Richard Baker MP: speeches

Speeches

• 8 Jan 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  Will the Leader of the House allocate time for a debate on tackling child poverty, and not only in the light of the Government’s decision to lift the two-child cap, but to recognise the vital work of the Multibank charity? That charity supports hundreds of children in my constituency, where the first Multibank was established by Gordon Brown and Bob Garmory, who most deservedly received an OBE in the new year’s honours list for his contributions to this amazing initiative.

• 6 Jan 2026 · BBC Charter Renewal · Hansard source

  More

  Does the right hon. Member appreciate the importance of the BBC’s investment in the devolved nations and regions, which is all the more important given the fact that private and independent media are withdrawing from some of that coverage and production? This year, the BBC will double spending to £100 million on programmes produced in Scotland and other devolved nations. That kind of investment is vital for my constituents and others.

• 17 Dec 2025 · INEOS Chemicals: Grangemouth · Hansard source

  More

  After the Tories and the SNP did nothing for so many years to address the long-term future of Grangemouth, it is hugely welcome that Labour Ministers have made this announcement, which offers opportunities to workers in Fife affected by the closure of the ExxonMobil plant at Mossmorran. What further opportunities will the modern industrial strategy offer for skilled jobs in high-growth industries in Scotland, including at the Methil yard in my constituency, which was saved by this Government?

• 17 Dec 2025 · UK-EU Common Understanding Negotiations · Hansard source

  More

  Does my right hon. Friend expect the new agency with responsibility for Erasmus+ to work with the excellent Erasmus Student Network UK to promote these brilliant new opportunities for our young people, including in higher and further education institutions in Scotland?

• 11 Dec 2025 · St Andrew’s Day and Scottish Affairs · Hansard source

  More

  I warmly congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie)—how appropriate that he should lead this debate given the history of Dunfermline not only as historical capital of Scotland, but as our capital in the great Kingdom of Fife. What a time to be a Scot with our team qualifying for the world cup finals! I am sure that the tartan army will once again be a great advert for Scotland, our hospitality and our conviviality. As we celebrate our patron saint, let us recognise the vital role our faith community organisations play in our communities. Only last weekend, I visited St Luke’s Scottish Episcopal church in Glenrothes, where Father Gerry Dillon has established Luke’s Larder, providing a community pantry and activities to support wellbeing. This Christmas, St Luke’s and the Heart of Fife Church of Scotland will provide a Christmas lunch for people in the local community—another example of the importance of our local faith organisations. Our patron saint’s national day is a time to celebrate Scottish civil society—not only our faith organisations, but our charities, from Fife Gingerbread, supporting lone parents and families, including through employability programmes, to Kingdom Offroad, tackling antisocial behaviour through providing safe organised off-road motorcycling activities. These charities thrive through their commitment, expertise and innovation, attributes for which Scotland has been known over the centuries. Those attributes are also very much present in the H100 Fife scheme in Buckhaven in my constituency—a world-first demonstration project to bring 100% green hydrogen to domestic customers for the first time. That is pioneering innovation. In academia, in the third sector and in business, Glenrothes and Mid Fife is continuing the proud Scottish tradition of innovation, and releasing the potential of Scotland’s people through their skills and expertise. We have to be more ambitious still for our country. I regret to say that we particularly need greater purpose, direction and ambition from a Scottish Government who are clearly failing to provide the leadership our country needs and, after two decades in power with far too little to show for it, are exhausted and out of ideas. That is why we need fresh leadership and a new direction with Anas Sarwar as Scotland’s next First Minister. Perhaps I can finish on a point on which I hope we can achieve consensus. That is to recognise that in recent years St Andrew’s day has become an important day to mark the work that goes on in Scotland to tackle racism and xenophobia, not least through the work of the Scottish TUC. In a world that seems increasingly intolerant and where international tensions are heightened, that work and promotion of tolerance, understanding and compassion could not be more important and could not be more in keeping with the spirit of St Andrew. Scotland shares St Andrew as our patron saint with countries throughout the world, so as we move on from St Andrew’s day and look towards Burns night, when we remember our national bard who wrote so powerfully of our common humanity, we must note that a truly Scottish celebration does not dwell on what divides the peoples of our world, but what unites us all.

