Katrina Murray
MP for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch · Labour · United Kingdom
“I thank my hon. Friend for this statement. Like everybody else, I have cases that I have contacted the Minister about, but today I want to raise something else—something that has been consistent across all the cases that my office has dealt with on a regular basis, which is how my constituents are being treated when they call the Capita h…”
House of Commons26 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Many survivors and family support groups have given evidence and lobbied, whether in the past couple of weeks, over the past year in which we have been debating this Bill, or before that. They are people who come from very different perspectives, with very different backgrounds.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It gives me great pleasure to speak in the debate. On the whole, the debate has been wide-ranging, honest and balanced, recognising the complexity of this matter. I do not want to repeat what has been said, but I thank the hon.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Across Scotland, including in my constituency, innovative companies are helping to develop the UK’s space capabilities. Innovation in the sector, however, comes with considerable up-front costs, as new technologies require extensive research and development and rigorous testing to the point of destruction.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Gentleman is talking a lot about veterans and the roles of those veterans. My concern is for my constituents who served but never got to be veterans because they did not survive their service in Northern Ireland. What those families want is the truth, and they want a truth that is undebatable.”
House of Commons13 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Government have already taken important steps to strengthen the rights of parents, including through the Employment Rights Act 2025, and I particularly welcome the review that is under way of the parental leave and pay system, but Fadi and Liz’s experience highlights a gap.”
House of Commons12 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
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“There has been more than one week during my time in this place where every piece of casework that has come to my office has had a violence against women and girls component to it. The complexity of this issue cannot be underestimated. I do not want to pre-empt the launch of the strategy, which is eagerly awaited by all the agencies in my constituency that deal with this issue on a daily basis, but can the Minister confirm what engagement there has been with the Scottish Government so that we have a joined-up approach for the parts of the services that are devolved?”
House of Commons15 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“For UK businesses, Fairtrade certification makes absolute sense. Colleagues have expressed that in much greater depth. Support for Fairtrade across my constituency shows that the public already understand that, but the Government and business must keep pace and ensure that Fairtrade certification plays a central role in building a fairer, more resilient and more responsible UK trading system.”
House of Commons11 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am proud that those values are being lived in my constituency. North Lanarkshire council, which covers Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, is a recognised Fairtrade zone. That reflects a commitment across schools, community groups, workplaces and public services to choose Fairtrade, and the steering group has recognised North Lanarkshire as one of the major distribution hubs in Scotland. Working with the wholesale market on Fairtrade is just as important, so we must ensure that all companies, including small businesses, are able to do that. In Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire council has made similar commitments. The School Yard Kitchen, which is just over my constituency boundary, specialises in how to grow a community between Kirkintilloch and Ghana through chocolate. Fairtrade is not abstract.”
House of Commons11 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The good companies—ironically, the ones that had leadership from Scandinavian countries—saw that treating workers fairly is important, that it is good to pay good wages and that Fairtrade is worth shouting about. Although Fairtrade is important for bananas, it is also important for tea, coffee, cotton, wine, cocoa and sugar cane. Millions of people around the world depend on those products for their livelihoods, yet only a tiny shave of what consumers pay for them reaches those who grow and pick them. That imbalance is not accidental but a result of supply chains that prioritise low prices over fair outcomes. Fairtrade challenges that model and proves that there is a better way. It is not all international; hon. Members have talked about the choices that we make here at home.”
House of Commons11 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We saw at first hand the exploitation that the banana workers experience: the complete control by the companies and multinationals, the non-payment of wages, the non-provision of healthcare—healthcare is provided only by the plantation owners—and products being sold only in the stores of the companies that people get their wages from. I live close to Robert Owen’s New Lanark, and I was reminded of the things that we got rid of 200 years ago at the beginning of the co-operative movement. We saw the effect of the environmental pressures. Banana plants showed ash from volcanic eruptions hundreds of miles away. We also met small producers.”
