Gregor Poynton MP: speeches

Speeches

• 12 Feb 2025 · Innovation: Livingston · Hansard source

  More

  2. What steps his Department is taking to support innovation in Livingston constituency.

• 12 Feb 2025 · Innovation: Livingston · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Minister for that answer. In the Livingston constituency, we have a number of fantastic biotech and life sciences businesses, such as Valneva, which is working on a range of vaccines, including for malaria, and as the Minister mentioned, SilviBio, which is working on sustainable alternatives to peat. Given the failure and neglect of the Conservative Government and the SNP Scottish Government in this regard, what conversations is he having with the Scottish Government to ensure that we create an environment in which the biotech and life sciences industry can thrive in the Livingston constituency and across Scotland?

• 12 Feb 2025 · Support for the Scotch Whisky Industry · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dame Siobhain. I congratulate the hon. Member for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey (Graham Leadbitter) on securing this debate, and thank him for his forbearance in letting me say a few words. Showing that this is a cross-party issue, it great to see Scottish Liberal Democrats, SNP MPs and Scottish Labour MPs here. It is a shame that we have missed out on the Scottish Conservatives. Scotch whisky is more than a drink; it is one of Scotland’s finest products, a symbol of our heritage and a driving force in our economy. In the Livingston constituency, we are proud to have world-class whisky producers such as the Glenmorangie and Ardbeg bottling plant and the North British Distillery. They generate good jobs, investment and prosperity in our communities, and that is why it is important that the Government have taken decisive action to support the industry. We have worked tirelessly to remove trade barriers, ensuring that Scotch whisky receives the international recognition that it deserves. As others have said, Brazil’s decision to grant Scotch whisky special status will give a £25 billion boost to the industry by opening up one of the world’s fastest-growing markets. Brazil ranks among the top five global growth markets for alcohol over the next five years, and with exports to the country already topping £90 million in 2023, there is a huge opportunity for Scotch producers. What is more, the Government’s decision to give Scotch whisky protected status will, as has been said, ensure that our product remains authentic and competitive, free from imitation products that could undermine its quality and reputation. This really is brand Scotland in action, expanding our global reach, strengthening our economy and boosting jobs and investment in Scotland. The support does not stop there. The UK Government’s decision to invest up to £5 million to cut costs for distillers in the spirit drinks verification scheme and to remove the mandatory duty stamps for spirits from May this year will be an important boost to the industry. Those steps will make it easier and cheaper to do business, ensuring the continued success of our whisky industry. Scottish whisky is a global success story, but with the Government’s support, and with the Scotland Office relentlessly promoting Scotland and Scottish products, we will ensure that it remains at the heart of Scotland in the future.

• 10 Feb 2025 · Rosebank and Jackdaw Oilfields · Hansard source

  More

  Another day, another Labour Minister cleaning up the mess of the Conservatives who came before them. The only reason why we are having this discussion today, and why there is any lack of clarity for workers in the north-east, is that the Conservatives messed up in government. However, does the Minister agree that supporting projects such as Rosebank and Jackdaw is entirely compatible with our drive towards a net zero economy? We will continue to need domestic oil and gas to 2050 and likely beyond, and therefore we should maximise UK production, since we can do so with the highest possible labour and environmental standards, and should secure and create jobs in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Serious Fraud Office: Economic Crime · Hansard source

  More

  3. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Serious Fraud Office’s progress on tackling economic crime.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Serious Fraud Office: Economic Crime · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend will know that fraud does not stop at the border, and residents in my Livingston constituency are incredibly concerned by the increase in fraud and economic crime and the devastating effects they can have on people’s lives. What are the UK Government doing to tackle fraud in Scotland?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Gender Pay Gap · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Minister for her response. Does she agree that while the Conservatives think that maternity pay has “gone too far” and that the childcare roll-out is a mistake, it is this UK Labour Government who are supporting women in my Livingston constituency and right across the country by bringing in better protections for pregnant women and mums on maternity leave?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Gender Pay Gap · Hansard source

  More

  2. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce the gender pay gap.

