Examination of Witnesses (Questions 120
- 123)
WEDNESDAY 21 JUNE 2000
DR J REID,
MR B WILSON
AND DR
L CLARK, QC
120. May I follow that with what might seem
to be a bit of a contentious question, especially for the Chairman?
Is there any evidence to suggest that the economic success of
Edinburgh is actually having a detrimental effect on the economy
of the rest of Scotland?
(Dr Reid) No. I have never taken the view that you
assist others by pulling some down. It was inevitable in a sense
that the whole interest and excitement internationally surrounding
the establishment of the Parliament and so on would have some
form of effect. It is the case that Edinburgh is doing very well
but so are other areas of Scotland; other areas of Scotland are
also doing very well. Generally speaking, so far as the UK Government
is concerned my job is to try to satisfy myself and do what little
I can—he said modestly—to contribute towards a Government
policy which sets a stable economic framework. If that happens
people will invest, people will employ others, people will get
value for money and in Scotland everyone, year on year since the
Government came in, is better off materially. It is the job of
the Scottish Executive then to look at the micro level, in some
sense to assist particularly but not exclusively small- and medium-sized
enterprises. Certainly the response I get when talking to businesses
or industry or employers in Scotland is that they feel the benefit
now of having both access, proximity, geographical proximity and
openness with the Scottish Executive Ministers, of whom there
are 22, so there are more of them to meet as well, and at the
same time having access to the United Kingdom through Brian Wilson
and myself in particular in this field. That is one of the reasons
why we established our offices up there as well.
121. Do you see a risk of Edinburgh's economy
actually over-heating and possibly bringing with it some of the
environmental difficulties and pressure on wages and property
prices such as have been characterised in the South East of England?
If that is the case, how is it possible to avoid it?
(Dr Reid) First of all I do not see the signs of that
happening. I am not unaware of the great social problems we have
in many areas like Glasgow in terms of poverty, in terms of health,
in some ways in terms of employment, which is why we are trying
to help with some government schemes to give particular attention
to Glasgow, which is why I want to see that in Govan, for instance,
they get a fair chance. That is all the workers there want; a
decent kick at the ball, put us on the park and give us a chance
to fight. I do not think there are any immediate signs of overheating
in Edinburgh. Were it to happen, on the property market or in
wages or anything else, the market mechanism operates because
employers will stop going to that area and go to another area
where they can get labour cheaper or they can get better access
to facilities or homes or whatever. There is a self-correcting
mechanism for this to some extent.
Chairman
122. Russell Brown cast his bait and the Chairman
will take it. I shall not refer to Glasgow but to the West of
Scotland. How do you respond to the comment that the problem in
Scotland is not the North/South divide but the East/West divide
with the East Coast becoming ever more prosperous and the West
Coast suffering ever more problems?
(Dr Reid) I would make a general comment about that
if I might. This is why in the early stage of this session I was
very reticent to second-guess comments made by my colleague the
Finance Minister in Scotland. It is a genuine attempt ... Incidentally
I now have the letter which Jack McConnell sent, which actually
says that while he will of course endeavour to answer all questions
of a factual nature with regard to UK Government policy, it should
be appreciated that he will not be in a position to comment on
that policy. That seems to me absolutely defensible. That is precisely
what I have been saying here and it is also why I wanted to see
what Jack McConnell wrote in the official letter he sent. You
will forgive me for not commenting before I had the document in
front of me because it is not entirely what I understood others
to be saying that Mr McConnell had said. As regards the internal
allocation of resources in Scotland and assessment that is properly
more of a job for Jack McConnell and Scottish Ministers there.
I would say that as regards the difference in regions and nations
within the United Kingdom, which has always been stressed about
North/South divide and so on, I agree entirely with the point
the Prime Minister was making some months ago which was that there
are in fact as many big differences within nations and regions
as there are between nations and regions. Perhaps up to this point
we have not paid enough attention to that, so that within Scotland
perhaps we have been concentrating a little too much on how we
compare with others outside of the Scottish borders and perhaps
we ought to think just a little more on what the differences are
within Scotland in terms of poverty, in terms of prosperity. I
am sure that is one of the things the establishment of a Scottish
Parliament will enable us to do better.
123. The Committee has exhausted all the questions
which we wish to put to you. Are there any comments any one of
you would like to make to the Committee?
(Dr Reid) No, I should just like to thank you very
much for seeing us. I think this is a precedent that three Ministers
should come. I hope you found it useful; it has certainly been
robust from time to time. My general comment at the end would
be the same as that at the beginning. Devolution is something
which has been fought for long and hard. It is working and working
well and it has to be protected. It has to be fostered and protected.
With goodwill and partnership on both sides it will be of enormous
benefit to the people of Scotland and all we have to do here at
Westminster is to recognise that we are equal in terms of being
representatives of the Scottish people here and hope that everyone
in the Scottish Parliament will view it the same way. If that
happens we will be able to work productively for the people of
Scotland because they are the people who put us here and what
they want is a better life, not internal squabbles or squabbles
between parliaments.
Chairman: We have had a long, interesting and
perhaps provocative session this morning. On behalf of the Committee
I should like to thank you, your Ministerial colleagues and your
officials for your attendance before us today. Order, order.
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