House of Commons11 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) for securing this debate. Clearly, fair trade matters, and it does to all of us. I will spend a little time outlining why it matters so much to me and where I first came across it. Too often in global trade, people who grow and produce the food that we enjoy here in the UK take all the risks—unstable prices, poor conditions, climate pressures—while others further up the supply chain take the reward. Nearly 20 years ago, I was fortunate enough to be part of a delegation organised by Banana Link, where we met those working on the plantations that produce the majority of the world’s supply of bananas for export, across central and South America. Yes, among those exporters and suppliers was Del Monte.”
House of Commons11 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome the Minister’s response. I am a long-standing member of the NHS credit union, which is one of the credit unions affected by the withdrawal of the family protection plan by CMutual on 30 November. Policyholders over the age of 70 who have paid premiums well in excess of what they would have expected to have paid out have been left in the lurch with no alternative provision given. I thank the Minister for what she has done so far in pursuing peace of mind for those who have tried to do the right thing and planned for their funerals, but in the interim, can she bring all the stakeholders to the table to try to reach a solution that benefits those policyholders in particular?”
House of Commons9 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I commend the right hon. Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson) for securing the urgent question. We have talked about the experiences of the Kenova families in terms of having confidence in the process, and we recognise the complexity of the 28 years of the troubles. The Secretary of State has highlighted how the lack of transparency and answers leaves a void for relatives that is filled by their worst fears. That makes the provisions on the grounds of disclosure in the troubles Bill, which is currently going through the legislative process, even more important. How will we make sure that the best experiences of Operation Kenova are built into the next stages of the legislation?”
House of Commons9 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Does the Minister agree that in my constituency, where people are struggling to access healthcare, it is vital that the SNP Government make effective use of the recent funding uplift to finally deliver the long-promised elective treatment and diagnostic centre in Cumbernauld, so that we can cut waiting lists and get my constituents the care they need?”
House of Commons4 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Next week marks 70 years since Cumbernauld was designated a new town on 9 December 1955. It was part of a visionary programme that reshaped communities across Scotland and the UK. While we rightly celebrate that legacy of ambition and innovation, many new towns, including my own, face significant challenges, from ageing infrastructure to pressures on public services and town centres. Will the Leader of the House allocate time for a debate on the past, present and future of the UK’s new towns so that we can consider how best to support their regeneration and ensure that places such as Cumbernauld continue to thrive for decades to come?”
House of Commons4 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Again, I thank my hon. Friend for the work done on the report. Building on the question from the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith), does the report highlight the importance of ensuring that we have ECHR-compliant processes in place if we want to ensure that there is full buy-in from the institutions in the Republic of Ireland in being able to answer the questions that victims and families need them to answer?”
House of Commons4 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Does the Secretary of State agree that Scotland cannot meet its long-term energy security and net zero goals without new nuclear power, and that the University of Strathclyde’s internationally recognised power networks demonstration centre, whose expertise in grid integration and systems resilience is world leading, will be essential for the safe and effective deployment of next-gen nuclear technologies across Scotland?”
House of Commons26 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“T4. There is a higher prevalence of multiple sclerosis in Scotland than in any other part of the UK. What steps is the Department taking to ensure that people living with MS can access both a timely diagnosis and equitable specialist care, regardless of where they live in the UK?”