• 30 Jan 2025 · Finance Bill (Third sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  On business rates, they are clearly devolved to the Scottish Government, so it fully sits within their remit to help the hospitality industry. If we are talking about standing behind the whisky industry, one of the first things that the Secretary of State for Business and Trade did was go to Brazil to work out that protected status for the Scotch whisky industry, which will mean millions of pounds extra in exports to Brazil. We are also discussing clause 64, which deals with the abolition of duty stamps for alcoholic products, and that will also help the whisky industry. The Government are doing a number of things to support the whisky industry and stand behind it, including the provisions on its tax status and the Secretary of State’s efforts to increase exports. The hon. Member should perhaps reflect that in his comments.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Growing the UK Economy · Hansard source

  More

  For too long we have been held back by the Conservatives’ dither, delay and indecision over Heathrow expansion. A third runway will strengthen Heathrow’s hub status and make it easier for Scots to connect to the world and bring tourists to our shores. Increased connectivity will also make it easier for Scottish exporters of world-class products such as Aberdeen Angus beef, Orkney seafood and Glenmorangie and Ardbeg whisky—bottled in my constituency—to grow their businesses. Does the Chief Secretary agree that what has been announced today will be significant for my Livingston constituents, as well as growing our economy right across the United Kingdom?

• 23 Jan 2025 · Infected Blood Compensation Scheme: Payments · Hansard source

  More

  11. What recent progress he has made on establishing the infected blood compensation scheme.

• 23 Jan 2025 · Infected Blood Compensation Scheme: Payments · Hansard source

  More

  I do not imagine there is one MP in this House who has not had constituents come to talk to them about the infected blood scandal. In fact, this week I spoke to one such constituent, Linda Cannon, who told me her story, saying: “I lost my husband, Billy, in February 2013 to Hepatitis C after a blood transfusion in 1986, for a stomach ulcer, at Bangour Hospital. He was not informed till 2011 that he had been infected, only finding out after presenting with a sore back. He underwent severe treatment, without success, which will live with me forever. Life has been difficult to deal with after this”. The consequences have been completely devastating for her family. Mr Cannon will not see justice, but several of my other constituents must. I welcome the urgency with which this Government have moved forward with this issue, because justice for the victims of this injustice is long overdue. Can the Minister update the House on how he has been working—not just in England, but across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland—to make sure that payments get to those who need them immediately?

• 23 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  T5. Under the SNP, every public service in Scotland is straining under 18 years of mismanagement, with Scots paying more for less. Thanks to decisions taken by this UK Government, the Scottish Government have the largest budgetary settlement in the history of devolution. Does my right hon. Friend agree that more money will not solve all the problems with Scottish public services, and that we also need a programme of reform? Given that the UK Labour Government are instituting a comprehensive programme of reform, would he share those learnings with the Scottish Government in order that we can reform our public services, too?

• 22 Jan 2025 · Competition and Markets Authority Chairman · Hansard source

  More

  Getting the right regulatory environment is vital to drive innovation in our economy and also to protect our consumers and markets. Does the Minister agree that this renewed focus on the regulatory environment and getting it right to drive our economy will make sure that this Government deliver our No. 1 mission of growth?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Southport Attack · Hansard source

  More

  We have heard from Merseyside police, the CPS and counter-terrorism police about the wide range of violent content that the accused was accessing, including on genocide, and about his social media searches for violent and fatal stabbings. I know that the Home Secretary covered some of this in her statement and in response to previous questions, but what more should the social media and search engine giants be doing, first, to prevent our young people from accessing such content in the first place and, secondly, to take it down quickly from their sites once they are aware of it?

