Kirsty McNeill MP: speeches

Speeches

• 4 Jun 2025 · Higher Education · Hansard source

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  We are in ongoing discussions with the Scottish Government and Scottish universities, but I want to be absolutely definitive about this, because there has been some confusion in the press. Education policy is devolved, and the international student levy will not apply in Scotland unless the Scottish Government decide to introduce it. I met Universities Scotland just this week and made that very clear, and I am pleased to do so again today.

• 4 Jun 2025 · National Wealth Fund: Glasgow City Region · Hansard source

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  It does, but I am afraid that the SNP seems determined to hoard powers and funding, rather than passing them to communities. There is no better example of that than the Labour-run council in South Lanarkshire proposing £8 million for Hamilton town centre, only for the SNP to vote against that. That is why, tomorrow, voters in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse should back a real local champion, Labour’s Davy Russell.

• 4 Jun 2025 · National Wealth Fund: Glasgow City Region · Hansard source

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  The National Wealth Fund has made its first Scottish investment in the Glasgow city region, which is one of four areas across the UK selected for a strategic partnership with the fund to unlock private investment opportunities. The Secretary of State meets the Deputy First Minister regularly to discuss economic growth, which is this Government’s No.1 priority.

• 4 Jun 2025 · Local Authority Funding: Barnett Formula · Hansard source

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  The Chancellor’s autumn Budget delivered the biggest settlement in the history of devolution for the Scottish Government—£50 billion. I want to see that cash reach the frontline services that have suffered years of cuts under the SNP. That record settlement is possible only because of the Barnett formula—something opposed not only by the Scottish nationalists, but by the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), whose Reform circus was sent packing from Hamilton this week.

• 4 Jun 2025 · Local Authority Funding: Barnett Formula · Hansard source

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  I could not agree more. In England, waiting lists have fallen since Labour came to office less than a year ago, while in Scotland they continue to rise, and we now see nearly one in six Scots waiting for treatment. John Swinney has, in total desperation, announced that the SNP Government’s fifth NHS recovery plan in less than four years, but the reality is that patients, staff and we all know that Scotland desperately needs a new direction.

• 23 Apr 2025 · Cancer Strategies · Hansard source

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  I commend my hon. Friend for her commitment to her constituents, and pass on the best wishes of the whole House to Stephen in his recovery. Her constituents, like mine, are constantly on the receiving end of late diagnoses because of the underfunding of cancer services that the hon. Member for Wokingham (Clive Jones) has mentioned. We will, of course, continue to raise this issue with the Scottish Government as part of our ongoing commitment to deal with Scotland’s biggest killer, which is cancer.

• 23 Apr 2025 · Cancer Strategies · Hansard source

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  I commend the hon. Member for the consistent attention he has paid to this issue since he was elected last year and for educating us on it. Cancer remains Scotland’s biggest killer, with Cancer Research UK reporting that Scots are receiving worse cancer treatment than their neighbours in other parts of the UK. The national cancer plan for England will save lives that would otherwise be lost to cancer and deliver improved care and patient experience. Last year, a UK Labour Budget delivered the biggest settlement for Scottish public services in the history of devolution. It is time for the Scottish Government to step up and get serious about cancer.

• 23 Apr 2025 · Cancer Strategies · Hansard source

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  I assure the hon. Member that this is a priority for the Government, but as healthcare is a devolved matter, the Scottish Government are responsible for their own cancer strategies, including diagnostic services in Scotland. In England, improving early diagnosis of cancer—including breast cancer—is a priority for the UK Government, who are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the NHS to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new capacity, including MRI and CT scanners.

• 23 Apr 2025 · Plant and Seed Nurseries: Northern Ireland · Hansard source

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  As my hon. Friend knows, potatoes are a staple of our national dish, haggis, neeps and tatties. They are also a staple of my favourite breakfast, the dry potato scone. I am delighted to join my hon. Friend in recognising all the fish and chip shops in his constituency, and I would be delighted to accept invitations to a tour of fish and chip shops from any colleague on either side of the House who recognises their vital contribution.