• 27 Nov 2025 · Resale of Concert Tickets · Hansard source

  More

  8. What assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a cap on the resale of concert tickets.

• 27 Nov 2025 · Resale of Concert Tickets · Hansard source

  More

  This summer, thousands of music fans in Scotland were dismayed at having to pay hugely inflated prices to see their favourite bands, including Oasis, so my right hon. Friend’s announcement on capping the resale price of tickets will be welcome news for all those fans. Will she consider what further measures can be taken to ensure a fair deal on ticket prices for concert-goers across the UK?

• 27 Nov 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

  More

  The Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered her Budget in the most challenging global economic circumstances; there is sluggish growth across the international economy, and we have an economic inheritance from the Conservative party of high public debt and low investment. Despite that, she delivered a Budget that will tackle poverty, invest in growth and provide fairer chances for all. For Scotland, the Budget delivers an additional £820 million for public services. Since the Government came into power, over £10 billion has been pledged for public services in Scotland. The Chancellor talked of the importance of Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar making the case for investment in Scotland. He is already achieving more for Scotland in opposition than our failing SNP Government. Imagine what he could do leading Scotland’s Government, ensuring that those funds are spent to far better effect in our communities. This is the opportunity that Scotland has next May. The Budget shows what Labour Government can achieve for Scotland. The Budget will benefit my constituents in Glenrothes and Mid Fife in so many ways. Ending the two-child cap means that more than 7,000 children in Fife will have a better start in life. Thousands of workers in Fife will see their pay increase, thanks to the rise in the minimum wage. Households across the Kingdom of Fife will benefit from £150 off their heating bills. I am delighted that 178 people in Fife who are members of the BCSSS mineworkers’ pension scheme will finally see the interest in their pension fund protected, with an average increase in their pension of £100 per week. I pay tribute to all those who have campaigned for that change in the scheme, not only on the Labour Benches but in our local communities. My hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie) was right to pay tribute to Alan Kenney of Glenrothes in my constituency, who has made the case for this change with such dedication and eloquence. This is a Budget that shows we will not return to the Conservative party’s austerity measures, which resulted in nothing but harm and stalled economic growth. Instead, we will invest in building an economy that is stronger, where everyone has a chance to benefit from increasing prosperity. This Budget provides more chances in employment for our young people, with the youth guarantee for every eligible young person who has been on universal credit for 18 months, and the biggest ever investment in employability support for disabled people and those with health conditions in more than a generation, increasing funding to up to £1 billion a year across the UK. That is particularly important for Scotland, where the disability employment gap is higher than the UK average. It is vital that these funds are used to the greatest effect in creating jobs for disabled people, who are too often excluded from the workplace. We should look to replicate the success of schemes such as the “All In” employability programme delivered by the charity Enable, which I had the privilege of working for before my election. We should also look to support the ambition of Outlyer, an entertainment company, co-founded by Emmanuel Kelly and Chris Martin of Coldplay, that has a mission to employ at least 1,000 disabled people over eight years in the growing entertainment sector, in jobs that offer genuine career paths with transferable skills to disabled people. That is the kind of ambition we should all have for economic growth in our country—for it to benefit everyone in our society. This Budget balances fiscal responsibility with fairness and aspiration, investing in the defence and renewables industries, which offer such hope to the local economies of Glenrothes and Mid Fife, providing fairness through measures that help families with the cost of living, tackling the scourge of child poverty in our country and offering opportunities to more of our people to reap the rewards of employment and skills. That is why it is a Budget I am proud to support.

• 26 Nov 2025 · Defence Sector: Skills and Training · Hansard source

  More

  6. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support skills and training in the defence sector in Scotland.