• 9 Jan 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  Wherever I go in my constituency, local residents raise with me the poor standard of the local bus service. One resident in Livingston Village told me that the elderly and people with children are forced to walk a long way, or pay for a taxi, to get to hospital appointments. Adambrae has lost its bus, and in Addiewell, Stoneyburn and Longridge, my constituents have to take multiple buses to get to the hospital. Unfortunately, this is not unique to my constituency, as statistics show that local bus services in Scotland have collapsed by 44% since the SNP took charge. Will the Leader of the House agree to a debate on the importance of local bus services to our constituents? Perhaps the SNP Government in Scotland can learn something from the UK Government about protecting our bus services.

• 9 Jan 2025 · Public Finances: Borrowing Costs · Hansard source

  More

  Will the Chief Secretary to the Treasury confirm that the Government’s No. 1 mission is still growth? That is the only way that we can break out of the Tory inheritance of low growth, high borrowing, high taxes and squeezed living standards for people in my constituency in Livingston, and across the UK.

• 9 Jan 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuels · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Minister for his response. This UK Government are indeed working at pace to position the UK as a global leader in the rapidly growing SAF industry, which is vital for decarbonising aviation and our aviation industries, and for growing our economy. Will he commit in the forthcoming sustainable aviation fuel Bill to bringing forward the timeline for the revenue certainty mechanism to the end of this year or perhaps early 2026? Accelerating that measure, which has wide support, will give investors the confidence they need to back the 10 potential SAF facilities across the UK, including in Grangemouth, which is near my constituency.

• 9 Jan 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuels · Hansard source

  More

  8. What steps she is taking to support the use and production of sustainable aviation fuels.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Scotland: Transport Links · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Lewell-Buck. I, too, congratulate the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) on securing this important debate. Connectivity across these islands is vital for our economic growth and prosperity. We are an island nation, and our economy is export and service-led. Those facts reinforce the vital economic importance of excellent connectivity within Scotland, with the wider UK, and beyond. Of course technology and the covid pandemic have changed some working patterns and made online and virtual business interaction commonplace, but a recent WPI Economics report made it clear that businesses continue to rely on good physical connectivity to cement relationships, to enter new markets, to conduct supply chain due diligence and to share knowledge. That is why it is so disappointing that the record of the SNP Scottish Government on transport—both intra-Scotland connectivity and connectivity with the rest of the UK and beyond—is so poor. To take rail to begin with, the latest Network Rail report shows that 70 million passenger journeys are made annually on Scotland’s railways. Of those trips, a total of 9.2 million were made to and from England and Wales. However, what waits for travellers from the rest of the UK when they arrive in Scotland? Unfortunately, they are frequently greeted with a shambolic and declining transport system. Nationalising ScotRail should have been the opportunity to put passengers first. Many of my Livingston constituents use the train every day to get to and from Edinburgh for work, and they require a reliable and affordable service. However, in August, the SNP scrapped a pilot that had removed peak rail fares, despite the scheme increasing rail journeys by 6.8%. It was an SNP Scottish Government policy that had worked, but then they scrapped it. At last month’s Budget in Holyrood, the SNP committed to reducing spending on rail services by £80 million, a profoundly regressive move. Also last month, it confirmed that it is delaying the target date to decarbonise rail from 2035 to 2045, confirming that Scotland’s long-suffering rail passengers will have to wait an extra decade for the modern rail services that they were promised. An affordable, reliable rail service can unlock huge environmental and economic benefits, but Scots are again paying the price for the SNP’s financial and transport mismanagement. Another area I want to turn to is aviation. As our island is an export and service-based economy, aviation links are vital. The UK has huge built-in advantages as a services exporter on a global scale and a location where key economic sectors benefit from international connections. However, the record of the Scottish Government here is very unsatisfactory. Our airports continue to struggle against the indifference, and perhaps even hostility, of this SNP Government. Glasgow airport, which once connected Scotland with North America, has no link, and apparently there is no desire, drive or ideas from the Scottish Government to assist in bringing that back. Of course, there are understandable and justifiable concerns about the impact of aviation on climate change. The answer, however, is not to neglect our aviation sector but to engage enthusiastically with it to improve technology, to invest in sustainable aviation and to help the modernisation of airspace. Sustainable aviation has huge possible economic and environmental benefits, not least to Grangemouth and the wider economy of Scotland. I am delighted to see that the UK Labour Government have at least recognised the potential of sustainable aviation fuel as a source of clean energy and green jobs in Scotland, as well as across the UK, and have pledged to promote it—if only the Scottish Government had the same foresight, energy and ambition. As we have heard today, on rail, on buses, on roads and in the air, the SNP Scottish Government continue to let down the Livingston constituency and Scotland as well.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source

