Kirsty McNeill

Cancer Research

I commend my hon. Friend for his ongoing and dogged advocacy for this cause. As he will know, the UK Government are committed to ensuring a partnership approach between the health services of Scotland and the rest of the UK, and we are focused on ensuring that higher education, and other forms of innovation, are part of our work on cancer.

Cancer Research

Tragically, cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in Scotland. I want Scots to benefit from the very best research. The National Institute for Health and Care Research works in partnership with the Scottish Government to support and enhance health and social care research across the UK, even though healthcare is devolved. Researchers in Scotland can now apply for funding, which has, for example, allowed the outstanding researchers at the University of Dundee to identify a newer, simp

Pride in Place: Regeneration

That is precisely one of the focuses of the Pride in Place programme. Our high streets have been neglected for far too long and are at the real heart of community pride. I am delighted that so many of the Pride in Place bids are focused on exactly that.

Pride in Place: Regeneration

The communities of Fauldhouse, Blackburn and Whitburn all face long-standing economic challenges, but as my hon. Friend rightly says, there is also so much pride and passion locally, and she is a great champion of that. Our Pride in Place programme is there to ensure that all local people have a stake and a say, and that they can work together for a future that is truly worthy of their ambitions for the places they love.

Pride in Place: Regeneration

Huge congratulations to my hon. Friend and her constituents. These three towns have tremendous untapped potential that has been long neglected and underutilised. Our coastal towns are a huge part of our identity on these islands, and I look forward to working with her to champion the pride that people rightly feel about living in this beautiful part of Ayrshire.

Pride in Place: Regeneration

The hon. Member and I have had a chance to discuss this matter previously and, as I have indicated, these are Labour priorities guided by Labour values. We have committed to targeting funding at the places that need it most, based on a double deprivation index, and I am afraid her constituency simply did not qualify.

Pride in Place: Regeneration

Through our ambitious Pride in Place programme, we are empowering local people to shape the future of their neighbourhoods. The Pride in Place impact fund is investing £12 million across Scotland over two years, including £1.5 million in North Ayrshire. We will invest up to £480 million in 24 Scottish communities over the next decade, including £20 million each for the Irvine and Three Towns neighbourhoods in North Ayrshire, and for the Fauldhouse, Whitburn and Blackburn neighbourhood in West Lo

Northern Ireland Troubles Bill: Scottish Veterans

I would be delighted to meet the Scottish Veterans Commissioner but, as the hon. Gentleman will appreciate, the Northern Ireland Office leads on such matters. We should put on the record that we owe a huge debt to the quarter of a million Northern Ireland veterans who served with honour to bring about peace in Northern Ireland. It is the Government’s firm view that no veteran who properly carried out their duty should be forced to face an endless cycle of legal uncertainty.

Hospitality Sector

I do not know if the hon. Gentleman heard me about the Conservatives’ record: 7,000 pubs lost under their watch. A package of support has, of course, been presented by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor for pubs in England, meaning that there is already extra money for the Scottish Government to spend in this area. I encourage Scottish Government Ministers to step up support for the hospitality sector using the Barnett consequentials that this Government have already provided.

Hospitality Sector

Scotland’s hospitality businesses, at the heart of our high streets and communities, are the engines of Scotland’s economy. The UK Government have helped businesses across the country by stabilising public finances, focusing on driving economic growth and putting more money in people’s pockets. In Scotland, of course, key levers such as rates, business development, skills and planning are devolved to the Scottish Government. Perhaps hon. Members on the SNP Benches can explain why the Scottish Go

Hospitality Sector

Our changes to employer national insurance were part of raising the revenue needed for the changes in public services from which his constituents and mine will benefit due to the record settlement for the Scottish Government. I will just say to the hon. Gentleman, however, that protestations of fealty to the hospitality sector would ring more true had 7,000 pubs not shut under the Conservatives.

Hospitality Sector

My hon. Friend is, as usual, quite right. Scottish businesses are facing eye-watering rate hikes, while the SNP Government tinker around the edges of a fundamentally broken system. Meanwhile, Anas Sarwar has been clear: Scottish Labour would revive our high streets with a fundamental overhaul of business rates. Right now, jobs and businesses are at risk, and we want to reset the balance between our local businesses and the online giants.

Northern Ireland Troubles Bill: Scottish Veterans

This Government are firmly committed to those who have served receiving the support, respect and recognition that they deserve. Our new veterans strategy, underpinned by our commitment to bring the armed forces covenant fully into law, includes £50 million for Valour—the first ever UK-wide Government approach to veterans support. For veterans in Glasgow and across Scotland, that means clearer pathways to services, better advocacy and a system that understands and recognises their unique experien

Northern Ireland Troubles Bill: Scottish Veterans

I thank the hon. Member for his consistent and thoughtful engagement on the Bill. The Government are committed to delivering truth and accountability for those who were bereaved or seriously injured during the troubles, which is why we introduced the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill in October. The previous Government’s Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 delivered no real support to veterans in legacy processes. The troubles Bill will put in place deliverable protection

Draft Scotland Act 1998 (Modification of Schedule 5) Order 2026

The provisions in this order are incredibly narrow and time-limited. It is appropriate that it is done in a delegated legislation environment. Members are doing all manner of business of the House and, indeed, the business of their constituents.

Draft Scotland Act 1998 (Modification of Schedule 5) Order 2026

I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Scotland Act 1998 (Modification of Schedule 5) Order 2026. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. The draft order was laid before the House on 17 December 2025. As with all orders made under the Scotland Act 1998 that we have considered since the start of this Parliament, the order is the result of close collaborative working between the UK and Scottish Governments. The order before us is made under section 30 of the S

Draft Scotland Act 1998 (Modification of Schedule 5) Order 2026

Officials of both Governments are working through a range of scenarios, but what we cannot do is table an order about a Bill that has not been passed. There are ongoing discussions, as we would hope and expect, but we cannot use a section 104 order until a Bill has received Royal Assent. The Chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee has asked for clarification on whether the Scottish Parliament would be able to amend or repeal the Act’s regulation-making powers in a future Scottish parliamentary S

Draft Scotland Act 1998 (Modification of Schedule 5) Order 2026

I am here to lay out the Government’s view on the Scotland Act order. I am not the diary secretary for my colleagues—I do not think the hon. Member would expect me to be. We are here to debate this order. The Chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee and indeed other members of this Committee have raised repeatedly a question that I hope I addressed in my opening remarks. But let me reiterate the view about why a section 30 and not a section 104 order is the appropriate way to get done what we nee

Draft Scotland Act 1998 (Modification of Schedule 5) Order 2026

It is required and desirable because we believe the integrity of the medicines regulatory regime should be maintained across the United Kingdom. We are trying to strike a balance. We want to give the Scottish Parliament the ability to confer the power to Scottish Ministers to identify in this case, and in only this case, that substances and devices that could be used in assisted dying are able to be so used if that is the will of the Scottish Parliament. Of course, that is provided that that is

Draft Scotland Act 1998 (Modification of Schedule 5) Order 2026

Let me just put on the record my great thanks to the Committee and its Chair, my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow West, for their scrutiny. I hope I will cover all the points that she raised.

Draft Scotland Act 1998 (Modification of Schedule 5) Order 2026

I thank hon. Members for their contributions and consideration—I hope to cover all the points raised in turn. I will begin with reflections from the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, who asked why this debate was not conducted on the Floor of the Commons. As he will know, because we have sat opposite each other in this space many times, Scotland Act 1998 orders are generally considered in Delegated Legislation Committees and subsequently put to the House by a motion, so that is