• 26 Nov 2025 · Defence Sector: Skills and Training · Hansard source

  More

  The recruitment of 14 new apprentices at the Methil yard in my constituency, which was saved from bankruptcy by this Labour Government protecting 200 skilled apprenticeships, is in stark contrast to the failure of the SNP on apprenticeships in the defence sector. That means that many companies struggle to recruit skilled workers locally. Will my right hon. Friend work with colleagues in the Ministry of Defence to promote Methil as a prime location for future defence contracts so that Navantia UK can create more new apprenticeships at the yard and work successfully with a Scottish Labour Government at Holyrood?

• 20 Nov 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  rose—

• 20 Nov 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating not only the famous and heroic Scottish football team on its qualification for the world cup this week, but the charity Fife Gingerbread in my constituency? It was also successful this week, as it was a finalist in the Centre for Social Justice UK charity awards. It was recognised for its stargazing strategy and brilliant work to tackle child poverty and promote employability for lone parents. Will the Leader of the House consider allocating time for Parliament to debate how we can best support the vital work of third-sector organisations in providing employability programmes?

• 20 Nov 2025 · Ukraine: Forcible Removal of Children · Hansard source

  More

  In September I had the privilege of meeting, in Kyiv, Raisa Kravchenko and Yulia Klepets of the All-Ukrainian NGO Coalition for People with Intellectual Disabilities. They told me of the devastating impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on disabled people. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is particularly distressing that when Russian forces have kidnapped Ukrainian children, they have targeted disabled children, and that when we can finally look to reconstruction and rebuilding Ukraine, specific support will be required for disabled people who have suffered so much as a result of Russia’s aggression and crimes—crimes for which Russia must be held accountable?

• 18 Nov 2025 · ExxonMobil: Mossmorran · Hansard source

  More

  This decision by ExxonMobil, and the manner in which it has been taken and announced, is a very poor way to treat workers who have given so much to the company and their communities. Given that only last year the company was announcing four-year apprenticeships at Mossmorran, including for some of my constituents, will the Minister do everything in his power to ensure that those apprenticeships can continue and that the company, which has made record profits in recent years, recognises its duty of care to those young people?

• 22 Oct 2025 · Devolution in Scotland · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend has mentioned Reform UK, which is apparently a recent convert to devolution. Does it tell us all we need to know about how much it values devolution, Scotland and its future that there is not one Member from that party in the Chamber this afternoon?

• 22 Oct 2025 · Devolution in Scotland · Hansard source

  More

  I am very much enjoying the hon. Gentleman’s speech reflecting on the many experiences of devolution that have inspired us, but on the point around employment and disabled people, will join me in saying that it is regrettable that the Scottish Government decided to cut employability funding for disability schemes in 2024-25?

• 22 Oct 2025 · Devolution in Scotland · Hansard source

  More

  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for those kind words. I am renowned for my modesty, as he knows. Equally modest are my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton) and Labour Ministers, who did much work on these key issues for our local community. In May, Scotland will have the chance of a bright future if it elects a new Government, who actually want devolution to work, with Anas Sarwar as First Minister. Scotland should replace a tired Scottish Government who have run out of ideas with new leadership that has already shown that it is ambitious for Scotland and ready to deliver on the promise of devolution.