  More

  I beg to move, That this House has considered the fiscal impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on Scotland. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I am delighted to begin this important debate on the fiscal impact of the UK 2024 Budget on Scotland. The Chancellor delivered a Budget on 30 October that was the largest settlement for the Scottish Government in the history of devolution. It means an additional £1.5 billion for the Scottish Government to spend in this financial year, and an additional £3.4 billion in the next. That amounts to a total of £47.7 billion for Scotland’s budget in 2025-26, the biggest financial settlement in the history of devolution. The Budget keeps Labour’s promises to Scotland and the Scots, who put their faith in a Labour Government. The road ahead is not easy, nor were all the individual decisions made in the Budget, but the appalling economic inheritance left to this Government by the Tories, who gave us austerity, Brexit chaos, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, needs clearing up. After 14 years of Tory chaos, division and decline, the Budget turns the page on those lost Tory years, fixing the foundations and rebuilding our country. It supports Scottish businesses to get the Scottish economy motoring again. It provides funding for green freeports, city growth deals, Great British Energy and hydrogen projects to fire up growth and deliver good jobs across Scotland. It will remove connectivity black holes, through Project Gigabit and the shared rural network, boosting 4G coverage in the highlands and islands, and provide £125 million for GB Energy, headquartered in Aberdeen, with hubs in Edinburgh and Glasgow. It will fund two hydrogen projects in Cromarty and Whitelee, and extend the innovation cluster in the Glasgow city region for a further year. The Budget will implement the 45% and 40% rates of theatre, orchestra, museum and galleries tax relief, to provide certainty to businesses in Scotland’s thriving cultural sector. It will provide Scotland’s world-renowned whisky industry with up to £5 million for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to reduce the fees charged by the spirit drinks verification scheme, and end the mandatory duty stamps on spirits from May this year. It will kick-start growth at a local level by investing £1.4 billion in local growth projects across Scotland for the next 10 years, including £26 million for the Forth green freeport. The list goes on. The Budget supports working people by boosting the national living wage, resulting in a pay rise to around 200,000 of the lowest-paid Scots, and extends the temporary 5p cut in fuel duty, benefiting an estimated 3.2 million people in Scotland by £58 a year. The Budget also supports Scottish pensioners and those on welfare benefits. The Government’s commitment to the triple lock will see over 1 million Scottish pensioners benefit from £8.6 million a year more during this Parliament. Pension credit is up, benefiting 125,000 of the neediest pensioners in Scotland. The Budget uprates working-age benefits by inflation, resulting in 1.7 million families in Scotland seeing their working-age benefits going up by an average of £150. It also reduces the maximum level of debt repayments that can be deducted from a household’s universal credit payment each month, from 25% to 15%. That will benefit the average Scottish family by more than £420 a year. And that is not all: Labour’s manifesto commitment to Brand Scotland has been realised. An initial investment of £750,000 this year will fund trade missions, promote Scottish goods and services around the world, and help Scottish businesses export for the first time. This Budget also marks the end of the era of austerity. It provides billions of investment in public services and prioritises investment in our economy to jump-start growth, while raising money from those with the broadest shoulders. It provides significant increases in investment to ensure that we have the public funding available for Scotland’s NHS, schools and public services. In short, this Budget is good for Scotland.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source

  More

  We have delivered the largest budget settlement in the history of devolution—that is the end of austerity. [ Interruption. ] Well, you have it to spend. SNP decisions have left a black hole in Scotland’s finances. The billions in extra cash delivered in this Budget must not be used simply to cover up the SNP’s “buy now and pay later” policies. That money must reach the frontline, to bring down waiting lists and drive up educational standards. The SNP has nowhere to hide now.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source

