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Economy
4. Mr. Russell Brown (Dumfries): What discussions he had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the impact of the Budget on the Scottish economy. [91601]
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Dr. John Reid): I shall discuss that matter with the Chancellor as necessary to ensure that his outstanding management of the United Kingdom economy continues to benefit Scotland, as it has done over the past two years.
Mr. Brown: I thank the Secretary of State for his reply. He will be fully aware that the working families tax credit will be introduced in October. How many Scottish
families will benefit from that measure? Will he make representations to the Chancellor to ensure that families in Scotland are aware of this valuable means of tackling poverty?
Dr. Reid: I commend to the House and to people in Scotland the working families tax credit which the Chancellor intends to introduce. This is another major step forward in ensuring that our economic competence is matched by social justice. More than 140,000 families in Scotland will benefit, with a minimum wage of £200 per week for families with one worker. That is part of our fight for social justice in Scotland, and is in addition to the 200,000 people who benefit from the minimum wage, the £1.8 billion extra on the health service, the £1.3 billion extra going into education, the lowest rate of inflation, mortgages and interest rates that we have had for a long time, and the lowest rate of unemployment in Scotland for 20 years. That is testimony to the competence of the Chancellor and the Government, and is the necessary platform to ensure that the lives of people in Scotland will improve year by year under the Labour Government in partnership with the Labour-led Administration in Edinburgh.
Mr. David Prior (North Norfolk): If the economy in Scotland is being managed so successfully, why are class sizes and waiting lists increasing?
Dr. Reid: The hon. Gentleman is trying to surpass his hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Mr. Fallon) in getting facts wrong. He may have misread yesterday's press. The Labour Government's first target for Scotland was to deliver the Parliament, which we have done; the second was economic stability, and he will be aware that we have achieved that; and the third was to reduce waiting lists to below 75,000 by 2002. I am pleased that the hon. Gentleman has given me the opportunity to tell the House that we met that target two and a half years ahead of schedule when, one month ago, we reduced waiting lists in Scotland to below 75,000.
Ms Rachel Squire (Dunfermline, West): Does my right hon. Friend agree that tackling low pay and family poverty has been a priority for the Government, unlike the previous Government, who believed that no income level was too low for a family to live on as long as it did not affect them or their supporters? Does he also agree that the minimum wage and the working families tax credit--both introduced this year--will lift thousands of Scottish families out of poverty? Those measures will start to end the national disgrace that we inherited from the previous Government which is that, at the end of the 20th century, one in four children are still living in poverty.
Dr. Reid: I agree with my hon. Friend. There is no greater blight on a civilised society than poverty in families and among children and our senior citizens. That is why I am proud that the Chancellor's custodianship of our economy has allowed people in Scotland the biggest-ever increase in child benefit. I am also proud that we were able to increase the Christmas bonus for pensioners to £100, and that, in addition to the minimum wage, which has lifted hundreds of thousands in Scotland above their previous position, the working families tax credit will benefit 140,000 more families in Scotland,
including a considerable number of children. For old folks, families and young people in Scotland, the Labour Government are beginning to make life better than it ever was before.Regional Aid
5. Mr. Archy Kirkwood (Roxburgh and Berwickshire): When he expects to announce the areas in Scotland to be included in the next programme of (a) regional development area aid and (b) European structural funds; and if he will make a statement. [91602]
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Dr. John Reid): The proposals for a new assisted areas map, including parts of the borders, were announced on 15 July. The safety net for the United Kingdom's coverage secured by the Prime Minister at the Berlin summit enabled the UK Government to propose that 49 per cent. of Scotland's population should be covered by the new map.
As regards objective 2 of the European structural funds, it is important to target the areas to be nominated. Finalising these areas is taking slightly longer than anticipated, but every effort is being made to do so as soon as possible.
Mr. Kirkwood:
The reintroduction of regional selective assistance in parts of the Scottish borders region on 15 July was warmly welcomed. However, as I am sure the Secretary of State will acknowledge, not every community in the region can be included in the eligible area map. That puts extra pressure on communities such as Jedburgh in my constituency which have been left out. The local people are perplexed about that, and feel that no one is responding to their needs.
