Susan Murray MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 3 Jun 2025 · Inheritance Tax: Family-owned Businesses · Hansard source

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  I certainly agree that we need to protect our family-owned businesses and do everything we can to help them to thrive, rather than putting them in a position whereby the economy is at risk of losing both jobs and growth. I will finish the question that I was putting to the Minister. Will he consider amending the proposed legislation to ensure that the changes do not weaken genuine family businesses, and make the transfer of shares in a family business to the next generation exempt from inheritance tax for seven years, provided that the business is not sold in that period? If it is sold within that period, inheritance tax would become payable, along with the capital gains tax, both of which could be funded from the proceeds of the sale. This Government have stated that growing the UK economy is essential, but attacking the backbone of the economy—the family businesses that have proved they can adapt and change rapidly to meet changing market needs and conditions, and that support supply chains and local jobs—must not happen. Family businesses should be supported, not raided for a relatively de minimis gain to the Exchequer.

• 3 Jun 2025 · Inheritance Tax: Family-owned Businesses · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for raising that issue. I have seen the research and will refer to it later in my speech. That was a timely publication.

• 3 Jun 2025 · Inheritance Tax: Family-owned Businesses · Hansard source

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  I agree; it is important we understand that these businesses and family farms exist in their own right and are not simply personal property, even though they are family owned. Today, under Andrew Young, Young’s foundry continues to provide skilled and specialist manufacturing from its bases in Kirkintilloch, Motherwell and the north of England. Like so many of the family-run firms we are here to talk about, its success has been built over decades of hard work and reinvestment in its business and workforce, yet recent Government policies are putting that at risk. Clearly, family-owned businesses can cope with challenges in the economic and business environment, which they have navigated over generations, but when Government policies are hostile to their success and survival, their ability to create jobs and grow the economy is eroded and their future is uncertain. Whether it is rising energy and employment costs, burdensome business rates or disproportionate regulatory hurdles, these enterprises face challenges that their multinational competitors are often better equipped to absorb, or that they do not face at all. The reforms to business property relief and agricultural relief announced in the 2024 autumn Budget have dealt family businesses a blow that risks undermining the very principle of intergenerational succession that has been at the heart of their success. They must retain profits to reinvest in business assets, to enhance business competitiveness and invest in product development. Prior to the reforms, the shares held in private family-owned businesses could be passed on upon death to the next family generation, free of inheritance tax. This was enabled by the shares qualifying for 100% business property relief. The 2024 Budget introduced a new £1 million relief cap beyond which inheritance tax is due, with business property relief of 50%, resulting in an inheritance tax charge of 20% being applied to such transfers upon death. This sudden change means that family financial planning opportunities are much more limited. Under the new rules any lifetime transfer of business property relief or agricultural property relief assets made on or after 30 October 2024 will be subject to the new relief limits if the donor dies on or after 6 April 2026. GAP Holdings Ltd is another family-owned business based in my constituency. I thank Mark Anderson of GAP for allowing me to share his company’s position in this debate. He has also met the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and colleagues. Founded in 1969, GAP’s tool-hire business has grown dramatically. By reinvesting in its assets over the past 10 years, it has tripled its turnover and now employs over 2,000 people across the UK. GAP’s annual profit to March was £44 million, and its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation were £132 million. For GAP, the potential inheritance tax charge arising upon the death of the second generation would amount to tens of millions of pounds. The proposed £1 million relief cap would make no meaningful difference to the size of the problem. Three months ago, GAP exceeded the £1 million mark in its total donations to charitable causes. That is the kind of benefit that these businesses bring to the community. The inheritance tax changes would require the independent valuation of companies. Will the Minister clarify whether there is a consistent and defined methodology for that activity? When a family business owner dies and leaves shares to the next generation, there is no cash available to pay inheritance tax liability and no windfall to successors. In practical terms, it is business as usual, and the business continues to use its assets to trade and contribute economically to the local community. It is not the same as selling a business; however, it may force the company to be sold completely to pay the liability. Will the Minister confirm that it is not the Government’s intention that a family-owned business that has been passed down through the generations is forced to be sold as a result of the change, or forced into failure by having to take on unsustainable levels of debt?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Prisons: Rehabilitation · Hansard source

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  In my constituency of Mid Dunbartonshire, the community justice team are having some success in preventing reoffending by working with offenders in a trauma-informed way. Given the success of that trauma-informed approach to rehabilitation, what discussions has the Minister had regarding the differing approaches that are taken to offender rehabilitation across the UK?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Prisons: Rehabilitation · Hansard source

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  15. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of rehabilitative programmes in prisons.