  More

  The largest settlement ever received by the Scottish Government in the history of devolution is driving up additional funding that can be spent in Scotland. The SNP has nowhere to hide; it has no more excuses. It cannot continue to blame others for its economic and financial incompetence, because the problems in Scottish public services are not solved by simply having more money to spend. The Scottish Government need to get much, much better at spending it.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source

  More

  As I said at the start, not all the decisions in this Budget were easy. We had been left a horrible economic inheritance by the Tories, and we needed to make decisions to tackle that and clear the mess up that they made. The decisions in the Budget mean that the Scottish Government are receiving more per person than the equivalent UK Government spending for the rest of the UK. As I said, in 2025-26, we will see the biggest financial settlement to the Scottish Government in the history of devolution. Sadly, however, we know from bitter experience that more money to the Scottish Government does not guarantee success, because the Scottish National party is taking Scotland in the wrong direction and being careless with Scotland’s money.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source

  More

  That was a long intervention. As I said before, they have the powers and the money, and it is up to the Scottish Government to make the decisions that SNP Members talk about. They complain about every single penny that we have raised in this Budget, but that money is being invested in Scottish public services. They cannot enjoy the money that is being spent on the one hand and complain about every penny piece that has been raised on the other. A National Care Service Bill that was ill-thought-through has now been binned, and there is no plan to reform or be ambitious for Scotland’s NHS to deliver the care our constituents need. The proposed East Calder medical centre in my constituency is a textbook example of how these failings manifest themselves at a local level. Patients, doctors, the local community and the health board all agree that we need a new health centre in East Calder. The one thing holding it back is the Scottish Government’s management of NHS resources. With this year’s unprecedented Budget settlement, the funding is now there to deliver projects such as this, and there can be no more excuses. Where is the planning reform to unleash growth and get Scotland building again? There is a terrible shortage of planning officers in Scotland and no plan to tackle it. There is no substantive commitment to build more homes or any sign of the action needed to make that happen. The drift and lack of vision is summed up in the Scottish Government’s behaviour around the proposed Berwick bank offshore wind farm. The planning application was submitted in December 2022 but still awaits a decision from Scottish Government Ministers. What are they waiting for? Why are they dithering? Why is it taking so long for Scottish Ministers to get a grip of this important decision? As the Aberdeen & Grampian chamber of commerce has said, all they are achieving is putting potentially billions of pounds of investment and thousands of high-quality green jobs at risk. And the list goes on. Where is the investment in skills and in the future of our young people, our economy and our country’s prosperity? We know what the jobs of the future are. There are many sectors in which Scotland has the potential of competitive advantage if only the Scottish Government would take action and get ahead of the curve. But we have seen the precise opposite of urgency, ideas and energy from them. Why are we not preparing and supporting our workforce, young and old, with a wartime-like effort to train our people to take advantage of these enormous opportunities and grow our economy? There is just more dither, delay and a lack of ambition and vision for Scotland. What are we doing to arrest the decline in educational attainment and the widening attainment gap? Nicola Sturgeon once said that closing the attainment gap was the “defining mission” of her Government. Instead, it is getting worse. Educational attainment for all children is down. For those children from the poorest homes, it is down most of all. What a shameful record of almost 18 years in power. For John Swinney, just being a bit better than Humza Yousaf is not good enough. This is a Government not holding themselves or Scotland’s public sector to anything like the high standards the Scottish people deserve. I applaud the Chancellor’s Budget of 30 October. I applaud, above all, the huge investment in Scotland and the highest ever budget settlement for the Scottish Government, but the ball is now in the Scottish Government’s court. They have nowhere to hide. They must halt the drift, the buck-passing and the managed decline. They must seize this opportunity to unleash the enormous potential of Scotland or make way for a Scottish Labour Government who are ready and eager to make that happen.