Richard Baker
MP for Glenrothes and Mid Fife · Labour · United Kingdom
“If we ensure that British yards benefit from Government procurement, including through the defence investment plan, that could make a big difference for many of our coastal towns, and certainly would in Methil.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for securing the debate, because it is vital to consider the issue of hidden deprivation and isolation in coastal communities.”
“Our new neighbourhood board is brimming with ideas on what could be done with these funds to provide better support to local people, to use investment in the public realm to realise the beauty in our local coastline and to improve the quality of life in the community.”
“At the end of May, a 94-year-old woman in my constituency was hospitalised with life-threatening injuries after she was run over by a teenager who was recklessly and illegally driving a Sur-Ron e-bike. The Government have rightly taken action through the seizure of bikes that are being driven illegally, but will my right hon.”
“The EU is a key trading partner for Scotland, accounting for almost 40% of Scotland’s international exports. Can the Minister reassure my constituents in Glenrothes and Mid Fife that while we wait for a new date for the EU summit, this Government will press ahead with plans to align with more areas of the single market, so that we can con…”
“Reindustrialisation and backing British are the hallmarks of this defence investment plan. Does the Secretary of State agree with me and with the GMB and Unite unions that we need to build not only ships in Britain but new floating docks for Faslane?”
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“In addition to yards being centres for renewables infrastructure, the transition towards low-emission ships and sustainable materials presents opportunities for innovation and leadership in environmentally friendly maritime technology. Green shipbuilding can be incentivised through Government procurement, and with the current scale of procurement in shipbuilding, there is also a role for the Government to encourage collaboration between naval shipbuilders, rather than running competitive tenders for each project. Most of all, the huge potential for growth in shipbuilding and fabrication in this country can only be achieved by investing in skills. We have an ageing workforce in our shipyards, but the prospects today for young people joining the industry are bright.”
“It is right that Labour’s green prosperity plan highlighted the role of ports in growing our renewable sector. Navantia’s plan for Methil is that it will become the business’s centre of excellence for offshore wind manufacturing in the UK through Navantia Seanergies, its specialist renewable energy division. Navantia has announced plans to modernise both Methil and Arnish, with advanced fabrication and assembly capabilities, aligning with national commitments to secure domestic energy security while meeting our ambitious energy transition targets. I believe it would make great sense to extend the Forth green freeport area to include Methil and, in doing so, provide important incentives for that vital work.”
“My hon. Friend makes an extremely important and very eloquently argued point. We need to have such security for our shipbuilders and our shipyards, and our procurement strategy must support that agenda. Later, I will say more about how the ambitions about the security of future work at our shipyards that he has just set out can be realised. It is our shipyards and our shipyard workers who will be crucial in developing our new defence capabilities, including the more than 350 skilled workers from my constituency who work at Babcock in Rosyth, in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie). It is not only in defence that our shipyards have a key role to play in economic growth, but in renewables as well.”
“I think the hon. Member might be recalling my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie), who is at this moment at the Rosyth port meeting Babcock. His passion for his community and for that yard is, as the hon. Member knows, very strong.”
“I share the hon. Member’s ambitions for our shipyard sector. I was recently at the Rosyth dockyard in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie), where the workforce were excited about the future. They were already looking forward to a long order list and now feel in a position for that to grow, given the prospect of increased defence spending. Does the hon. Member agree that the strategic aim set out by the Government provides great opportunities for our shipyards and shipbuilding sector?”
“The Liberal Democrat spokesperson, and my erstwhile University Challenge teammate, the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone), spoke very well about that, drawing on his professional as well as his political background. The ambition set out across the Chamber for our shipyards in renewables and defence is very clear. It is an opportunity for us to grasp. The Government have made an excellent start, and indicated a clear plan for a bright future for our shipyards. I am pleased that the debate has reflected the commitment across the Chamber, from all the parties who were represented, to that ambition for our shipyards and our country. Apprentices, both female and male, will be looking forward to a long and bright future in our shipyards. I think we will all support that over the course of this Parliament.”