House of Commons25 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The other part of this legislation that commends it is the fact that it recognises that if Scotland is a village, Northern Ireland is an even smaller one, and everybody is interrelated. The Bill builds on the best aspects of Operation Kenova, which is one of the big strengths in making it work. Like any piece of legislation, the Bill is not perfect, but it is a necessary and long-overdue step in the right direction. For the sake of those victims, survivors and families, we cannot afford to get it wrong.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome this Bill, because it puts families at its heart. It recognises that the victims and survivors are the people this legislation must serve. It recognises that members of the security forces are also victims and survivors. It builds into the process the need to reflect and to stay engaged with those families. Across the board, those experiences have not necessarily been good. Where there have been inquests, they have been nothing more than tick-box exercises. They spoke to us, and we heard of anger, frustration and despair. It was the first time we had heard those stories, but it was not the first time that they had told them, because they have been saying it for decades upon decades in the hope of change. I thank every single one of them for sharing those stories with us.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In the Select Committee inquiry, it did not matter who we spoke to among victims, survivors and families, because the message was the same. They told us about their loved ones and the brutal ways in which their lives had been taken, and they told us again and again that they wanted legislation that respected them, treated them with dignity and took them seriously. They wanted answers, and the previous Government’s legacy Act did not deliver that. It rode roughshod over the wishes of families, victims and survivors. It made promises to the armed forces that it could never deliver, and the mechanism that it created, despite the intentions of all the people working within it, inspired little confidence that families would be treated with the dignity and seriousness that they deserved.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I have known about the military deaths for a long time. They were one of the first things that I found out about as I became a candidate. I discovered the other one when we met families as part of a Select Committee visit to Belfast. One of the family members we met said, “I know your area. I spent summers there. My cousin lives in Kirkintilloch.” It reminded me of exactly how strong the links are between my part of the world and Ireland. With a name like mine, I should recognise that there is a strong connection, but we are completely intertwined. It means that we know those families who lost loved ones during the troubles. We know the lack of answers that they have had, and the grief that still endures and is still raw.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Kilsyth war memorial bears the names of the men of the town who lost their life in foreign wars—men whose service we recognise and remember every year on VE Day, VJ Day and Remembrance Sunday. On one face of that memorial sits a single, solitary name—a name set apart. The difference between that name and the others is stark. This son of Kilsyth also lost his life in the service of his country, but in his case he was killed by the Provisional IRA. In a town where his family still live and where his school friends are marking their significant birthdays, his name on that memorial is a reminder that his life, and the ultimate sacrifice that he made, will not be forgotten. Just 2 miles down the road live another family. They, too, lost a loved one—a cousin, killed in an ambush by loyalist paramilitaries in the ’90s.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Some 53 years after the events of Bloody Sunday, and 15 years after the report of the Saville inquiry, it is becoming clear that future criminal cases will be few and far between, but every single day, this issue sits with the families who have lost loved ones. It affects every day of their lives, be they the families of military personnel or of those who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. What assurances can the Secretary of State give that they will remain absolutely central to this work, going forward?”
House of Commons3 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Cumbernauld theatre in my constituency is a modern, thriving community venue, but it faces closure after Creative Scotland refused it multi-year funding. The trust is fundraising for the £300,000 needed by mid-December to keep the venue open, but the Scottish Government could still step in and save it. Community theatres matter for inclusion; theatre is not just about cities. May we have a debate on the importance of local theatre, and the need for investment in the arts?”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Last week I had the pleasure of meeting the general manager of one of the major supermarkets in my constituency. We talked about our memories of the early days of the covid pandemic, with the rows and rows of empty shelves. All pandemic planning should build on the lessons learned from the last one, so what role is the retail and logistics sector playing in that?”
House of Commons23 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There are many factors that make family farms viable, including the ability to work the land and carry out what is a very physically demanding job. Does the Minister agree that tackling the fundamental problems in our NHS and the growing waiting lists in Scotland must be a priority when balancing competing pressures, given that poor access to healthcare disproportionately affects those working in Scotland’s farming and rural constituencies?”
House of Commons22 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is shocking that in NHS Lanarkshire alone, more people have waited over two years for treatment than in the entirety of England.”
