Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Strength of the Union

Wednesday 29 March 2023 · 6 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 5 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Secretary of State believes the Union is strong with high support.
  • The Secretary of State calls for collaboration over confrontation.
  • The Secretary of State agrees that growing support for the Union shows benefits of collaboration.
  • The Secretary of State confirms the cost of living support package totals 94 billion.
  • The Secretary of State asks the Scottish Government to focus on issues like crime, drug deaths, health service, and education.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Scott Benton
Democracy & Elections
Context

The MP asks for an assessment of the current state and support for the Union.

Question

What recent assessment has he made of the strength of the Union?

Answer from Alister Jack

The Secretary of State believes the Union is strong with high support. He emphasizes that people want their governments delivering on issues such as levelling up, cost of living, and working with the Scottish Government to deliver freeports, investment zones and city and region growth deals.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not provide a recent assessment or specific data about the Union's strength.

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Q2 Robbie Moore Con Keighley and Ilkley
NHS Education Economy Employment Scotland
Context

The MP references opinion polls showing people in Scotland want both UK and Scottish Governments to work together.

Question

Does the Secretary of State agree that the new SNP leader should focus on issues such as economy, NHS, schools and jobs rather than another independence referendum?

Answer from Alister Jack

The Secretary of State calls for the new First Minister to seize the opportunity to collaborate instead of confrontation. He does not explicitly confirm or deny agreement with the specific focus areas mentioned by the MP.

Partly answered

Not addressed: No explicit commitment to the suggested priorities, only a call for collaboration without specifics.

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Q3 Kevin Foster Con
Scotland
Context

The MP asks if growing support for the Union shows people seeing advantages of working together on challenges.

Question

Does he agree that growing support for the Union shows people across Scotland seeing the benefits of collaboration rather than following separatists' path?

Answer from Alister Jack

The Secretary of State agrees and highlights examples such as freeports, investment zones, and city and region growth deals demonstrating collaboration.

Partly answered

Not addressed: No specific data on growing support for the Union or detailed commitments to collaborative actions.

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Q4 Scott Benton
Economy
Context

The MP questions if the Chancellor's Budget strengthened the Union by delivering for all parts.

Question

Does my right hon. Friend agree that by extending cost of living support and taking measures to deliver long-term sustainable growth while reducing inflation, the Chancellor's Budget strengthened the Union?

Answer from Alister Jack

The Secretary of State confirms the cost of living support package totals £94 billion, an average of £3,300 per household in the UK. He does not explicitly agree or disagree with the MP's assessment about strengthening the Union.

Partly answered

Not addressed: No explicit agreement on whether the Budget strengthened the Union, only figures on cost of living support provided.

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Q5 Pete Wishart SNP Perth and Kinross-shire
Scotland Brexit Democracy & Elections
Context

The MP questions if the Union's greatest achievement has been Brexit, high energy prices in resource-rich Scotland or being run by a Tory government.

Question

Could he tell us what the Union's greatest achievement has been in the past few years?

Answer from Alister Jack

The Secretary of State notes that the hon. Gentleman did not quote any opinion polls and mentions Brexit results without addressing achievements explicitly. He states the constitution is entirely reserved to UK Government, asking Scottish Govt to focus on crime, drug deaths, health service, education.

Not addressed: Does not address Union's achievements or support divisionary questions, shifts to what Scottish Govt should focus on instead.

How: Changed Subject

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Q6 Christine Jardine Lib Dem Edinburgh West
NHS Education Economy Scotland
Context

The MP mentions recent polls favouring union over independence and asks if the new First Minister should focus on issues such as NHS, education and inflation.

Question

Does the Secretary of State think that the new First Minister should focus on issues like the NHS, education and inflation rather than independence?

Answer from Alister Jack

The Secretary of State agrees, stating constitution is entirely reserved to UK Government and asks Scottish Govt to focus on crime, drug deaths, health service, education. He does not commit to prioritizing these issues over independence directly.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Does not explicitly confirm or deny the suggested priorities but emphasizes day job focus instead of constitutional matters.

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