“He spoke passionately about how it affects his constituents; it is so important to have a Northern Irish voice in this debate. I recall all too well what the Government inherited. Regrettably, the previous Government had done nothing for over a year to save those yards. The prospect of investing in the company as it was then was not realistic, and would only have threatened the yards further in the future. What came forward was a clear strategy that succeeded in saving the yards. I take onboard fully the fact that there has been consensus across the Chamber that we want to invest in shipbuilding and shipyards; the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire (Greg Smith) shared in that. The Government’s ambitions for shipbuilding and our shipyards are clearly shared across the Chamber.”
“Saving the Methil yard was absolutely essential for me. My hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow West (Patricia Ferguson) said that Clyde-built ships are synonymous with quality and reputation. We have that aspiration for shipbuilding right across the UK. Those qualities are represented by so many shipyards across our constituencies. That is why we should be passionate and confident about the future of our shipyards, and invest in them. It is hugely regrettable that the Scottish Government in the past few months and years have not shown that commitment, or evidence of support, but this Labour Government, in their first months in office, have done so. We have been through the experience of Harland and Wolff, which the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) knows well.”
“Thank you for chairing this excellent debate so skilfully, Ms Jardine. I thank Members from across the House for their informed and important contributions. There has been great consensus about the exciting prospects for shipbuilding and shipyards in this country. There is the potential to invest in skills to ensure that they and the workforce are retained in our local communities, so we must build training and apprenticeship opportunities for our young people. That commitment has been reflected by the actions the Government have taken, including the intervention to save Harland and Wolff and our investment plans to ensure shipyards have a great role in the future. I could not agree more with the points that hon. Members made about the need to invest in shipbuilding in Scotland. I would say that as an MP for a Scottish constituency.”
“Does my right hon. Friend agree that there is huge potential for carbon capture and storage to play a key role in our green energy ambitions for Scotland? As we look towards the spending review, does he agree that the Acorn project presents an excellent and efficient opportunity to invest in CCUS, and to reduce the carbon impact of industries across Scotland, because it will repurpose existing pipelines?”
“Does the Minister agree that the support she has outlined for the victims of knife crime will continue to be essential in our justice system, and that it is essential to work alongside devolved Administrations to raise awareness of the tragic impact of knife crime on communities across the UK? Communities in Glenrothes and Mid Fife feel particularly strongly about knife crime, and about the sale of knives online, following deeply concerning knife offences involving young people.”
“I believe that the Church should now finally act swiftly to complete that process and move to a fully independent structure for safeguarding. Given the scale of the abuse and the suffering caused, I hope that the Minister will agree it is vital that the Government and this House play our part in shining a light on the process within the Church. The victims and survivors of abuse within the Church have asked to be heard. They have made their case so powerfully and with such patience, despite all that they have faced and endured. It is vital that, after all they have suffered and the dignity with which they have made their arguments for change, they are heard in the Church and in this Parliament.”
“After the vote at Synod last month not to move immediately to independent safeguarding professionals at all levels of the Church, Professor Alexis Jay said of the decision: “It will be devastating for victims and survivors, whose trust and confidence will absolutely not be restored as a consequence of the decision.” Given the failures of safeguarding that have happened within dioceses and within cathedral vestries, as we have heard, that appears to be a very rational conclusion to what was agreed at Synod. We have been assured that the model of safeguarding that has been approved will facilitate all safeguarding in the Church moving into an independent organisation in due course, but it has now been nearly two years since the Church’s independent advisory board on safeguarding was dismissed.”
“Although I am sure that we can still do much more in our Church, crucial to the process for reform in the Episcopal Church was both increasing resources for safeguarding and establishing the fundamental principle of independent oversight of safeguarding. That experience leads me to conclude that the Church of England should listen not only to survivors of abuse, who have suffered from its own failures of leadership and safeguarding, but to the experts who have investigated so fully, with such great intensity and so diligently, how these appalling events were allowed to happen.”