• 23 Apr 2025 · Plant and Seed Nurseries: Northern Ireland · Hansard source

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  I would be delighted to meet the hon. Gentleman, but let me reassure him: the horticultural working group, co-chaired by senior officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Cabinet Office, was set up specifically to tackle issues involving the movement of seeds to consumers in Northern Ireland as a first priority. The hon. Gentleman has also mentioned other topics, and I should be happy to meet him to discuss them, too. The working group meets regularly to address such issues, and includes representatives of the Ulster Farmers Union, the National Farmers Union and the Horticultural Trades Association, as well as business leaders and representatives of a small number of other horticultural businesses.

• 23 Apr 2025 · Plant and Seed Nurseries: Northern Ireland · Hansard source

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  Under the Windsor framework arrangements, the Northern Ireland plant health label allows growers and traders to move plants and seeds for planting from Great Britain to Northern Ireland without a phytosanitary certificate, and Scottish businesses have benefited from that. For example, more than 1,500 tonnes of previously prohibited seed potatoes, mostly from Scottish traders, were moved to Northern Ireland from Great Britain last year.

• 23 Apr 2025 · Barnett Formula: NHS Funding · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman says that there have been cuts to public services. Let me put on record once again that this Labour Government pledged to end austerity, and we have, with a record settlement for Scotland’s public services. That money has been squandered by the SNP Government, such that we are still in a situation where nearly one in six Scots are on a waiting list. South of the border, waiting lists have fallen for the fifth month in a row. That is the difference made by a Labour Government with a plan and a willingness to fund it.

• 23 Apr 2025 · Barnett Formula: NHS Funding · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend, not just for her service to her constituents but her previous service in the NHS. As she has noted, thanks to Labour, NHS waiting lists in England have fallen month on month, because this Government have a plan and we have invested. Sadly, it is a completely different story in Scotland, as she has pointed out. Like mine, her constituents see a situation in which almost one in six people are now stuck on a waiting list. John Swinney has announced this SNP Government’s fifth NHS recovery plan in less than four years, but patients and staff know that it is not good enough, and we need a new direction.

• 23 Apr 2025 · Barnett Formula: NHS Funding · Hansard source

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  Thanks to the Barnett formula, a Labour Chancellor and 37 Scottish Labour MPs, Scotland’s public services have received the biggest ever financial settlement from the UK Government, but how has the SNP spent it? Well, despite the best efforts of our extraordinary NHS staff, every week, thousands of Scots will wait more than eight hours in A&E, and more than 100,000 Scots have been stuck on an NHS waiting list for over a year. Doctors, nurses and—most of all—Scottish patients have been failed by 18 years of SNP mismanagement. We desperately need a new direction.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Make Work Pay Plan · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to raise the concerns of parents who are worried about how their kids will get good jobs. The SNP has said that a zero- hours contract is “a positive destination” for a school leaver, but this Labour Government will ban such exploitative contracts. Labour’s Budget delivered an extra £4.9 billion for Scottish public services, but after 18 years the SNP still does not see Scottish kids as a priority. It should stand aside, and give Scotland the chance of the new direction that it deserves.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Make Work Pay Plan · Hansard source

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  I have not had that chance, but I would be delighted to do so. Scottish education is, of course, devolved to the SNP Government. SNP Members should think long and hard about the fact that they have claimed that it is their No. 1 priority and yet the attainment gap is growing. Working-class kids’ education and exam results were explicitly downgraded by the serving First Minister. We would be delighted to partner with anyone across these islands who wants to increase educational opportunity for our young people.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Make Work Pay Plan · Hansard source

