1. What discussions he had with representatives of the devolved Administrations and regions at the first meeting of the Council of Nations and Regions.
First, Mr Speaker, I apologise to you and the House for Scottish questions overshadowing other events today.
I was pleased to join the Commonwealth Games Federation last week to confirm that Glasgow will host the Commonwealth games in 2026. It will be yet another wonderful opportunity for Scotland to show how we put on world-class sporting events. I also visited the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome and spoke to the next generation of cyclists, who have been inspired by Sir Chris. I am sure that the whole House will wish to pass on their best wishes to him and his family. I also congratulate Scotland women’s football team, who qualified for the play-offs yesterday after a 4-0 win over Hungary.
I was delighted to join the Prime Minister as he hosted the inaugural meeting of the Council of Nations and Regions at Queen Elizabeth House in Edinburgh earlier this month. We discussed opportunities for attracting long-term inward investment, stabilising the UK economy and creating good jobs. The council demonstrates our commitment to working together to deliver those priorities.
It is essential that all the UK’s nations and regions have a seat at the council of nations and regions, alongside Scotland, yet areas such as the great south-west, which is home to over 3 million people and has an economy of £80 billion, are being left out because we do not have metro mayors. Will the Secretary of State speak to colleagues in the Cabinet Office to ensure that, on the council, Scotland can work with all the non-mayoral regions of England?
On 16 July, the Deputy Prime Minister wrote to all areas that do not have a devolution deal to invite them to come forward with a proposal. New mayors established through that process would be eligible to sit on the Council of Nations and Regions. I will make sure that the Deputy Prime Minister forwards that letter to the hon. Gentleman.
It was brilliant to welcome the Prime Minister to my constituency for the first meeting of the Council of Nations and Regions. Following that meeting, are the Government committed to ending the decade and a half of austerity imposed on my constituents by the Conservative and SNP Governments?
I was delighted to attend the Council of Nations and Regions, held in a Labour constituency in Edinburgh. I can assure my hon. Friend that our manifesto said “no return to austerity”, and that is what we are determined to deliver.
The trade union Unite has issued a joint letter from political leaders across the United Kingdom’s nations and regions opposing Labour’s cut to the winter fuel payment. That letter has been signed by every party at Stormont and by parties in Wales, and the Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay also signed it. Was the winter fuel payment even discussed at the Council of Nations and Regions?
I thought that, with a full House, the shadow Secretary of State would have taken the opportunity to apologise for his Government not only crashing the economy, but leaving a £22 billion black hole. That is something this Government are determined to clean up. [Interruption.]
I hope that, in a later question, the shadow Secretary of State will apologise at the Dispatch Box to the country for crashing the economy, and to pensioners for what has happened to them as a result.
I was delighted to speak at the Space-Comm expo last month in Glasgow, where I met a wide range of industry members, both national and international, and recently I was fortunate enough to visit the SaxaVord spaceport in Shetland, where I saw wonderful progress. I have also met representatives of Orbex in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, and will continue to champion Scotland’s spaceports, including in Sutherland in his constituency.
The Secretary of State mentions Orbex. At present, it employs 125 people; by 2030, it could employ as many as 500. Is the Secretary of State willing to visit Orbex in Elgin and, indeed, the Sutherland space launch site?
Elgin is certainly not the final frontier, so I would be very happy to visit. The Minister for Science recently visited the UK Space Agency’s new office in Edinburgh, and during that visit, he echoed my sentiments about the importance of Scotland’s space sector. The Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms has recently met Orbex as well, and I will remain in close contact with my ministerial colleagues to ensure that we back the sector. I am very happy to visit when ministerial time allows.
As the Secretary of State knows, I recently had the opportunity to visit California with the Scottish Affairs Committee to look at how that state has created an environment that encourages new space projects. In Scotland, we have a unique opportunity, not least because of developments in Glasgow, but also because the University of Edinburgh is already well respected and part of the programmes at Stanford, New York University, Columbia and NASA. What will the Government do to encourage the creation of that sort of environment in Scotland, and will the University of Edinburgh, given its reputation, be central to that?
Scotland will be central to the space sector, and I very much welcome the question. We will fully back the space sector, as I said to the Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone). The Minister for Science has been to the UK Space Agency’s new office in Edinburgh, and the Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms has met Orbex. I have met Orbex and been to Unst in Shetland to visit the spaceport up there. We will fully back this; of course, its potential reaches to infinity and beyond.