House of Commons22 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We wanted decisions about Scotland’s schools, hospitals and communities to be made by a Parliament rooted in Scotland but still part of the wider United Kingdom. It was about giving Scots a stronger voice within our Union, bringing democracy closer to the people, improving accountability and delivering better government. It was also about pooling and sharing and being grown-ups. For a time, that promise felt real. It felt good. But the promise has been squandered. Even with extra powers over the years and a record £52 billion settlement this year from the Labour Government at Westminster, the SNP Scottish Government have failed to make devolution work for the people it was created to serve. I look at my own constituency and the evidence is stark. Many of my constituents are still languishing on NHS waiting lists.”
House of Commons22 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I commend the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) for securing this important debate. Before devolution, Scotland-specific Bills in this place were few and far between—often single digits per year—even though our health, education and legal systems have been completely different for centuries. Decisions that shaped people’s lives in Scotland were made elsewhere, without the understanding or accountability that they deserved. That is why so many of us, myself included, campaigned passionately for devolution. Like others in the Chamber, my belief in devolution was forged in the 90s in the run up to the ’97 referendum. My memories of the campaign, polling day and result will be with me for the rest of my life. The feeling of hope that we had will also stay with me for the rest of my life.”
House of Commons22 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The situation within the health service was highlighted several weeks in a women’s lowland league football match in my constituency, when a Linlithgow Rose player who was injured during a match with Cumbernauld United Ladies lay with a broken leg for five hours on a Sunday while waiting for an ambulance to be dispatched.”
House of Commons22 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I refer the hon. Gentleman to my life experience before coming to this place as a member of staff within the health service. I worked through the pandemic when we used the red, amber and green statuses to indicate how waiting lists were. We did not just have red, amber and green stages. We created a purple status for when there were serious capacity issues that warranted more than a red status. We then moved to black status if it got too serious for status purple. One of the reasons I am in this place is the 14 months that I worked with colleagues through that. Nobody who is trying to provide healthcare should have to do so when working in situations that go way beyond an emergency.”
House of Commons22 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We face a clear choice: do we keep circling the constitutional cul-de-sac that the SNP have led us down or do we choose to move forward with the strongest devolution settlement and a new direction for Scotland?”
House of Commons22 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Members disagreed— often strongly—but they shared a common purpose to make Scotland fairer, healthier and more prosperous. They passed legislation; as we have heard, some of it was groundbreaking. That is the spirit that Scotland needs again. The need for change is clear. Scotland is full of ambition, potential and opportunity. We have world-leading businesses, unique natural resources and global brands that command respect across the world. We are world leaders in renewable technology and home to cutting-edge scientific and tech institutions and renowned research-intensive universities. We need a Scottish Government who share the same hopes and aspirations for the future as we do on the Labour Benches to make devolution work and to take full advantage of everything Scotland has going for it.”
House of Commons22 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My constituents know too well the threat that fire poses from the serious fire at Blairlinn industrial estate that injured six people and the destruction by fire of the iconic St Mungo’s church: a listed building and landmark seen from across the constituency that is now gone. That is a failing of scrutiny and a failure of priorities. The SNP Government are distracted. They are more interested in constitutional division than in fixing the problems that our communities face. The Labour Government have delivered record investment for Scotland’s public services, but ask anyone on the ground—no one can see what the SNP has done with the money. I remember the hope of 1999 when the Scottish Parliament was first elected. It was full of passion, full of debate and full of co-operation.”
House of Commons22 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“NHS staff in Scotland pay higher rates of income tax and significantly higher rates of pension contributions, so the take-home pay of an NHS band 6 nurse in Scotland is not necessarily different from a band 6 nurse in England. The problems do not end with health. Across Scotland, the fire and rescue service is consulting on cuts that firefighters, their unions and the public fear will cost lives. The service faces a capital backlog of £800 million. That is not just a Government asleep at the wheel but one who are failing to protect one of our most vital public services.”
House of Commons22 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. Certainly, the experience was that the Scottish Government were good at setting targets but never good at making sure those targets were met. I see the toll of that every week, with people living in pain, losing mobility and struggling with their mental health. They look at the improving picture south of the border and ask, “How much longer do we have to wait?” What they are hearing is, “Actually, this crisis is business as usual.” NHS staff are being failed by the very system that devolution was meant to strengthen. [ Interruption. ] I heard a heckle from a sedentary position.”
