Kirsty McNeill MP: speeches

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Speeches

7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source
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I will make some progress. Those are all the choices of a Government resolutely focused on the future. In conclusion, the Budget does exactly what Scottish Labour was elected to do. It secured billions for Scotland; the SNP voted against it.
7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source
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I will make some progress. We have also confirmed that all 12 regions of Scotland will be covered by a growth deal. Our investments include nearly £890 million of direct investment into freeports and investment zones, the Argyll and Bute growth deal and other important local projects across Scotland.
7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source
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I will make some progress. And just as our Budget choices reflect our values, the ways in which the Opposition parties choose to oppose them represent their values, whether that is their opposition to our end to the VAT tax break on private schools or opposing, as the hon. Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) does, our attempts to bring agricultural property relief into balance. As she will know, the latest figures from 2021 to 2022 show that 40% of the value of APR went to just 7% of claimants; that is neither sustainable nor fair, which is why I support the Labour Government’s changes.
7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source
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I will make some progress. This Budget asks businesses and the wealthiest to pay their share while making taxes fairer. Those are Labour choices and they are inspired by Labour values. As my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) has made clear, this is a progressive Budget that values redistribution.
7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source
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As the hon. Member will be aware, each year almost three quarters of estates eligible for APR in the UK are expected to be entirely unaffected by these fair and proportionate changes. Ours was a Budget, just as this is a Government, squarely for working people. The hon. Member for Angus and Perthshire Glens (Dave Doogan) complained of the tax burden. Unlike the SNP Scottish Government, which simply want to clobber teachers and nurses with ever higher taxes, we have delivered on our pledge not to increase national insurance or VAT on working people in Scotland. That means that they will not, thanks to this Budget, see higher taxes in their payslips. Hundreds of thousands of workers in Scotland will benefit from an increase in the national living wage and a record increase to the national minimum wage. The Chancellor made the decision to protect working people in Scotland from being dragged into higher tax brackets by confirming that the freeze on national insurance contribution thresholds will be lifted from 2028-29 onwards, rising in line with inflation, so that people can keep more of their hard-earned wages. We have begun the difficult work of restitching our fraying safety net. Thousands of Scottish households will be £420 a year better off on average, as a result of our change to the universal credit fair repayment rate. Around 1.7 million families in Scotland will see their working-age benefits uprated in line with inflation, a £150 gain on average, in 2025-26. Maintaining the triple lock means an increase in the state pension of £470 next year, on top of £900 this year, for 1 million Scottish pensioners. Let me pay special tribute to the campaigners and fellow trade unionists who fought for changes to the mineworkers’ pension scheme. Thanks to their efforts and the decisions of this Labour Government, nearly 7,000 retired mineworkers in Scotland will get an extra £1,500 on average in their pension. Finally, that is justice for those who powered our country.
7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source
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It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I begin by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Livingston (Gregor Poynton) on securing this debate on the impact of the autumn Budget on Scotland, and on his very dogged advocacy on behalf of those in his constituency who need the East Calder medical centre. The UK Government were handed a challenging inheritance: £22 billion of unfunded in-year spending pressures, debt at its highest level since the 1960s, an unrealistic forecast for departmental spending, and stagnating living standards. This Budget took difficult decisions to restore economic and fiscal stability so that this Labour Government can keep the promises we made to the Scottish people. We promised to put Scotland at the beating heart of this Government; we have. We promised to end austerity; we did. We promised we would invest in Scotland’s future; we are. It is no surprise to me that we have heard the usual carping from Opposition parties. They simply cannot face facts, because the facts are that this was a great Budget for Scotland.
7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source
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I will make some progress. The hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) and my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton) shared moving testimony about the impact of changes by the Scottish Government on rural communities. My hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Johanna Baxter) talked about the crisis in NHS and social care. The answer to all those challenges is the same: investment in our public services. That is exactly what this Budget is designed to do.