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  The Employment Rights Bill represents the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights in a generation, banning zero-hours contracts, ending unscrupulous fire and rehire practices, providing day one protections for paternity leave and against unfair dismissal, and improving access to statutory sick pay. With International Women’s Day fast approaching, we should remember that it is working women who will benefit disproportionately from this groundbreaking legislation. That is what change looks like, and that is the difference that a Labour Government make.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Employer NICs: Businesses · Hansard source

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  I am sure that the hon. Member, and Members across the House, will join me in paying tribute to Scotland’s social care workers for the incredible contribution they make. Social care is of course a devolved matter. The Scottish Government have now received the largest budget settlement in the whole history of devolution, as well as support for additional employer national insurance costs. The Scottish Government can choose to deliver that additional support for social care, and I very much hope that they do so.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Employer NICs: Businesses · Hansard source

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  Properly funding public services and restoring economic stability requires difficult decisions on tax, which is why we are asking employers to contribute more. Stabilising the public finances is the only way to create the long-term stability in which businesses can thrive. The Government recognise the need to protect the smallest businesses, which is why we have more than doubled the employment allowance to £10,500, meaning that more than half of small businesses will either gain or be unaffected.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Employer NICs: Businesses · Hansard source

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  Not only do I agree with my hon. Friend that the SNP Government are at risk of squandering this historic opportunity for Scotland, but I stress that the SNP Government might like to ask their Members of Parliament why they voted against this historic Budget in Scotland’s interests.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  I do believe in this policy, in the same way I believe in all the announcements we made in the Budget. As is so often the case with Conservative Members, they will the ends of the Budget but not the means. If the hon. Lady wants changes to the public services that people in both our constituencies rely on, we need to have the revenue to pay for them. That is what this Budget was all about: cleaning up the mess we inherited and getting the investment into public services that is so desperately required.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman is perfectly aware that 73% of agricultural property relief claims each year are for less than £1 million, so almost three quarters of those claiming the relief are expected to be entirely unaffected. According to the latest data from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, 40% of APR is claimed by just 7% of estates making claims, meaning that just 117 estates across the UK were claiming more than £200 million in relief in 2021-22. Farmers will still be able to pass down their farms to future generations, just as they always have done.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  I certainly will. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for all he does to promote apprentices and skills, and particularly apprentices in our defence industry, who are doing so much to keep Scotland, the UK and, indeed, the world safe.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  Economic growth is the Government’s No. 1 mission. These changes to national insurance contributions are being made in the context of a resilient labour market, with the estimated employment rate up 0.9 percentage points over the last quarter of 2024. We are creating jobs and opportunities through our plan for change and truly making work pay, to help raise living standards right across the UK.

• 25 Feb 2025 · Draft Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance) (Consequential Modifications) Order 2025 · Hansard source

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  I thank all hon. Members who contributed today. The hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine noted that the order is a broadly sensible technical change. He intimated that he is slightly worried about the time and effort that it takes to go through these processes. However, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, we have passed 250 of these orders at great pace, largely thanks to the sterling work of officials in both Governments; I put on the record my thanks to them. The shadow Minister suggested that Labour’s enthusiasm for devolution was perhaps in the service of another political objective. I want to put his mind at rest: it is entirely about bringing decision makers closer to the people of Scotland—something to which the Government remain entirely committed. The hon. Gentleman asked whether we were confident about the implementation plan. The answer is yes, because of the smooth working that there will be between both Governments. He also asked about the promotion of the benefit. That is a matter for the Scottish Government, but we will be speaking to them about that. He asked about provision in Northern Ireland. Equivalent provision is being made in respect of Scottish adult DLA to prevent dual entitlement to Northern Irish social security benefits, as agreed under the previous Government. I thank the hon. Member for Edinburgh West for her support for this practical and timely change. I also thank the hon. Member for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey for his support for this technical change, although perhaps not for his other advice to the Government, which I assure him we will not be taking. This statutory instrument demonstrates the UK Government’s continued commitment to working with the Scottish Government to deliver for Scotland. Question put and agreed to.