• 22 Oct 2025 · Devolution in Scotland · Hansard source

  More

  I congratulate my good friend the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) on securing this debate, which he led with the same erudition and success with which he led the victorious Scottish Parliament “University Challenge” team against our dear colleagues in the Welsh Parliament. Madam Deputy Speaker, this was an early win for Scottish devolution. I know that this debate is particularly close to his heart, as it is to the heart of my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow West (Patricia Ferguson) and to mine, as former Members of the Scottish Parliament, where we had the privilege to serve. Today, more than 25 years after the Parliament opened in 1999, it is an appropriate point to look back over what has been accomplished through devolution. I remain proud that it was the 1997 Labour Government, through the Scotland Act, who paved the way to our Parliament. Since that principle has been established in Scotland, so many regions and cities across the UK have also embraced the principle of devolution with great success. As we look to the future of our constitutional settlement and reforms of this Parliament—independence for Scotland or further devolution is not the only constitutional debate we have—I hope we will see a greater role still for our nations and regions here, along the lines envisioned by Gordon Brown in the excellent report by his Commission on the UK’s Future. That we have seen devolution of power across the UK since the foundation of the Scottish Parliament is, I believe, a positive reflection on devolution in Scotland being the settled and tested will of the Scottish people. Since 1999, significant additional powers have been devolved to Holyrood, not least around income tax. It is so disappointing, therefore, that while the Scottish National party has been quick to demand greater devolution of powers to Scotland, it has been unable and unwilling to devolve power to local communities in Scotland. This debate is titled “Devolution in Scotland”, but the sad fact is that there has been precious little devolution in Scotland under the SNP. Ministers in Edinburgh have centralised power at every turn and eviscerated the budgets of our local authorities. What have the Scottish Government achieved with the powers they have so ruthlessly retained for themselves, instead of devolving them to local communities, and with the £5.2 billion additional funding given to the Scottish Government in the Budget this year? The SNP has presided over a rate of economic growth in Scotland that has lagged behind that in the rest of the United Kingdom, and it has failed to support our teachers and pupils. The reputation of our education system in Scotland —once the great pride of our country—has been battered because of the incompetence of SNP Ministers. While NHS waiting lists in England are shrinking thanks to the investment secured by the Chancellor, and the successful stewardship of health services by the Secretary of State, Ministers in Scotland are squandering billions of pounds extra on our health services. In Fife, we face some of the longest waiting times for surgery anywhere in Scotland. The hon. Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) mentioned the sorry statistics on drug deaths in Scotland. The issue is taking a tragic toll on many communities and families in my constituency. On the wider provision of health services, particularly with regard to primary care, it was frankly beyond belief to hear some of the promises made by John Swinney on walk-in appointments at GP surgeries. Lochgelly in my constituency is still waiting for any indication that work will begin on a new health centre that is badly needed by the local community. SNP Ministers first promised it more than 15 years ago. We have also discussed the centralisation of police and fire services in Scotland. What has been its result? Certainly in my constituency, police numbers are being cut in the face of rising concerns about antisocial behaviour. On fire and rescue services, Lochgelly faces the removal of a fire engine and a reduced number of firefighters, and another appliance is to be removed in either Glenrothes or Methil. It is no wonder that in a debate on devolution, SNP Members want only to talk about independence, given their woeful record in government under devolution. What a contrast with what Labour Ministers in Westminster are delivering for Scotland, and what Scottish Labour offers next year—not a tired Government out of ideas, but a Government who will fix our NHS, restore our schools, close the opportunity gap, grow our economy and bring back community policing for safer communities. Labour will ensure that the record funding in public services in Scotland is not wasted, but actually results in the improvements that people expect, need and deserve. It is Labour Ministers who are actually devolving power on decision making, ensuring that communities have a real say in what will make a difference for them. Two pride in place schemes in Fife are bringing £40 million of investment into the communities where it is most needed. In his famous address at the opening of the Scottish Parliament, Donald Dewar spoke of the “shout of the welder in the din of the great Clyde shipyards”. This Government have secured the future of 2,000 jobs at the Clyde shipyard with a £10 billion deal with Norway for new frigates. In my constituency, the Methil yard was saved from bankruptcy by the actions of this Government, as Ministers succeeded in ensuring that it was purchased by Navantia UK, along with Arnish in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton), saving the jobs of 200 skilled workers and apprentices in Methil, and allowing the yard to look to a bright future.

• 15 Oct 2025 · Pride in Place · Hansard source

  More

  Two neighbourhoods in Fife are benefiting from £40 million of Pride in Place funding, showing the Government once again delivering for the people of the kingdom of Fife. Given the centralisation of power in Scotland under the SNP, how does the Minister believe those funds can support local decision making in Scottish communities, particularly in areas of deprivation?

