing share of the British bus manufacturing market. It is also in no small part thanks to the SNP Government recently buying four times as many Chinese buses as buses from Scotland, but I digress. There is credible investment interest from traditional jet fuel producers and aviation operators, which have shown their willingness to put capital behind UK SAF projects. That investment is waiting for the RCM to be put in place, for private law contracts with manufacturers to be agreed, and for the industry to have complete certainty in investing in what is a nascent and uncertain technology. The Bill must pass through the House as quickly as possible. One of the places that cannot afford to wait for investment is Grangemouth. The closure of the Grangemouth refinery has marked the end of over a century of oil refining on Falkirk’s doorstep, and jobs in the wider supply chain are at risk daily due to the loss of the economic anchor that the refinery provided the community. Petroineos’ conversion of the refinery into an import terminal compounds the concerns within the community that we will be reliant on cheap Chinese imports instead of growing our own SAF. Grangemouth has the infrastructure, skills, logistics and the will to be a cornerstone of our domestic SAF industry and strategy in Scotland and across the United Kingdom, and it already has a commitment from the Government of £200 million from the national wealth fund. Organisations such as Scottish Enterprise and the team around Project Willow are already assessing investable proposals centred on SAF in Grangemouth. However, the dates for commencement of operations suggested in the report are still far too remote from the practical reality of workers who need to feed their kids and pay their mortgage. With strategic support and the wise and expedient deployment of the £200 million dedicated by this UK Labour Government to Grangemouth, I firmly believe that we can rapidly transition Grangemouth from aviation fuel to SAF, serving as a model of industrial renewal. There are implications for fuel security in Scotland, for jobs in my constituency and the cost of heating and industrial fuel across the country. We cannot allow this to become another missed opportunity. For Grangemouth to have a chance of succeeding, we need acceleration. With that in mind, I would like the Minister to answer the following questions. Considering that industry is raising concerns that we may have to wait up to nine months between the commencement of this legislation in quarter 4 of 2026 and the first private law contract being confirmed, what work can be done prior to the introduction of this legislation to bring the first of the contracts into effect as soon as humanly possible? How does the Bill intersect with Project Willow proposals for SAF at Grangemouth? Does the Minister understand the need to back and deliver that at pace? Would he like to touch on how the Project Willow report recommends delaying the HEFA cap? Does he consider the use of waste feedstocks for sustainable aviation fuel to be dirtier, cleaner or the same as waste incineration? What conversations has he had with colleagues at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regarding the waste hierarchy implications? In summary, we need the RCM rapidly, and we need to develop the industry at scale, and affordably. I hope that we can genuinely back British SAF, safeguard fuel security, protect skilled jobs and anchor the energy transition in communities such as Grangemouth, Teesside and all across the United Kingdom.

• 22 May 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  As hon. Friends in the Scottish parliamentary Labour party are sick of being reminded, it has been another distinctly fantastic season for football in Falkirk. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating everyone at Falkirk football club on securing back-to-back promotions and a return to premiership football for the first time in 15 years? Will she also congratulate them on the restoration of the youth academy and congratulate Steins Thistle in Allandale on becoming the first Falkirk-based club to win the Scottish amateur cup in over 100 years?

• 20 May 2025 · Clean Energy Transition: Spending Review · Hansard source

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  I welcome the £200 million commitment to Grangemouth and clean energy through the national wealth fund, and I also welcome the Department’s confirmation to me recently that that money will not be fettered exclusively to the Project Willow proposals. The need for investment is urgent, with jobs lost and the broader economic impacts impending. We need to move further and faster, so what conversations are Treasury Ministers having with their Cabinet colleagues to encourage them to act on the Project Willow policy recommendations and deliver investment in Grangemouth?

• 15 May 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T3. Project Willow supports the potential of sustainable aviation fuel to bring jobs to Grangemouth, if the right policies are in place such as flexibility on the cap on hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids, and expediency on the revenue certainty mechanism. What is the Department doing urgently to assess, integrate and implement the recommendations of Project Willow and to support accelerated investment at Grangemouth?

• 15 May 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  A constituent who worked in the banking sector all her life is now being told that, because of an abatement clause in her contract, she may receive 20% less of her pension than would otherwise reasonably be anticipated. Will the Leader of the House support my call for the Government to identify those affected by underhand pension clawbacks and support them in seeking due redress?

• 1 May 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Bagpipe music is undisputedly the finest instrumental music around. Earlier this month, the 37-strong Falkirk schools pipe band, accompanied by 30 dancers from the Denny high school’s dance academy, participated in the Tartan Day parade in New York, commendably representing Scotland and Falkirk district. Starting less than three years ago, they have quickly developed into the pride of the town and the district. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating these immense young people and the community, parents and educators who made their immense performance in New York earlier this month possible?