“I find it appalling and incredible that they have not been heard by Church leaders as they should have been. Crucially, they must be listened to in order to ensure that these crimes are not repeated in the future, that people in our congregations are safe and that we are actually true to our Christian mission. During my own involvement in safeguarding policy in the Scottish Episcopal Church, we made significant changes to our policies and processes because we recognised that even though we are a far smaller Church, we still had to do more to ensure that there was proper recognition of the importance of safeguarding in every congregation in the province. I was greatly assisted in that work by an expert in safeguarding, David Strang, a former chief constable of Lothian and Borders police.”
“The horrific acts of abuse documented in the independent report of the child sexual abuse inquiry into the Church of England and, more recently, the shocking events investigated by the Makin review must never be allowed to happen again. I believe it is important, as we have heard from others, to recognise that in making the case to take forward the important recommendations in those reports, the focus is not on restoring the reputation of the Church or on discussing who in the Church leadership has to take ultimate accountability, important though that is. The focus of the process must be on the accountability of the Church to the survivors of abuse, who have so bravely spoken out about the need for change—the ISB 11 and so many others.”
“I am one of millions of people across the world for whom faith and worship within the Anglican communion plays a huge and positive part in my life. We belong to our Church because we want it to be a force for good, not just in our own lives and the lives of our congregations, but for our wider community. That is why our congregations should be and must be places where every member is respected, valued and safe. It is appalling and deeply saddening that that has not been the case for far too many people over so many years in the Church of England, and that these safeguarding failures—these crimes of abuse—have been allowed to go on. We have heard in this debate why they have been allowed to go on and about the failures of leadership that lie behind that.”
“We must look to those people for the way forward, to ensure that the Church properly recognises the actions it must take to make sure that those crimes are not repeated in the future. I thank him for giving me the chance to make a brief contribution on such a serious matter. I must declare a number of interests. Both my parents are retired members of the clergy in the Church of England, in the diocese of Carlisle. I am member of St Serf’s church in Burntisland, in the diocese of St Andrews, in the Scottish Episcopal Church, which is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. I am both formerly the safeguarding co-ordinator for our congregation and, prior to my election, I was the convener of the Provincial Safeguarding Committee of the Scottish Episcopal Church.”
“It is a pleasure to follow the Second Church Estates Commissioner, my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Marsha De Cordova). I thank her for her powerful speech and for all she does to encourage the Church to face up to its responsibilities on safeguarding and to acknowledge the pain and suffering the Church has caused to far too many people, because of its failures around safeguarding. I thank her for ensuring that the House has a proper role in the scrutiny of the process, as the Church must move forward. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Luke Myer) for his considered, thoughtful and harrowing speech, and for all the work he has so powerfully taken forward on behalf of the survivors of the abuse with whom he is working.”
“Does the hon. Member agree that the work undertaken by Ministers to open up new markets for Scotch whisky is vital, and that the new special status for Scotch whisky in Brazil is great news for the industry? Does he also agree that the InchDairnie distillery in my constituency should be supported in launching its new rye whisky brand, through consideration of the current legislation regarding labelling, which is vital, but is creating a barrier to its accessing the rapidly growing market for rye whisky?”
“Does the Minister agree that a workforce with skills honed in the North sea oil and gas sector will have an increasingly vital role in the renewables sector? Given the crucial role for GB Energy, headquartered in Aberdeen, in managing a fair and phased transition, is it not extraordinary that the Conservatives and the SNP have failed to support this proposal in this Parliament?”
“My hon. Friend has focused on the benefits of partnerships. Does she agree that employability partnerships led by third sector organisations have been shown to be more successful than traditional approaches to employability support, because they involve organisations with a wide range of expertise? Similarly, in Scotland, we have the All In partnerships led by the disability charity Enable Works, for which I used to work. Fife Gingerbread in my constituency works very successfully in partnership with other organisations to deliver employability support to lone parents.”
