Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Scotland's Future

Wednesday 11 January 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ronnie Cowan inquired about the implications of a House decision regarding Scotland's Future for government policies.
  • The Secretary of State noted that the House rejected the motion concerning Scotland's Future.
  • The Government prioritizes tackling the cost of living, protecting energy security, and growing the economy in Scotland.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Ronnie Cowan SNP
Scotland
Context

The House rejected a motion regarding Scotland's future on December 14, 2022. The question arises from concerns about how this decision affects government policies.

Question

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the decision of the House on 14 December 2022 on the motion on Scotland's Future.

Answer from John Lamont

I trust the hon. Gentleman recalls that the House overwhelmingly rejected the motion to which he refers. The Government are focused on delivering for the people of Scotland. That means helping to tackle the cost of living, protecting our long-term energy security and growing our economy.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question specifically asked about an assessment of policy implications from a decision; the answer did not provide any such analysis or commitment.

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Q2 Ronnie Cowan SNP
Scotland Democracy & Elections
Context

The Secretary of State for Scotland has previously mentioned consensus between both governments as a route to a referendum. This question seeks clarification on whether efforts are being made towards establishing such consensus.

Question

I remember how in this place the Secretary of State for Scotland, while explaining the UK Government's lack of appetite for a referendum on Scotland's place in the United Kingdom, repeated many times that the route to a referendum in 2014 involved “consensus between both Governments.” Given that democracy is fuelled by consensus, is the Secretary of State for Scotland working towards establishing that consensus or is he content to deny the people of Scotland their democratic voice?

Answer from John Lamont

The Secretary of State for Scotland and the Government will continue to work with the Scottish Government to deliver on the priorities of the people of Scotland. They are: dealing with the cost of living; dealing with the NHS; and dealing with our education system, as well as a long list of other issues that the Scottish Government are completely failing to deliver on—certainly not another independence referendum.

Not addressed: The question specifically asked about working towards consensus for a referendum. The answer did not address this point and instead discussed other unrelated priorities.

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