House of Commons22 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Many leisure centres, such as the Tryst in Cumbernauld, which was built and opened in 1973, are desperate to decarbonise, but face huge costs and the practical challenge of retrofitting renewable technologies into older buildings. Will my right hon. Friend set out how Great British Energy will support vital community facilities of that kind in making the switch to clean energy, and in reducing their bills?”
House of Commons14 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome the statement and the progress made by both this Government and the Government of the Republic of Ireland. As my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) said, we on the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee have heard of the heartbreak of many of those who lost loved ones over the course of the troubles, and regardless of the background of those loved ones, they deserve answers. The response we have consistently received is that Operation Kenova is an example of good practice—that many of those in the island of Ireland are too close to this matter, and bringing in suitably qualified individuals from other parts of the UK should be considered as part of any process. Can I ask the Secretary of State if that has been considered in the new Bill?”
House of Commons14 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Does the hon. Gentleman not recognise that very few cases end up in a tribunal, particularly at a point where all due process happens? Not all dismissals are unfair.”
House of Commons15 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I spoke to a hospital catering worker in my constituency who was contracted to work 12 hours a week, but she regularly worked 36 hours a week. However, when she took annual leave, she was paid for 12 hours a week. Does the hon. Lady not think that this catering worker deserves the respect of actually being paid for the hours she works, and of having a contract for the hours she works?”
House of Commons15 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Professional bodies are there to set the standards of the profession. Does the hon. Lady not recognise the conflict of interest that could arise from the professional body representing an employee at a disciplinary hearing when it has to uphold the standards of the profession?”
House of Commons15 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I recently had the pleasure of visiting Stewart-Buchanan Gauges, a proud employee-owned business in my constituency that supplies high-quality gauges and valves to clients in more than 50 countries. It even provides gauges for the SpaceX shuttle, and it exemplifies the world-class small and medium-sized enterprises that drive our economy and support the defence sector. Will the Secretary of State outline what steps the Government are taking to ensure that firms such as Stewart-Buchanan Gauges are included in defence innovation initiatives and remain integral to UK supply chains?”
House of Commons8 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“T7. We have already highlighted the welcome investment in shipbuilding on the Clyde and the Forth, which clearly demonstrates the real benefit of being part of the Union. What assessment has the Minister made of other potential export deals? What steps is he taking to ensure that the Ministry of Defence takes up those opportunities?”
House of Commons8 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Q13. My constituents have endured four major fires in recent months across our community, including one that caused the devastating destruction of Cumbernauld’s iconic St Mungo’s church, yet the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is consulting on downgrading Cumbernauld fire station, increasing response times and putting lives at risk. Will the Prime Minister make representations to the Scottish Government that they should not risk lives with cuts to our vital emergency services?”
House of Commons3 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. I am proud to be one of the vice-chairs of the all-party parliamentary group for the night time economy. Like all of us, it seems, I have been taking the opportunity to engage with all the hospitality businesses across my constituency and companies that form part of the supply chain. When I say talking to all of them, I mean the independents, the tied pubs, the breweries and the franchisees. What they are not talking to me about is wages. They are also not talking about staffing hours and contracts. Even after pushing from me, they are saying that while the national insurance increase is a concern, it does not even make it into their top 10 problems.”
House of Commons3 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In conclusion, our hospitality industry is continually changing as our habits change. That is a good thing. The hospitality sector should fulfil a key role in our communities, which is way bigger than the blinkered ways outlined in the motion.”