• 22 May 2025 · Access to NHS Dentistry · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) for bringing forward this important debate. In my constituency and across Scotland, families are desperately struggling to access NHS dental treatment. Public Health Scotland figures show that while 87% of children are registered with an NHS dentist, only about 66% have actually been seen by one in the past two years, and in our most deprived areas that drops to only one in two children. This is despite the SNP claiming that 95% of children are registered with an NHS dentist. When routine care disappears, the consequences are seen in hospitals. Before the pandemic, Scotland was admitting about 8,000 children a year for dental extractions under general anaesthetic, making it the single biggest cause of planned childhood admissions to hospitals. Despite the clear and dire consequences of failing to address dental health and health inequalities in general, the Governments in both Holyrood and Westminster appear to be looking the other way. A recent British Dental Association survey highlighted the financial strain faced by dentists, with 45% of practices saying that they were struggling to stay financially viable and over half saying that the recent Budget had accelerated their move into the private sector. With that in mind, we must ask why this Government chose to follow through on their national insurance rise for primary care providers such as dentists. It appears that while Labour’s manifesto said that they would support local health providers, the reality for those providing care is quite different. I therefore join my Liberal Democrat colleagues in calling on the Government to reconsider their stance on national insurance. Failing to return national insurance contributions to their former levels will inevitably result in fewer NHS dental appointments, fewer NHS dental providers, and more children on operating tables.

• 6 May 2025 · Poverty: Glasgow North East · Hansard source

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  That is not my experience in my constituency of Mid Dunbartonshire. We did a survey recently that showed that there was quite a lot of difficulty in finding an NHS dentist, and that many people who were with NHS dentists found that they were moving to private practice. In fact, I know of many constituents in east Dunbartonshire who are travelling to Springburn to reach an NHS dentist, so they have to travel quite a long distance. Tackling poverty means addressing the full range of barriers that hold children back. Hunger, cold homes and preventable health issues are among them. Those are devolved levers that Holyrood can and should pull. The Scottish child payment is a start, but Westminster must also play its part. The Liberal Democrats are calling on the UK Government to tackle child poverty by removing the two-child limit and the benefits cap, and to reduce the wait for the first payment of universal credit from five weeks to five days. Instead, a UK-wide poverty premium continues to strip cash from low-income households through their higher tariffs and costlier services. Scotland cannot build fairness on funding shortfalls. Hungry children cannot learn. Cold, unwell children cannot thrive. Nourished pupils, warm homes and healthy children are the engines for future growth. By investing in all our children, school meals, energy efficiency and basic healthcare access, we will not only spare a generation the misery of deprivation, but unlock the skills, health and enterprise that can power north-east Glasgow and the whole of the United Kingdom to a more prosperous future. This is not just a moral choice; it is the smart one, both socially and economically.

• 6 May 2025 · Poverty: Glasgow North East · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I thank the hon. Member for Glasgow North East (Maureen Burke) for securing this important debate and for her very moving speech. It is clear that she is committed to her constituents. We need to break the cycle of inequality. As we heard, on the streets of north-east Glasgow and in parts of my constituency of Mid Dunbartonshire—including Auchinairn, which neighbours Glasgow North East—too many young people begin life weighed down by poverty rather than uplifted by potential. Across Glasgow, 33% of children are growing up poor, but that figure rises to over 37% in the Glasgow East constituency, the highest rate in Scotland. Behind every percentage point are hundreds of pupils whose concentration is broken by hunger, and whose homework, if it is done at all, is done under blankets because the heating is off. New figures from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reveal that 6 million people in the UK today are living in “very deep poverty”, and nearly half a million of them are in Scotland. Poverty on that scale is not just a social failure. It is an economic own goal and a drag on growth. The OECD has long shown that inequality depresses GDP by stunting skills and productivity. A cold, hungry child suffering from illness and missing school is unlikely to become the skilled, creative adult our economy needs. We need investment, not in handouts but in the human capital that will pay Scotland dividends for decades. Three interventions stand out. First, we must extend free school meals to every child in poverty throughout primary and secondary school. Scotland rightly offers universal provision in primary 1 to 5, yet pupils in primary 6 and 7 and early secondary school still fall through the net. Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies finds that a reliable, nutritious lunch raises attainment by the equivalent of two months’ learning each year and boosts lifetime earnings. That is growth economics in a dinner hall: healthier children today, higher productivity tomorrow, and lower long-term welfare and NHS costs. Secondly, we must make every home in north-east Glasgow and beyond warm and efficient. The Warmer Homes Scotland programme helped over 7,000 households last year, cutting bills and carbon alike, and demand has soared as energy prices climb. Accelerating retrofits in social housing across the region would create skilled jobs and boost economic activity through local supply chains. For families, it means that money saved on energy bills can be spent on essentials such as food, school shoes or a local after-school club. Thirdly, we must ensure universal access to NHS dental care for all children. Despite school dentists, all too frequently families simply cannot get an NHS dentist. Routine care is being missed and tooth decay remains one of the leading causes of hospital admissions for children. That is not just a public health failure; it is a productivity issue. Dental pain keeps children off school, affects their speech and self-esteem and entrenches disadvantage. Good oral health must be seen as a core part of a child’s educational and developmental success.

