Speeches by McAllister.

“12. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of city region deals in Scotland.”

“West Dunbartonshire is one of eight local authorities that make up the Glasgow city region deal. The local authority is delivering an ambitious project to create a major industrial and commercial development on the former ExxonMobil terminal site on the Clyde. The enabling works are funded jointly by the council and th…”

“My question is indeed about trade and whisky tariffs. Scotch whisky is a major employer in my West Dunbartonshire constituency and of course across Scotland. It represents 21% of all UK food and drink exports, supporting 41,000 jobs in Scotland. I understand that the Scotch Whisky Association has worked very closely wi…”

“It does, and thank you very much for that very full answer. It leads me nicely on to my second question, which is about your role and involvement in the removal of the US tariffs on whisky, which you have explained, and the Scottish Government’s role also. I think it is fair to say that that really brought into the spo…”

“I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. I am sure his point has not been lost on the Minister, and we await with great anticipation what he will say from the Dispatch Box. Madam Deputy Speaker, I will conclude. Trade with these settlements is fundamentally incompatible with international law. It is time to turn our solid…”

“For my constituents in West Dunbartonshire, a community geographically far removed from Palestine, the horrific injustice being inflicted on the Palestinian people resonates deeply. They look at the systematic confiscation of Palestinian land, the draining of Palestinian water resources and the suffocating restrictions…”

“Yes, I agree entirely with my hon. Friend, who makes a very good point. I think all hon. Members in the House have had the same volume of correspondence from our constituents, emphasising the strength of feeling up and down the United Kingdom. Today, the situation in the west bank and East Jerusalem is at breaking poin…”

“Q6. This week marks the second anniversary of our Labour Government. Two years on, my constituents enjoy greater rights at work, and thousands of workers are now better off, thanks to increases in the national minimum wage. Thousands of children have been lifted out of poverty, and tens of millions of pounds in pride i…”

“My constituency of West Dunbartonshire is no different from everyone else’s constituencies, I would suspect. For instance, the Bank of Scotland on Main street in Alexandria in West Dunbartonshire closed earlier this year, but we are very fortunate in that we have a new banking hub in Alexandria Main street. I would agr…”

“There was a suggestion from the Federation of Small Businesses on our high streets that banks should be putting more money into accelerating the role of banking hubs. Do you agree with that?”

“I thank the Minister for his statement and I appreciate all the Government’s work to resolve this inherited issue. However, the system is inadequate, and it is causing serious problems for many in my constituency, which has a higher than average number of outstanding cases. Capita’s communication is terrible; my consti…”

“I am concerned that the small allowance for coastguards, to which my hon. Friend refers, is what prevents public service from becoming a personal financial penalty; by removing that, we risk making it significantly harder to recruit and retain volunteers, particularly for new teams such as the Clydebank coastguard resc…”

“Can I ask you both what the overriding strategy is? Is it just to increase visibility and exposure of the language, because you called it the hidden language? Or is it to get the population talking Gaelic again and being fluent in it? What is your main priority? Let’s be realistic—only 11,000 people in the population c…”

“It is for both.”

“I am presuming that everything we do now, including spending on defence, will help clear the pathway to a re-industrialised nation. I understand that rewiring Britain involves ensuring parity between academic and technical career routes. Does the Secretary of State agree that if the defence investment plan is to succee…”

“We know that the attainment gap holds back children who grow up in poverty. The gap reached its highest levels under the Tories, and in Scotland the SNP has failed to close it. Does the Minister agree that it is shameful that the Tories’ only policies for children are bringing back the two-child limit, plunging hundred…”

“Have you had a reply to that letter?”

“Minister, the £10 million that has been allocated for the defence technical excellence colleges in Scotland, that is contingent on Scottish Government match funding, as I understand it, to allow us to have two. The idea is to have one east coast based and one in the west region. Those talks are ongoing but we are alrea…”

“10. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce inequalities experienced by children in poverty.”

“Minister, what confidence can we seriously have—can we really have—that the Scottish Government are in any way going to work with the UK Government? You have given the obvious example of the welding centre on the Clyde. That was a bespoke specialist welding centre, Rolls-Royce in partnership with the Mallon Group, an £…”