When the European structural funds announcement on objective 2 is made, will the Secretary of State bear that in mind? Will he ensure that the whole Scottish borders region receives some coverage, so that compensating measures can be applied to communities that have not been given assisted area status? Will he also use all his powers to ensure that Members of Parliament are given adequate notice of the announcement, which will probably be made during the recess, and that we do not have to read about it in the newspapers?
Dr. Reid:
I will try to ensure that the hon. Gentleman's last request is met to the benefit of hon. Members.
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments about the assisted areas map. I think that the solution for Scotland was a fair one, which met Scotland's needs and resulted from the very partnership that I mentioned earlier. Not only did the Prime Minister negotiate a safety net for the United Kingdom, but I assure the hon. Gentleman that the First Minister and I worked closely together. I think that the resulting 49 per cent. coverage was very fair. We should bear in mind that the United Kingdom is now much more prosperous than it was in Europe when the last map was drawn up, and that, owing to the present Government's policies, Scotland is now much more prosperous in the United Kingdom than it was. As I say, I think that the settlement was fair.
As for objective 2, I cannot give the hon. Gentleman guarantees in regard to areas. We must ensure that the method of targeting is as efficient as possible. Because
we are now more prosperous, we can expect a diminution in the number of people who will be covered in Scotland. I will, however, attempt to ensure that the hon. Gentleman's comments are brought to the attention of all who are involved in the planning.
Mr. Douglas Alexander (Paisley, South):
I welcome the world-based approach to regional selective assistance, but would the Secretary of State be willing to meet me to discuss the impact of the new approach on my constituency?
Dr. Reid:
My hon. Friend has already raised the matter with me informally, and had the courtesy to tell me that he would ask me about it today. I know how keen he is to ensure that the interests of the people of Paisley are protected. I will certainly meet him but, as I think he will accept, the settlement regarding the assisted areas map was very fair from our point of view. We worked it out in partnership with our colleagues in the United Kingdom Parliament.
When a final announcement is made, it will be possible to make some technical adjustments to the map, but I do not hold out the probability of major adjustments.
6. Mr. Paul Flynn (Newport, West):
If he will set up new websites for Government information on constitutional changes affecting Scotland. [91603]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Calum Macdonald):
We are in the process of establishing a new website designed to illustrate the work of the Department. In addition, information on devolved matters is available on the Scottish Executive website.
Mr. Flynn:
I am delighted that my question resulted in such swift action.
Will my hon. Friend assure us that the new website will be more engaging and more journalistic than many of the other Government websites? I do not know whether he had a chance to meet members of a group which is devoted to the cause of increasing use of the internet by the elderly, and which operates under the intriguing name Hairnet. They rightly argue that the elderly have most to gain from the increased use of the world wide web, along with those who are housebound, disabled or infirm. If those people can be introduced to the world wide web, they will have opportunities to roam the wonderful prairies of information and find out about things as exciting as the progress of the Scottish constitution.
Mr. Macdonald:
I should be delighted to receive further information about Hairnet, or Airnet. The website that we are developing was intended to come into operation during the next couple of weeks, but we want to have another look at it with the aim of making it a wee bit more "jazzy"--more interactive, and more useful to those who we hope will use it. It will be particularly useful to the groups mentioned by my hon. Friend, but it will also be useful to those--not just in Scotland but
Mr. Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield):
I am delighted to hear that the Scotland Office website will come back into operation after the disappearance of the Scottish Office one. Can the Minister help the House a little?
In answer to an earlier question, the Secretary of State described some of his roles--a much more modest list than the one that he gave a month ago. Will the website tell us how he carries out his job? For example, is he privy to the paper round of the Scottish Executive? Is that how he obtains his information on the day-to-day running of Scotland? Will that be on the website?
In addition, will the website identify what all his staff--that small company--are actually doing, what their remit is, what Departments they are covering, and whether they are duplicating the roles of civil servants in London, or of civil servants within the Scottish Executive? Will all that go on the website so that we can all know exactly what is happening?
Mr. Macdonald:
The hon. Gentleman seems to be making great play of the fact that we do not see every paper that passes round the Scottish Executive. He knows that that is the convention even within Whitehall: we do not have access to all the different papers that float around different Departments, either. Departments share papers with each other for specific purposes. The Scotland Executive shares information with us for a specific purpose as well--so that we can represent effectively the interests of the Scottish people within the United Kingdom Government, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said.
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