• 6 May 2025 · Shifting Care into the Community · Hansard source

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  In my constituency there is an ageing population in need of local healthcare services. Will the Secretary of State meet his Scottish counterpart to discuss the need for increased access to community healthcare, and specifically the need for a new health and care centre within my constituency?

• 30 Apr 2025 · Safety of Humanitarian Workers: Conflict Zones · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cheadle (Mr Morrison) for securing this debate. Across conflict lines from Gaza to South Sudan, the Congo, Syria and Ukraine, people wearing nothing more than a hi-vis vest risk, and too often lose, their lives to keep hope alive. The United Nations warns that 2024 is the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers, with 325 having died that year, as we have heard. Of course, many of them died in Gaza, including seven people working for the food aid charity World Central Kitchen, who were killed in an Israeli strike. Those who died were Australian, Polish, British and Palestinian, along with a dual US-Canadian citizen. The thought that British-made arms could have been used in such strikes is completely unacceptable. The Liberal Democrats call on the Government to immediately suspend the supply of British arms exports to Israel. Today, children are dying of starvation in Gaza as Israel prevents food aid from reaching them, while hospitals are destroyed and medical treatment vanishes under the Israeli bombardment. Those who provide lifesaving aid are dying alongside. The protection of committed humanitarian workers is not an abstract principle: it is vital under international humanitarian law and deserves to be properly funded. Safety training, armoured transport, secure radios and trauma counselling all cost money. Yet while danger rises, funding falls. My constituents in Mid Dunbartonshire care, and are asking me to raise this issue with the Government so that the value and sacrifice of aid workers and medical staff are recognised. The UK aid budget dropped from nearly £15.5 billion in 2023 to £14 billion in 2024—down to 0.5% of national income—and Ministers are now floating a further cut to 0.3%. Every fraction shaved off forces agencies to cancel evacuations, postpone security upgrades and send workers out with less protection. Less money on the ledger means more names on the memorial. We cannot credibly insist that combatants respect humanitarian space while dismantling the lifeline that keeps that space viable. I therefore encourage the Government to reassess their approach to aid funding and view it as a tool not just to help those in need but to prevent future conflict and protect aid workers. Alongside that, we need vigorous diplomacy to prosecute those who target aid workers. If we truly want a safer world, we must safeguard the people who deliver the world’s help. Cutting aid does the opposite, and the price is paid in human lives.

• 29 Apr 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  In my constituency, many elderly and disabled people face very high energy bills due to essential medical equipment and heating needs. What support are the Government providing to ensure that these households are protected from the high cost of electricity?