• 14 Oct 2025 · Mental Health Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

  More

  The Bill addresses fundamental flaws in our current mental health legislation in relation to the rights of people with learning disabilities and autistic people. I will focus my comments on new clauses 32 and 33, which I have tabled. They are also about vital rights within our mental health legislation and relate closely to the powerful comments made by the right hon. Member for Salisbury (John Glen) and by my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Mr Quigley). New clause 32 would provide for mandatory independent care, education and treatment reviews for patients detained in long-term segregation. In her report, “My heart breaks”, Baroness Hollins highlighted the harms and sufferings that are so often associated with long-term segregation, and assessed how introducing care, education and treatment reviews can reduce the incidence and use of segregation. I very much welcome the provisions on reviews of care and treatment that Ministers have already included in the Bill, but it has now been demonstrated that independently-chaired reviews are making a real difference and lead to inappropriate long-term segregation being challenged and addressed. The human impacts are substantial. New clause 32 would make such reviews a requirement when someone has been placed in segregation for 72 hours. New clause 33 seeks to introduce a new level of scrutiny in cases where patients with autism or learning disability have been detained for more than five years. I believe there is a very strong case for an additional check and balance when people have been under detention and compulsory measures for so many years. I understand that the latest data for England shows that 350 people with a learning disability or autism who are currently in in-patient units have been detained there for more than 10 years. In a previous role, I provided advocacy for the family of a young man, Kyle, who has a learning disability. He is a patient in the State hospital in Carstairs in Scotland, but his family live in the north-east of Scotland. His mother and grandmother have to make a round trip of nearly seven hours to see Kyle for visits which have in the past been restricted to a single hour. Kyle was convicted of no crime when he was admitted to Carstairs in 2009. He has been there for 16 years. The toll that this has taken on his family has been horrendous. The situation is devastating for them, and there is no end in sight. Although it is a case for the Scottish mental health system, it has provided me with an insight into what many people with learning disabilities and their families will be experiencing in England today, and the limitations of mental health tribunals in dealing with these issues. People with learning disabilities have been losing their liberty for years because of their disability; this is a human rights emergency. It is clear that we have to do far more to prevent these situations from happening. The Bill will help to do that with its welcome measures on prevention, but where these cases are happening now, I believe there should be an additional level of scrutiny—an extra check and balance so that after so long, someone with the right level of authority and expertise can challenge providers to do better and to ask the question, “How can it be that someone has lost their liberty and their right to a family life, because we cannot make their care and treatment work in a community setting?” Although I very much welcome the introduction of the care, education and treatment reviews, I believe we should go further in these circumstances. That is why new clause 33 would make provision for notification to the Care Quality Commission when someone has been detained for more than five years. This is an excellent Bill. It will do so much for the rights of people with learning disabilities and autism, but there are several areas where I hope the Minister can outline what further ambitions the Government have to ensure that our mental health system is fit for purpose and based on human rights.

• 8 Sept 2025 · Defence Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

  More

  Can the Minister assure me that, along with the huge defence contracts that this Government have already secured for shipyards in Scotland, this strategy will also offer great opportunities for fabrication yards, including at Methil in my constituency? It was saved from closure by Labour Ministers, and its brilliant workforce are already delivering a new £8 million Government contract under its new owners, Navantia UK.

• 9 Jul 2025 · Supporting Scottish Agriculture · Hansard source

  More

  Does my hon. Friend agree that the Chancellor’s excellent spending review for Scotland, which sets out record funding for the Scottish Government, means that SNP Ministers are ideally placed to offer the agricultural sector in Scotland a multi-year funding settlement, and that that is exactly what they should now do?

• 7 Jul 2025 · Antisocial Behaviour · Hansard source

  More

  With increasing incidents of antisocial behaviour and falling police numbers in Scotland, will the Minister assure me that she will share learning from the safer streets initiative with SNP Ministers, as it is rolled out, to encourage them to raise their game on this issue? Will she also join me and Police Scotland in Fife in praising Kingdom Off Road motorcycle club in my constituency, which is such a success in running activities that divert young people from antisocial behaviour?

• 7 Jul 2025 · Antisocial Behaviour · Hansard source

  More

  17. What recent progress her Department has made on tackling antisocial behaviour.