Budget Resolutions
I hold the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan)—he is no longer in his place—in high regard, but I thought it was very telling that he would not take any interventions. The Scottish National party is desperate to paint the gloomiest possible picture of this Budget, but its argument does not hold. The reality is that the Budget is full of measures that will be very widely welcomed, in Scotland and by my constituents. Measures such as scrapping the standing charges for gas and extending the freeze on fuel duty will be extremely welcome to my constituents in Glenrothes and Mid Fife. I am delighted that the Budget also means that pensioners will see their state pension rise by nearly £500 a year, and that the Government have acted to ensure that pensioners receiving only that income will not have to pay income tax on it.<span id="517" class="column-number" data-column-number="517"></span> I make the case again to Ministers for the nearly 850 retired miners in my constituency who are members of the mineworkers’ pension scheme. I hope that Ministers will act swiftly to ensure that all the funds in the scheme go to retired miners. However, we must also remember the context for every pensioner in my constituency—the action taken to increase their pension, and the action on rising energy prices, which, as we approach another cold Scottish winter, have been a subject of deep concern to my constituents. The £100 energy payment being introduced for households in council tax bands A to D is particularly welcome. Thank goodness the SNP has actually seen sense on one thing, and is ensuring that this policy from the Government will be implemented in Scotland. In my constituency, nine out of 10 households will benefit. That is vital relief from the rising energy prices that we face because of global economic challenges. That is the real, practical support for families that the Prime Minister promised, and that this Budget delivers. The Budget not only provides breathing space in tough times; it also sets out investment that brings huge opportunities for the future of our communities in Glenrothes and Mid Fife, with the prospect of skilled work and good jobs for our young people. Along with the Defence Secretary, who gave an excellent speech at the start of this debate, the Chancellor has committed the funding for the defence investment plan. His contract decision that the new dry docks for Faslane will be built not in a foreign shipyard but here in the UK is a wonderful opportunity for the Methil yard in my constituency, which was saved from closure by this Government. If the new dry docks are built by the skilled workforce at Methil, that will secure the long-term future of the yard and drive its recruitment even higher. Methil is a community with a proud industrial history but high levels of social deprivation; this is a wonderful opportunity for reindustrialisation in our part of Scotland. It is not only in defence that there is such potential to grow our local economy. We have thriving renewable energy businesses, and the decision to proceed with the Jackdaw project has been widely welcomed in the Scottish energy sector, because it will provide employment in an industry whose workforce will be vital if we are to succeed in making the transition to renewables, and to sustain skills and employment in our energy sector. The £18 million pledged to the University of Edinburgh to boost our national capacity to design and test our own semiconductor chips is a decision that will be warmly welcomed across the Forth in Fife, where industry-leading companies such as Clas-SiC Wafer Fab and Semefab are based. Their highly expert staff export their products right across the globe. That is another example of how we are taking advantage of the revolution in artificial intelligence to ensure security, and to realise economic benefits for many of our high-tech, high-skilled industries in Scotland. This is a Budget for breathing space, a Budget to protect our economic stability and a Budget for investment in the future of our communities. I commend the Chancellor for recognising not only the challenges that we face as a country, and offering families respite from them, but the many opportunities that we have to strengthen growth in our economy in the future.<span id="518" class="column-number" data-column-number="518"></span>