House of Commons Hansard Debates for 16 Dec 1992

Whisky Distillers

9. Mr. Shersby : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many whisky distillers are currently in operation in Scotland now and 10 years ago.

Mr. Stewart : There are currently some 25 whisky distillers operating in Scotland. In 1982, there were 32 quoted companies engaged in Scotch whisky distilling.

Mr. Shersby : Is my hon. Friend aware that distilleries are at the heart of rural communities in Scotland and that any further closures will be quite devastating to the people of those communities? Is he also aware that sales of whisky in the United Kingdom have dropped by 1 million bottles while sales abroad, where it is taxed less and costs less, have held up? Will my hon. Friend consult the Chancellor of the Exchequer and ask him, at the very least, to peg whisky duty so it can compete on level terms with imported wines?

Mr. Stewart : The reduction in the number of distillers in the past 10 years is mainly attributable to mergers and acquisitions within the Scotch whisky industry rather than to companies going out of business or ceasing to run their distilleries. My hon. Friend is right to point to the importance of distilleries, particularly to rural areas and to the success of the industry in the export market. I had the great pleasure to attend a Queen's award for export ceremony at Burn Stewart distillers in Barrhead in my constituency. I have no doubt that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will consider my hon. Friend's views about duty on whisky, as well as the views of others, including the well-presented research by the Scotch Whisky Association, which was recently sent to the Treasury.

Mr. McKelvey : Nevertheless, I hope that the Secretary of State for Scotland had the opportunity to peruse the Pieda report, which stated clearly the importance of the Scotch whisky industry to the Scottish economy--it is responsible for 15,000 direct jobs and 56,000 indirect ones. Those jobs will be threatened if the Chancellor does not show some partiality between the tax on wine and that on whisky--in whisky's favour. At the moment the tax on whisky is twice as much as that on wine and such an imbalance must be redressed.

Mr. Stewart : The hon. Gentleman's record as a strong defender of the interests of Scotch whisky is well appreciated throughout the House. He is, after all, chairman of the all-party Scotch whisky industry group. He has made an immense contribution to the debates about the industry. I repeat that I am sure that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will have noted what the hon. Gentleman said.

Mr. Bill Walker : Will my hon. Friend bear in mind that the distilleries and the whisky industry are Scotland's premier exporting industry, and that it will continue for ever if it is looked after properly? Would he and his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State have words with the Chancellor and draw his attention to the fact that if whisky and other spirits were subject to the same tax as that on wine there would be a substantial reduction in income to the Treasury, but that if the tax on wine were brought up to the level of that on whisky there would be a substantial

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inflow of funds to the Treasury ? We have never understood why the Treasury has not seen that option as an opportunity to get more money.

Mr. Stewart : My hon. Friend is known for his own Bill that benefited the industry. He is absolutely right ; no one can dispute the key importance of the Scotch whisky industry in relation to the Scottish economy and exports, the value of which in 1991 was more than £1,800 million.

I am sure that my right hon. and hon. Friends at the Treasury will have noted the specific points that my hon. Friend has raised. I can reassure him that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is in close consultation with the Chancellor on all matters relating to Scottish industry which affect the Treasury.

Rural Mains Extension

10. Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many additional households have been connected to (a) water and (b) mains drainage in Grampian region under the rural mains extension scheme over the last six years.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Sir Hector Monro) : More than 1,500 houses in rural areas have been connected tthe public water supply system in Grampian region since 1 April 1986. No similar figures are available for connections to mains drainage, as the rural sewerage grant scheme ended in that year.

Mr. Bruce : I am sure that the Minister will recognise the importance of the programme of extending rural mains and mains drainage in areas such as Grampian, which accounts for about a third of all the households in Scotland that still have private water supplies. Is he aware that, since 1975, 700 km has been laid at a cost of £12 million? Can he assure the House that--whatever reorganisation of water is introduced-- the rural mains grant will continue, and the 50 schemes that are still outstanding in Grampian will be not only completed but, if possible, accelerated?

Sir Hector Monro : It is certainly important to continue the schemes in Grampian. This year's capital allocation of £25 million is 35 per cent. higher than that for 1991-92, which shows that we appreciate the importance of the schemes. I shall consider whether to write to the hon. Gentleman about the exact details of the schemes in the future, but I think that he should feel fairly confident that, whichever of our eight options is chosen, rural water supplies will be given high priority.

Mr. John Marshall : Does my hon. Friend agree that privatisation is the best recipe for those who are concerned about the level of investment in the water industry? Has not the industry in England increased its investment by 50 per cent. since its privatisation?

Sir Hector Monro : I note what my hon. Friend has said. As I have already made clear, I do not intend to make any pronouncement on the matter before the end of the consultation period. We have presented eight options, and I hope that all hon. Members will make constructive suggestions to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State about them. We shall reach a decision early in the spring.

Mr. McAllion : Is the Minister aware that in Grampian region, as elsewhere in Scotland, it is illegal to disconnect

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the water and mains drainage supplies of domestic consumers? Can he assure the House that, if it is decided to privatise the water industry, the law in Scotland will not be changed to allow disconnections in the future?

Sir Hector Monro : The hon. Gentleman is rushing ahead. As I have just explained, we are a long way from introducing legislation. When the Bill is presented to the House, hon. Members will have ample opportunities to go through it line by line and decide--in the light of which option is chosen, and in the light of how it is introduced to the unitary system of local government--what disconnection procedures there should be, if such procedures are considered necessary. As the hon. Gentleman has pointed out, it is not now possible to disconnect domestic supplies, and that will be taken very much into account.

