Speeches by Murray.

“You were talking about the availability of skills and working with colleges, and all of that is great, but how does the higher tax banding for income tax in Scotland affect the situation for production companies basing themselves in Scotland? Do you think that has an effect? Do you think that some people prefer to work…”

“I am just wondering how Scotland has benefited from the BBC’s Across the UK strategy, moving people, power and decision making into Scotland. You talked earlier about the collaboration that you are developing and how you think that will benefit, so I was just wondering how that actually meets the requirement to have mo…”

“It is really good to hear about the success of the BBC and the way that the collaboration is reaching out internationally with programmes, but how is that benefiting Scotland? Are we getting more Scottish-focused productions and programmes, mainly for Scotland? You mentioned Bitesize and the success of Bitesize. How do…”

“Is the 75% figure a UK figure?”

“I thank the Minister for the insight. In Mid Dunbartonshire, nearly a quarter of my constituents are of pension age. Many have placed their hard-earned income into private schemes, yet despite their financial planning, they face the harsh reality that inflation is outstripping the modest yearly increase to their pensio…”

“3. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of trends in inflation on pensioners’ living standards.”

“Thank you for that. Perhaps I could ask James then: in general, how are companies able to ensure that disposal of dead fish does not impact on communities and the environment, when clearly there are instances where unanticipated actions need to be taken?”

“Would the industry feel that there should be a mechanism put in place for these—perhaps you would call them exceptional incidents?”

“Sorry to interrupt, but it is more about when something happens. This was the consequence of a plant not being available when it was anticipated it would be.”

“Thank you very much, everybody, for coming today and for your answers. Earlier on in the session we talked quite extensively about mortality figures and, of course, the consequence of mortality is that there are dead and dying fish that need to be disposed of. Earlier this year it was reported that a company had buried…”

“Again, Sean, it is to you, but thanks to both of you for coming along. It is to do with the individual standards for RSPCA Assured salmon: 1,200 standards seems a huge number and an increase of 269 recently. How is it possible to audit all these standards?”

“First of all, I would like to thank you all for coming and congratulate Baroness Smith, but also to say that it has been really heartening to hear of the approach of working together and building on what is already working. I would just like to ask how the Secretary of State thinks the Department will achieve its long-…”

“In some ways you have started to answer my final question, but in your first statement as Secretary of State, you said that you would ensure that the Scotland Office has a strong voice for Scotland within the UK Government. I think you have already started to outline that, but how will you achieve that, and do you feel…”

“I would like to move the subject to how Scotland is funded by the UK Government. The Scottish Government are well within their limit for resource borrowing but remain close to their cap on investment. Are borrowing limits for resource set high enough, or too high?”

“Thanks for that. What are the main levers that the Scotland Office has to deliver that?”

“One other point about the drawdown limit on the Scotland reserve. They have been removed, but there is still a cap of £700 million. Do you think this goes far enough to provide sufficient flexibility to protect Scotland from future economic volatility?”

“16. What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the early release scheme.”

“In my Mid Dunbartonshire constituency, the community justice team are having success in preventing reoffending by working with offenders in a trauma-informed way. It is recognised that short sentences, as has already been mentioned, do not prevent reoffending. Does the Minister agree that the prevention of reoffending …”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for allowing me to make my first contribution to a UK Budget debate. I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I congratulate Members on the Government Benches on their excellent maiden speeches. I was pleased to hear the Chancellor’s plans for reparations for…”

“I thank you for chairing this debate, Mr Dowd, and I thank the hon. Member for Glasgow East (John Grady) for bringing this important topic to Westminster Hall. I thank all colleagues for their contributions—we are definitely stronger together. Building on the talent and experience in Aberdeen, by developing new industr…”