• 1 May 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  On the day of the Government’s necessary action to save British Steel, I sent the Secretary of State a letter requesting a meeting to discuss what further we need to do for Grangemouth, where hundreds of jobs have been lost this week when Petroineos decided to cease refining operations, and where thousands of further jobs are at risk. Will he commit to meeting me to discuss the urgent actions that we need to take to secure accelerated investment in Grangemouth’s industrial future?

• 29 Apr 2025 · Renewable Energy Sector: Job Creation · Hansard source

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  Yesterday was International Workers’ Memorial Day. At a service this weekend in Falkirk, a Grangemouth refinery worker rightly called for oil and gas workers’ skills not to be considered obsolete, but utterly essential for the just transition. What consideration have Ministers given to the urgent policy recommendations in Project Willow to provide accelerated investment in clean energy infrastructure and the jobs it promises for Grangemouth?

• 3 Apr 2025 · Waste Incinerators · Hansard source

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  I extend my thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Derby South (Baggy Shanker) for securing this debate and for all he has done today to represent his constituents. The concept of the waste hierarchy, while not new, remains as relevant as ever. As waste generation continues to increase and risk greater environmental impact, waste management needs to evolve accordingly. We need to prevent, reduce, reuse, recycle, recover and then—and only then—dispose. Sadly, we have seen too much stagnation in driving waste up this hierarchy. Cleaner technology than incineration is progressing rapidly, and many of the options presented in Project Willow last month for investment in Grangemouth involved novel waste management or bio-feedstock technologies. Those advancements could help to reduce the demand for incinerators in Scotland, so if anyone is interested in investing in the opportunities in Grangemouth, I urge them to get in contact with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. I served as a councillor for the Falkirk South ward, and I was the Labour group portfolio lead in climate and waste for two years. Waste management issues were at the forefront of my work there, including addressing concerns about waste disposal sites. It is clear to me that what happens to waste after collection is as critical to our constituents as how it is collected. In my Falkirk constituency, the principal landfill site is Avondale. It serves a nationwide need and is currently the only landfill site in Scotland capable of storing hazardous waste. However, the smell from the site can often be a persistent concern for my Polmont constituents. Although they are preferable to landfill, my view is that incinerators have served a purpose in allowing the transition away from landfill, but their costs increasingly outweigh the benefits. The BBC report from October revealed that emissions per unit of energy from waste incineration are comparable to those from coal and nearly twice as much as those from gas. Energy from waste now accounts for a fifth of emissions from electricity production in the UK, while generating only 3% of the UK’s electricity. That highlights the need for a strategic approach. Waste incineration is not a viable long-term solution if we are serious about our climate goals. The Scottish Government have accepted recommendations from the “Stop, Sort, Burn, Bury?” review by delivering a moratorium in 2022, but contrary to another recommendation of the review, they have not provided an indicative cap on waste incinerators. That risks entrenching a practice that they are otherwise indicating should be phased out. Many groups have raised reasonable concerns about the prospect of the overcapacity of incinerators beyond the ban on biodegradable waste to landfill, which kicks in later this year in Scotland. In the meantime, councils continue to commission long-term energy-from-waste contracts. Falkirk council, for instance, announced a 10-year contract for energy from waste in 2023. Luckily, the contractor is now looking at integrating carbon capture and storage on site to mitigate the environmental impact of the site. The reality is that rising emissions from this practice, efforts to build infrastructure to mitigate its environmental impact and the risk of incinerator overcapacity point to the need for a faster push on improving recycling rates, as many colleagues have said. Recycling rates currently stand at 44% in the UK but at 42.1% in Scotland, with Wales largely leading the way. I welcome the fact that Falkirk’s recycling rate is 50.7%. I credit that to the ridiculously hard-working waste and climate change officers at Falkirk council, with whom I had the honour of working when I was a councillor, as well as fantastic community volunteers, including my successor, Labour Councillor Claire Aitken, who has set up regular litter picks in our ward. There is still so much more to be done to drive up recycling rates. A clear strategy is needed if we are to phase out incineration across the UK. Calm, clear heads are the order of the day. I have three key questions for the Minister. What discussions has she had with the waste management industry and local authorities about phasing out waste incinerators, and how can any transition away from incineration be managed strategically? What targets are in place to improve recycling rates across the UK by the end of this Parliament, and what expectations do we have for our devolved partners? What conversations are taking place regarding integrating carbon capture and storage with any existing or further waste incineration projects?

• 2 Apr 2025 · UK Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  My constituents in Falkirk saw at first hand the failure of Governments to collaborate in the previous Parliament. What engagement has the Secretary of State had with political leaders and business and sector leaders, such as those in bus manufacturing, to work together to deliver the best for Northern Ireland?

• 2 Apr 2025 · UK Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  14. What discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the development of a new UK industrial strategy.

• 31 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Mohamed waited nearly three years for a decision on his asylum application, a period that was extended by the pause in processing Syrian asylum cases. If the Minister will not end the pause, what interim steps will she take to further support host communities such as Falkirk?