“Does the Minister agree that one of the challenges with previous models of employability support is that they have not been tailored and they have not meet the needs of people for sustained support in that employment? Does she agree that one of the benefits of what my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Erdington (Paulette Hamilton) said is that those third sector partnerships, which bring together organisations with great expertise in certain areas in a consortium model, provide the best opportunity for a one-stop shop for people to get the tailored support that will sustain them in employment, as well as helping them find that job in the first place?”
“Does the Minister agree that the close collaboration by the UK and Welsh Governments to deliver the industrial strategy is an essential element of this Government’s plans to deliver strong economic growth throughout the UK, and will she explain how this joint working by both Governments will help Welsh industry? Does she further agree that the SNP Government in Scotland should take a similar approach to reap the full benefits of our great partnership of nations, which was so badly undermined by the reckless actions of the previous Government?”
“Does the Minister agree that the arts, musicians and the wider creative sector play a vital role in our economy, which is why working to negotiate a deal with touring artists is so important? Will the Minister confirm that this is still a priority for him?”
“Does my right hon. Friend agree that ending the injustice of the mineworkers’ pension scheme is great news not only for the 849 former mineworkers in my constituency who will benefit, but for the economies of the local communities where they live, which were left behind by the previous Government? Will he and his colleagues in government continue to engage with the trustees of the British Coal staff superannuation scheme to ensure that, in the same way, the funds built up in that scheme are used for the benefit of its members?”
“The urgent need for independent scrutiny of the Church’s safeguarding procedures was highlighted both by the Makin report and by the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse. What are the current arrangements for independent scrutiny of safeguarding following the dismissal of the Church’s independent safeguarding board? What is the timescale for having a permanent system for independent scrutiny in place to safeguard against such appalling acts of abuse, as highlighted in both those reports?”
“We have so much more potential in our energy sector than we are currently realising—particularly our renewable sector—and those yards have a crucial role to play. Their potential to grow the workforce and their economic impact are massive. Through the £125 million investment in GB Energy, based in Aberdeen, the opportunity is there to build for the future. With almost £5.8 billion allocated in the national wealth fund, we should be working together to look for bids for how those yards can work in the future to ensure economic benefit and growth for Scotland. Those are the priorities that we should look to for the future, and they are being offered because of the actions taken by the Chancellor in this Budget.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. In my one minute, I will talk about a real opportunity for my constituents to boost our renewable sector through the investment that has been outlined in the Budget, and also through the crucial decision made by colleagues in Government—through the hard work of the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade—to secure the future of the Methil yard in my constituency, along with the future of the Arnish yard in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton). Together, that will save over 350 jobs and skilled apprenticeships. What a fantastic opportunity we have. I hope there will be collaboration between the Scottish and UK Governments to look at the future of both those yards.”
“Merry Christmas, Madam Deputy Speaker. This is a great Christmas for Methil. I thank the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, the Secretary of State for Scotland, and all those in Government who have worked so hard to secure this deal, which has saved 200 skilled jobs and apprenticeships at the Methil yard in my constituency, and 150 jobs at Arnish in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton). Does the Secretary of State agree that it is vital that all levels of Government, trade unions and stakeholders in the future of the Methil yard continue to work together so that, with GB Energy headquartered in Scotland, the yard can fulfil its huge potential in contributing to our ambitions for growth in the renewables industry in Scotland and the UK?”
“One of the weaknesses of the streaming companies is regional and national news coverage and programming. For BBC Scotland, at the moment 99% of the licence fee paid by Scots is invested in Scotland. That is a really important and positive aspect of the current licence fee arrangements that must be protected as we move forward.”
“With GB Energy headquartered in Scotland and the Methil yard in my constituency—a fantastic facility to build the renewables infrastructure we will need—how is my right hon. Friend ensuring collaboration across Government and with the Scottish Government, to deliver the mission for growth through investment in renewables?”