7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source
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I will make some progress. I have been listening very intently to the speeches and chuntering from some hon. Members; I have not been taking any notes on economic credibility. The Fraser of Allander Institute, Audit Scotland and the Institute for Fiscal Studies have all confirmed that the challenges in Scotland’s public finances are a mess of the SNP’s making. As for the party that brought us Liz Truss, the verdict of the people of South West Norfolk tells us all we need to know. I urge everyone instead to listen to my hon. Friends the Members for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie), for Airdrie and Shotts (Kenneth Stevenson), for Glasgow East (John Grady), for Edinburgh North and Leith (Tracy Gilbert) and for Glenrothes and Mid Fife (Richard Baker) about how to get Scotland growing. Our objective is not simply to rescue our economy from the havoc wrought by the Conservatives, but to grow it. That is why we support Great British Energy, providing £125 million next year to set up the institution at its new home in Aberdeen. That is a huge boost to the granite city, inexplicably voted against by the right hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn) and his fellow SNP MPs, all sent here to deliver for their constituents but who instead sought to sabotage investment that would benefit them. I am also pleased that we have been able to confirm our commitment to invest nearly £1.4 billion into important local projects across Scotland over the next 10 years.
7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source
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I am going to make progress. The Budget secured billions for Scotland; the SNP voted against it. It delivered a pay rise for 200,000 of the lowest-paid Scots; the SNP voted against it. It ended Tory austerity; the SNP voted against it. The simple fact is that they are out of road, out of excuses and out of time. This Budget helps us invest in Scotland and rebuild Britain. I am proud to tell my constituents that I voted for it and I look forward to seeing all the ways that it will change Scotland for the better.
4 Dec 2024 · Transport Connectivity · Hansard source
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The UK Government are fully committed to the Borderlands growth deal. It will deliver economic growth for the south of Scotland and beyond, which is one of our key missions. The Scotland Office continues to work with the Department for Transport, the Scottish Government and Borderlands partners on the next stage of business case development for the Tweedbank-Carlisle corridor, and on feasibility options for the extension of the Borders railway line. Unfortunately, it is ultimately up to Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government to follow through on the delivery of this important project.
4 Dec 2024 · Transport Connectivity · Hansard source
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May I first pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman, my predecessor? I know that he will continue to represent his constituents assiduously from the Back Benches. Both the Secretary of State and I will be working closely with the Department for Transport and the Scottish Government to ensure that cross-border connectivity remains a top priority for this Government.
4 Dec 2024 · Transport Connectivity · Hansard source
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As the hon. Gentleman will know, we face a climate emergency and, indeed, an economic emergency of his Government’s own making. We were faced in our first few months in government with a £22 billion black hole, with Treasury reserves spent three times over. We have taken tough choices to try to deal with the economic inheritance that we received.
4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance: Hospices · Hansard source
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As the hon. Gentleman will know, the pressures on hospice funding long predate the Budget and relate to the decline in real-terms funding from the Scottish Government. I note that nearly 5,000 members of the public have written to the Scottish Government recently to support calls from the Scottish hospice leadership for fair funding. Those calls might be answered this afternoon when the SNP Government will have an extra £5 billion to spend. This was secured by Scottish Labour MPs but voted against by SNP MPs. It will be spent this afternoon by SNP Ministers. Make it make sense!
4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance: Hospices · Hansard source
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I know there is consensus right across this House on the enormous value of the hospice sector and the extraordinary work that it does—work that, sadly, has been undervalued for far too long. Support for additional employer national insurance contributions will be allocated to Departments, with the Barnett formula applying in the usual way for the devolved Governments. The rise does not begin until April, and we will set out further details on the allocation of funding in due course.
4 Dec 2024 · Town Centre Regeneration · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend is entirely correct, and I commend her for standing up for her town. In England this Labour Government have already delivered lower business rates for leisure, hospitality and retail businesses, which can help high streets, and I am sure that every Scottish MP wants to see that policy replicated in Scotland. As we are discussing brilliant towns, it is timely to mention brilliant retail workers too, especially at this time of year. I am supporting the Christmas campaign organised by the Scottish Retail Consortium and the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers to encourage everyone to respect our shop workers at this particularly busy time of year.