• 3 Apr 2025 · UK Democracy: Impact of Digital Platforms · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Sorcha Eastwood) for bringing this important debate to the Chamber and for her courage. As we have heard, the Netflix show “Adolescence” has been a wake-up call for many about social media’s dangerous impact on our world view and beliefs. A young boy groomed online by an incel culture that is hostile to women murders a female classmate for resisting his prejudice against women. Campaigners have recently warned of this issue. Months before “Adolescence” was released, Zero Tolerance’s “Many Good Men” report highlighted the need to better regulate platforms that spread misinformation and radicalisation. That is of particular importance for young people, including those in my constituency of Mid Dunbartonshire, as nearly 60% of them rely on social media as their primary information source, including for news, as we have heard. If radical content already fuels violence against women and girls, we must be aware of its effect on democracy. The hon. Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) referenced research at Glasgow University. Recent work by King’s College London showed that over half of generation Z think that the UK would improve under a strong leader who is unconstrained by Parliament or elections. More worryingly, when explicitly asked if they would prefer a dictatorship, 6% said yes. Yet, when questioned on that stance, they clarified that they simply wanted a leader who could effect change quickly, as current progress is too slow. This should not come as a surprise. After all, they are bearing the brunt of a mental health crisis, soaring house prices and a brutal jobs market. It is clear that a poor online environment reflects a poor real-world environment. Individuals of all ages, frustrated by their circumstances, look for something to blame, be it women, immigration or democracy, in sentiment driven by social media giants and the far-right populists who exploit young people’s frustrations. The solutions to social media’s erosion of democracy lie in the real world. The John Smith Centre stresses that politicians should be more open and transparent and address young people’s housing and employment concerns to reduce disillusionment. If we ignore their challenges, social media will continue to undermine our democracy and draw our young people into increasingly extreme environments.

• 1 Apr 2025 · Eating Disorder Awareness · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) for securing this debate and for all her work. It is important that we keep bringing attention to this important issue, because eating disorders continue to claim far too many lives and undermine the wellbeing of countless people. As we have heard, recent statistics show the severity of the challenge. The proportion of 11 to 16-year-olds with an eating disorder rose from one in 200 in 2017 to five in 200 in 2023. Hospital admissions have doubled in the past decade, and as we know, hospital is not always the most appropriate destination. More alarmingly still, rates among 17 to 19-year-olds surged from one in 100 in 2017 to more than 12 in 100 last year. Despite those worrying statistics, eating disorders are often viewed through a narrow lens. Conditions such as muscle dysmorphia are increasingly affecting teenagers and are challenging the stereotype of what an eating disorder is. Muscle dysmorphia is a dangerous condition that can lead not only to disordered eating, but in some cases to the use of anabolic steroids or other performance-enhancing substances, as we are increasingly seeing. Social media platforms play an influential role in shaping perceptions of body image and can sometimes fuel these destructive conditions. We are continually exposed to curated images of supposedly perfect physiques, with posts and videos that can glamorise unhealthy behaviours. Although social media has the potential to serve as a space for positivity and connection, we must recognise that it can also intensify body-related anxieties and push vulnerable individuals towards extreme measures. Rather than letting this content spread unchecked, it is vital to ensure that any material glorifying unhealthy lifestyles, whether that means severe calorie restriction or steroid use, is firmly curtailed, while healthy evidence-based advice is made readily available. We must address eating disorders by looking not just at the initial health impact, but at the wider environment, and taking a holistic, preventive approach. We should support educators and parents as well as healthcare professionals in understanding how to identify early warning signs. At the same time, those responsible for digital platforms must be held to account for the environment that they create and for the potentially harmful messages that they allow to be shared. Designing algorithms to highlight balanced, medically sound advice, rather than misleading or extreme content, would be a significant step in minimising the harm and in guiding young people towards healthy lifestyle choices. In the light of the growing impact of eating disorders and related conditions such as body dysmorphia, I urge the Government to recognise the growing threat. By combining robust health education with online protections, we can take the first step towards safeguarding the next generation from an epidemic that has already caused so much damage. We owe it to our children and young people to ensure that they can learn, socialise, grow and celebrate difference. I absolutely support my hon. Friend’s call for an eating disorder strategy as the first step.