House of Commons3 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It was good to see the place so full, and I hope those who go to watch Chris Hoy’s Tour De 4 going through Kilsyth on Sunday make a point of visiting not just Urban Grind, but the Coachman, the Scarecrow or the Boathouse, because it is a circular economy; local businesses support other local businesses and make sure that they invest. When local businesses use hotels in the local community —the local independents—and do not bring people in from Glasgow, there is more chance of the local community benefiting. Everybody I spoke to talked about quality, a changing market and a more discerning customer. They said that a greater proportion of the business is about food and soft drinks than ever before, and that they had to work harder to get customers, but that when they did provide high quality and good value, they got loyalty.”
House of Commons3 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Last weekend, as part of Scotland Loves Local Week, I was proud to join Kilsyth councillors Jean Jones and Heather Brannan-McVey in visiting the relatively newly owned Urban Grind coffee shop in Kilsyth. The owners Martin and Marie told me—over coffee—about their struggles in getting the facility open for business, getting the change of use from a vacant shop to a hospitality business, and the need to build a fence between the outside sitting area and the soft play area next door. But they also told me about their investment in a young workforce, who combine studying with working, and the importance of working with businesses in the area.”
House of Commons3 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Those businesses talk to me about the vow of silence from the Scottish Government on business rates and about the need for certainty, but also about improving of planning processes; for the big breweries and pub landlords, the sheer amount of time that development takes means that it is easier to invest in other parts of the UK than in Scotland. Planning for a new-build hospitality business or a change of use takes years. Disproportionate cuts to local government planning services in ongoing Scottish Government budgets have had a wider effect across the whole sector. The hon. Member is probably right that the NICs issue is in the mix, but these matters are much more of an issue, certainly in my sector locally.”
House of Commons3 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I respect the comment, but I had not heard it, because I have been looking at other things today. I am reflecting what businesses are telling me, and as I think the hon. Member will have found in his own constituency, they are talking to me about far more fundamental issues for the hospitality industry in Scotland. They have reminded me that hospitality businesses in Scotland are closing at twice the rate they are in the rest of the country, and that although there was investment in the hospitality sector in the Scottish budget for the current year, it was the first time that had happened. The Scottish Licensed Trade Association has expressed to me that the Scottish hospitality industry is starting off £200 million behind the rest of the country because of how the Scottish Government are reacting.”
House of Commons3 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the Minister for her statement today and for the recognition that a process that is supported by those people who should be at the heart of it is always difficult. We must take time to ensure that any inquiry has the faith of the people at the centre of it, because it will never be possible to do that again, as they have been failed too often. We have discussed before how child abuse and exploitation does not stop at Gretna. Will the Minister outline what engagement there has been with the devolved Administrations on how we can make this a truly national inquiry?”
House of Commons2 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Does the hon. Gentleman agree that for many of the veterans who came back, the point at which they remembered and relived their experiences was later on in life, as they succumbed to dementia? They had to go through and relive the horrors of their war experiences at that time.”
House of Commons21 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It began at the Southern General hospital in Glasgow, founded by Robert Rae, a Unison branch secretary and hospital porter, to help some of the lowest-paid NHS staff—the cleaners, porters and clerical workers—to access fair, affordable finance and build financial resilience through saving. The credit union has grown remarkably since then, with more than 24,000 members, including staff and their families across NHS Scotland and parts of the north of England. Its common bond extends down to Sheffield. It now employs 18 staff and is an inspiring example of how credit unions grow not only in scale, but in purpose, deepening their role in communities and the economy.”
House of Commons16 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I beg to move, That this House has considered the role and future of credit unions. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. At the outset of this debate, I wish to place formally on the record that I am a long-standing member of the NHS credit union, an organisation I first joined as it was my workplace credit union. It provided me the opportunity to save directly from my salary before I ever had the chance to spend it. When I received a pay rise, I would increase my contributions. I remain a proud member today, now paying in by direct debit. IPSA, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, has not got quite as far as doing payroll deduction for credit unions. The NHS credit union is now one of the largest in Scotland, but it did not start that way.”
House of Commons16 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