4 Dec 2024 · Town Centre Regeneration · Hansard source
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We are delighted to receive representations of all kinds on how to improve our town centres. We know that they have suffered neglect for far too long. I hope that all Scottish MPs will have been lobbying for the kind of support for our leisure, hospitality and retail sector that this Government have already given south of the border.
4 Dec 2024 · Town Centre Regeneration · Hansard source
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I commend the hon. Lady for her work with the Chancellor to help to deliver a record Budget settlement for Scotland, the largest Scottish Government Budget settlement in the history of devolution. It is now up to the Scottish Government to ensure that our towns feel the benefit of it: there can be no more excuses from the Scottish National party. The Budget also confirmed nearly £1.4 billion of funding for local growth projects, and we are delivering growth deals in all parts of Scotland, many of which are improving town centres and other community assets.
4 Dec 2024 · Support for Veterans · Hansard source
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The Minister for Veterans and People is leading this work. The Prime Minister recently made an announcement on giving veterans a social housing exemption, which, I can confirm, will bring England in line with Scotland, where veterans are already exempt from the local connection requirement to access social housing. We are creating a level playing field across the nations to support veterans, as I mentioned in my first answer.
4 Dec 2024 · Support for Veterans · Hansard source
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I can give my hon. Friend the firmest of assurances that we will continue to prioritise shipbuilding on the Clyde, and indeed defence jobs across Scotland.
4 Dec 2024 · Support for Veterans · Hansard source
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This Government are fully committed to delivering for veterans, and I pay tribute to them and their families for the sacrifices they make during their service, as well as their valued contribution to our society after they leave. The Minister for Veterans and People, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Al Carns), is leading work across Government, and with the Scottish Government, to ensure veterans and their families can access all the support they need.
4 Dec 2024 · Support for Veterans · Hansard source
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I join the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to the volunteers who often run these events. I also draw the House’s attention to the work of the War Memorials Trust, which is one of the many unsung organisations that do incredible work across this country to maintain war memorials so that we all may remember. Across this House, we have many veterans and those who have served; I pay tribute to them all, and in particular to the 13 Members on the Government Benches who are veterans or reservists.
4 Sept 2024 · Support for Working People · Hansard source
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Mineworkers from my own constituency of Midlothian, from my hon. Friend’s constituency and from across our coalfields powered this country, so I am delighted that our Labour manifesto committed to ending the injustice of the mineworkers’ pension scheme by conducting a review of the unfair surplus arrangements and of transferring the investment reserve fund back to members. I would be delighted to write to my hon. Friend and to other Members representing coalfield seats with a further update in due course.
4 Sept 2024 · Support for Working People · Hansard source
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The Member will be aware that the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said this morning that the tax policies of the Scottish Government have actually cost Scotland money rather than raised it. He will know, too, that this Government have had to undertake a comprehensive audit of spending to make sure that we can clear up the mess that we have inherited. The £22 billion black hole is real, and the Treasury reserves have been spent more than three times over. He will be aware that the focus of the Chancellor is on making sure that we fix the foundations and get the economy back on track.
4 Sept 2024 · Support for Working People · Hansard source
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I am proud to be part of a UK Government that will oversee the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights in a generation. We have set out the new deal for working people and will write it into law within our first 100 days. Over 75 reforms will deliver on a core part of our growth mission to raise living standards, and up to 7,800 workers across Ayrshire stand to benefit from Labour’s plans to make work pay.
4 Sept 2024 · Scottish Work Visa Scheme · Hansard source
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We are committed to ensuring that there is effective Scottish representation on the Migration Advisory Committee, and I look forward to working with the Home Office and engaging with sectors on ensuring that immigration works for all parts of the UK.

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