• 27 Mar 2025 · Prevention of Drug Deaths · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I am grateful for the opportunity to address the important issue that the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) has brought before us today. The UK’s outdated drug laws, intended to protect citizens, have deepened harm and opened the door to criminal gangs. That has led to a state in which in 2023 there were nearly 7,000 deaths from illegal drug use—a tragic failure to shield vulnerable people from the dangerous reach of the illegal market. The so-called war on drugs, championed by successive Governments, has not halted the supply of harmful substances. It has neither reduced addiction nor prevented disastrous impacts on families and communities. The emphasis on enforcement has allowed underground networks to thrive, and ultimately neglected the fundamental public health challenges at hand. We have clear evidence that we need to switch to a new approach, under which compassion and an understanding of addiction as a medical issue guide decision making. I have seen at first hand the impact that that switch can make, having recently visited the safe consumption facility in Scotland and two that are well established in Norway. That allowed me to see how such facilities not only save lives but help communities. They allow addicts to access services and get the care and support that they need. By offering a clean and monitored environment for those who are dependent on drugs, those centres have reduced open-air drug use in surrounding areas, helped more people to step on to the pathway to treatment and support, and saved the lives of users. So, it is with the lives of users and our communities in mind that I urge the Government to focus attention on three vital reforms. First, transfer the policy lead from the Home Office to the Department of Health and Social Care, ensuring that addiction is tackled as a health condition and not merely as a criminal matter. Secondly, invest in robust, evidence-based addiction services that make help readily available and eliminate waiting times. Thirdly, replace criminal penalties for simple possession with civil penalties where appropriate, empowering treatment options over punishment. By enacting these reforms at a national level we can send a clear message, putting people’s health first, saving lives and restoring dignity to families and communities that have borne the brunt of drug-related harms. Most important, we will begin to break the cycle of ineffective criminalisation, offering hope and a genuine path forward to those struggling with addiction.

• 27 Mar 2025 · Hughes Report: First Anniversary · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Lady agree that it is important that any inquiry and report looks into the fact that the products that were used, particularly in the mesh scandal, were properly licensed for the procedures they were used for?

• 26 Mar 2025 · Smaller Platforms: Regulation · Hansard source

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  Many schools in my constituency of Mid Dunbartonshire use mobile phones as an educational tool, yet along with this learning opportunity comes easy access to sites posting horrendous content. I would like to know how the Government plan to tackle small, foreign-based websites exposing people to graphic content. What steps is the Department taking to ensure that smaller platforms are adequately regulated to protect children from online harms?

• 26 Mar 2025 · Smaller Platforms: Regulation · Hansard source

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  5. What steps his Department is taking to ensure that smaller platforms are adequately regulated to protect children from online harms.

• 18 Mar 2025 · Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill (Twelfth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, that the clause be read a Second time. It is a pleasure to work under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. The new clause would enable replacements of large portions of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 —in particular, sections on asylum, immigration control, age assessments and modern slavery—to ensure the upholding of the refugee convention, to provide for safe and legal routes to sanctuary for refugees and to help prevent dangerous channel crossings.

• 18 Mar 2025 · Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill (Twelfth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister. It is good to hear that the Government support the principle of family reunion, but we will press the new clause to a vote. Question put, That the clause be read a Second time.

• 18 Mar 2025 · Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill (Twelfth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her clear outline. The Liberal Democrats want to enable the replacement of large portions of the Nationality and Borders Act and ensure that we uphold the refugee convention. We wish to push the new clause to a vote. Question put, That the clause be read a Second time.

• 18 Mar 2025 · Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill (Twelfth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. This new clause would make provision for leave to enter or remain the UK to be granted to the family members of refugees and of people granted humanitarian protection. Through the clause the Liberal Democrats seek to support refugee family reunion and to help people to integrate into the community, learn the language, make a home and work to contribute to society, exactly as the hon. Member for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh discussed.

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

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  5. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to employer national insurance contributions on businesses in Scotland.

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

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  A constituent has told me about one of their clients, which is a care home owner that is facing an increase in operating costs of £70,000 a year as a result of the national insurance contributions increase. Most of the business’s caring staff work part time, which suits their family circumstances. However, for each part-time member of staff, the business must pay an additional £615 a year as a result of the change to the national insurance contributions threshold in the Government’s October Budget. In Mid Dunbartonshire, and across the UK, there is growing demand for social care. What will the Government do to help businesses in the care sector that have been hit by these increased staffing costs at a time of significant rises?

• 4 Mar 2025 · Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill (Third sitting) · Hansard source

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  The Minister makes good points about the practicalities. It is good to hear that she recognises that the Liberal Democrats are simply trying to ensure that we have international influence and cross-border activities.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill (Third sitting) · Hansard source

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  That is a really important point. If the new clause were accepted, civil servants would perhaps have to look at ways to schedule meetings in advance so that they were not done on an ad hoc basis.