Local Enterprise Companies

11. Mr. Ernie Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met representatives of Scottish Enterprise to discuss the business plans of local enterprise companies.

Mr. Stewart : My right hon. Friend and I meet Scottish Enterprise regularly to discuss a wide range of issues, including the activities and achievements of the local enterprise companies. However, consideration of the business plans of local enterprise companies is a matter between Scottish Enterprise and the individual companies concerned.

Mr. Ross : Apparently, the Government do not intend to listen to Sir Brian Wolfson, the man selected by the Tory Cabinet to establish the training and enterprise councils and the local enterprise companies. Sir Brian has criticised the attitude of voluntarism being taken to both TECs and LECs, and also the failure to establish a training levy of companies. But will the Minister at least listen to Scottish Enterprise Tayside? That body told me last month that it was experiencing increasing tension in its efforts to provide high-quality training for a special needs group, and that, if its budget were cut, it might reluctantly have to sacrifice both quality and quantity.

Mr. Stewart : This year, Scottish Enterprise Tayside received a budget of £23 million. Its budget increased by 5 per cent.--a larger increase than was received by any other LEC except one. As the hon. Gentleman will know, Scottish Enterprise's planned budget for next year is£9 million up on this year's plans, and an additional£20 million is expected from the European regional development fund. There will be no reduction in the overall resources available to the Scottish Enterprise network.

Mr. Kynoch : Does my hon. Friend agree that the 11 per cent. increase for enterprise and environmental expenditure by Scottish Enterprise and the LECs that was announced last week by our right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will enable those bodies to continue, at local level and with local expertise, the good work that they have carried out since their very recent inception less than two years ago?

Mr. Stewart : My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The substantial increase in resources for the environmental and enterprise budgets has been warmly welcomed by the local

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enterprise network because it offers it flexibility between its different budget heads. I have no doubt that the excellent work that the local enterprise companies have done in the past two years will continue, and that, as they gain experience, they will be able to lever in increasing resources from the private sector.

Dr. Godman : The Minister spoke of the achievements of local enterprise companies, but Renfrewshire Enterprise has achieved nothing on the lower Clyde. Many people are deeply concerned about the decision of Auld's the Bakers to move to Inchinnan. Did it receive no help from Renfrewshire Enterprise officials to locate within the Inverclyde enterprise zone? How valuable is the enterprise zone when a local company is forced to move a few miles away? Will he investigate this and other cases that reveal the pathetic performance of officials of Renfrewshire Enterprise on the lower Clyde?

Mr. Stewart : I do not understand that question because Inchinnan is in Renfrewshire ; the company is moving within the territory covered by Renfrewshire Enterprise. That does not seem to be a matter of great criticism of Renfrewshire Enterprise. [Interruption.] I wish that the hon. Member would allow me to answer the question. The hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow (Dr. Godman) and I have had a number of meetings about the Inverclyde enterprise zone. We are aware that there have been some difficulties, but I assure him that Scottish Enterprise and Renfrewshire Enterprise are doing all that they can to ensure that the zone is a success.

Mr. McLeish : When will this humbug and hypocrisy end? Why is £20 million being cut from Scottish Enterprise's training budget this year, including a 13 per cent. cut in youth training and a 7 per cent. cut in adult training? Does the Minister accept that, with high unemployment, deepening recession and the guarantee for young people not being met, we should be spending more on training rather than less? When will the Government put the real needs of Scotland first instead of Ministers being content to hang on to the coat tails of English employment Ministers?

Mr. Stewart : If the hon. Gentleman had listened to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State yesterday morning, he would know perfectly well that Scotland's share of Britain's unemployment has fallen. The implication of the hon. Gentleman's statement is that he would have preferred it to rise. When shall we see an end to the humbug and hypocrisy of Labour Members about training, because the Government have increased real resources for training two and a half times in real terms compared with the Labour Government, yet every training initiative that the Government have taken has been opposed by Opposition Members ?

Fisheries Conservation

12. Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met representatives of the fishing industry in Scotland to discuss conservation policy ; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Hector Monro : Let us get back to quieter waters.

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My right hon. Friend and I are available to meet industry representatives whenever it is appropriate. I last met

representatives of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation on 23 November.

Mrs. Ewing : The Minister may seek quieter waters for questions, but is he aware of the great depth of anger in fishing communities that neither he nor any Conservative Member of Parliament for Scotland was prepared to march with the 4,000 fisherfolk who came to Edinburgh from the length and breadth of Scotland last week? The only support that we received from the Scottish Office was from civil servants who waved and cheered as we walked past. Given the deep anger in those communities, will he assure us that when he next discusses fisheries at the Council of Ministers he will guarantee that there will be no consecutive tie-up and that any tie-up will be flexible, will enable boats to be taken out of harbours for repairs and will take account of bad weather conditions, which often enforced a tie-up? Without that, there is no way in which he will make his policy work.

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Sir Hector Monro : The hon. Lady attended the recent fishing debates and she knows that my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and I take the fishing problem extremely seriously, which is why we are so frequently in touch with the fishermen's interests. We shall go to Brussels this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, determined to achieve the best possible result for the United Kingdom's fishermen and I shall, of course, be looking after the interests of the Scottish fishermen in particular. They will and can look forward to a much better quota of haddock, in which I think that they are especially interested, and to other improvements. I gave the hon. Lady a clear understanding that we are wholly opposed to the 10-day tie-up, which we shall oppose in Europe this weekend.

Mr. Galloway : On a point of order, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker : I shall hear points of order after business questions.

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