“Does the Prime Minister share my concern at a report by Audit Scotland, which has found that the Scottish Government have no clear plan for the NHS in Scotland? As a Scottish Labour MP, I am delighted that this Government are providing £4.9 billion extra for public services in Scotland. Is it not time for SNP Ministers to get a grip and do better for patients in my constituency, who face some of the longest waiting times for surgery in Scotland?”
“Does my hon. Friend agree that it is unacceptable that only 7% of people with a disability in our country are in paid employment when so many more want to work? Does she also agree that it is vital that, as the Government look to get more people into work, we have equal opportunities and equal access to the workplace for disabled people?”
“I associate myself with the tributes to Lord Prescott. As a sponsor of the Aviation (Accessibility) Bill, introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Daniel Francis), I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement of the new expert group to break down the barriers to air travel that are still experienced by far too many disabled people. Does she agree that ensuring all disabled people have the ability to travel on flights safely and with dignity must now be a priority for the whole aviation industry?”
“The hon. Member has rightly mentioned the importance of Access to Work and how it can make a real difference in supporting disabled people, including blind and partially sighted people, to secure and retain employment. One of the challenges is ensuring that there is enough provision and that enough employers are aware of Access to Work. Does the hon. Member agree that it is important to ensure greater awareness of Access to Work and more opportunities for that support?”
“The first recommendation is essential, namely that we establish a disability employment strategy that sets out measures to improve employers’ attitudes and increase the number of blind and partially sighted people who find and—crucially—retain work. I commend that report and its recommendations, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea on all she is doing to ensure that its ambitions are fulfilled. Fulfilling them is vital if we are to achieve genuine inclusion for blind and partially sighted people in our society throughout the UK.”
“Those partnerships have had great success in securing training and employment for many people who face barriers to employment, including blind and partially sighted people. Indeed, they have secured three and a half jobs for every one job delivered by traditional employability schemes. There are many factors involved in improving employment opportunities for blind and partially sighted people; indeed, we could have a separate debate on education and transitions into employment. However, the many important recommendations in the “Changing Attitudes, Changing Lives” report will result in real progress if they are adopted.”
“I also commend the work of the commission led by Lord Shinkwin for the Institute of Directors and its report, “The Future of Business: harnessing diverse talent for success”. That report makes a series of recommendations to Government to create the most favourable conditions for businesses and directors to flourish, with specific reference to gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and disability. One member of that commission was Dr Theresa Shearer, the chief executive of Enable, where I worked until I was elected to this House; I declare that interest. The All In programme, led by Enable Works, has formed employability partnerships across Scotland that have brought together specialist third sector organisations so that they can collaborate.”
“Not enough has been done to promote opportunities through Access to Work, a scheme that can make a real difference when it is effectively delivered. We need to change that situation by ensuring that the White Paper leads to an employability strategy that actually works for blind and partially sighted people. In Scotland, employability programmes such as Fair Start Scotland have certainly not had enough success in including people with visual impairment. That needs to change and it can change. We know what works in promoting the employment of blind and partially sighted people: changing attitudes and changing the approaches of employers, in line with the practical recommendations made in the “Changing Attitudes, Changing Lives” report and more broadly in relation to disability.”
“I also endorse the substantive and practical recommendations in that report for the Government and employers. Those recommendations come at an important time, as we look towards the “Get Britain Working” White Paper and the £240 million that will be invested by the Government to promote employability. Following our conversation at Mr Speaker’s excellent event to celebrate Disability History Month, I am encouraged by the fact that the Minister, who I welcome to his place, is seized by the opportunity that the White Paper offers to increase disability employment and to set out an effective strategy. Sadly, in the last few years, there have been cuts in funding for employability at both the UK level and the Scottish level.”
“In my constituency, the charity Seescape supports more than 4,000 people each year through rehabilitation and through aids, equipment and accessible technology. Those kinds of support are essential to achieving inclusion in the workplace. Seescape’s work is transformational for so many blind and partially sighted people, not only in Glenrothes and Mid Fife but throughout the whole Kingdom of Fife. It is hugely valued by our community. I very much welcome the recommendation in the “Changing Attitudes, Changing Lives” report that the UK Government should partner with sight loss organisations to develop best practice on recruiting blind and partially sighted people and supporting them to enter the labour market. They are the very organisations with the right expertise and knowledge to achieve that goal.”
“During my time at the charity, we conducted research into the social isolation that is experienced by too many people with visual impairment. Our research showed that 90% of our respondents had experienced loneliness. It is important to recognise not only that increasing employment opportunities helps to counter low income and poverty, which still affect far too many blind and partially sighted people, but that being in work, having a workplace to go to and working alongside colleagues helps to tackle isolation, promotes inclusion and improves the quality of life for people with visual impairment in so many other ways as well. It is vital that we create far fairer access to employment for blind and partially sighted people and ensure support is in place for them and for potential employers to achieve that.”
“As many as 78% are not employed, so for blind and partially sighted people in Scotland the disability employment gap is particularly acute. My hon. Friend the Member for Battersea rightly highlighted the disability pay gap and the inequality that it creates in our society. There is a huge opportunity cost not only to people with visual impairment who want to work and cannot find work, but to our society as a whole. In my career before my election to this place, I was fortunate to work at the charity Sight Scotland. A number of our services employed blind and partially sighted people. They were valued members of our team, not only as experts by experience but because of their individual skills and their knowledge. They would be assets at any workplace where they were employed.”
“Friend set out in her excellent opening speech and that the hugely important “Changing Attitudes, Changing Lives” report highlights. As an MP for a Scottish constituency, I am keenly aware that this is as important an issue for people with visual impairment in Scotland as it is in the rest of the UK. In his excellent speech, the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) was quite right to point out that there is also important work for the devolved Administrations to do. Only one in four blind and partially sighted people in Scotland is in paid employment. Research by RNIB Scotland shows that there are about 9,000 registered blind and partially sighted people of working age in Scotland, of whom only about 2,000 are in work.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Marsha De Cordova) not only on securing this debate on such an important topic, but on her skill and commitment in leading the all-party parliamentary group on eye health and visual impairment. The APPG is such an important group for ensuring that the voices of blind and partially sighted people are heard in this Parliament. Having been for many years a member of the cross-party group on visual impairment in the Scottish Parliament, I am delighted to find that the APPG here is also an effective forum for advancing key policy areas for people with visual impairment. Changing employers’ attitudes and increasing employment opportunities for blind and partially sighted people is vital, for all the reasons that my hon.”
“Does the Minister agree that it is unacceptable that more than 40,000 people in Fife are not registered with an NHS dentist? Will he share any learning from this Government’s action to increase access to dentistry with his colleagues in the Scottish Government, and urge them to fulfil their responsibilities so that people in my constituency can get the dental treatment that they need?”
“The hon. Gentleman’s party has long talks about constitutional change in this country, but it is our party that delivered devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as a Mayor for London and the London Assembly. His party has only talked about it. Is that not the reality of our party delivering on constitutional change?”
“Of course, it is long overdue, as the Minister said, and that is why we have introduced the legislation so early in this Government. It is also important that this reform is a stand-alone one, so we can progress it with the utmost urgency. My hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell) is absolutely right that by taking this Bill forward as a stand-alone reform, we give it the best chance of progressing quickly, which is what we need it to do.”
“Member for Perth and Kinross-shire was that Labour has been delivering on constitutional reform. I served in Holyrood for three terms: for all the talk of the Scottish National party about reform, that Chamber is in great need of constitutional reform, but nothing has happened at all on that, while in this place, we are bringing forward a significant and important piece of constitutional reform within our first five months in government. I absolutely agree that we want a faster pace of constitutional reform in this Parliament, but let us be clear about the proposal before us. In 1997, we set out—as an initial self-contained reform that was not dependent on further reform—that the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords would be ended by statute. That is what we are here to deliver this evening.”