Speeches by MacDonald.

“Can I also make a disclosure, which I did not do? I have a Highland Cinema in Fort William and Mowi is one of the advertisers and supporters of that business. Sorry, I meant to state that before my question.”

“If you go on a fishing boat, there is obviously no timescale to kill them. The boats catch anything, and they do not have any of that requirement. The farm regulation and the farmed fishing is so tight that I wonder if we are effectively in danger of driving the industry away from Scotland to places like Chile.”

“Sean, there is another question that I want to put forward that is basically about the Assured scheme you have and whether we should be enforcing higher welfare standards. Also, do you want to make a comment about wild fish? Is there any chance that we are putting so many strict regulation requirements on the farmed fi…”

“I do not understand this, and it is a hugely important issue. Say there are 100,000 tonnes a month produced and 2.5% of them die in that month, that equates to 1.2 million tonnes a year—just say 12 months—and then that would still be 2.5%, so I do not understand the figure. Are we seeing 25% of all the fish dying or ar…”

“Sean, can I ask you: in your paper at 1.11 it said 25% mortality a year and in the Salmon Scotland paper it said 2.5% per month, and obviously that is roughly the same. Is it 2.5% or is it 25%?”

“Is the Minister aware of the complete disaster this will cause for Scottish hospitality businesses? We do not have business rates relief, as businesses do in England Wales. We have a very large number of young people in the hospitality sector. For example, for someone working part-time for 25 hours a week on the minimu…”

“Does the hon. Gentleman not agree that the impact of this measure is hitting the most vulnerable businesses and the most vulnerable charities throughout the United Kingdom? Surely a much better way of raising the money—which I can understand is needed—would be to raise corporation tax, or to increase taxes on, for inst…”

“The hon. Gentleman keeps talking about the largest businesses, but the Government are completely wiping out small and medium-sized businesses across the whole hospitality and retail sector. This is a catastrophic piece of legislation. He talks about a kamikaze Budget; we are considering a kamikaze Budget right here, to…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“The £500 million set aside for the shared rural network was instigated by the previous Government. In the highlands of Scotland, it is organised by land mass, rather than the geographic concentration of people. If the Minister wants to find £300 million or £400 million of that to help with the roll-out of broadband, he…”

“Will the Minister allow humble servants such as myself to get involved in that? I have spent several years working with the Highland council and others on community benefits, and I would appreciate a meeting.”

“Thank you very much, Sir Roger, for allowing me to contribute to the debate. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for securing it. The two big issues facing rural Scotland, and the highlands in particular, are the care sector and fuel poverty. I am sure hon. Members have not s…”

“What is absolutely clear is that the electricity companies are not losing money. Their total profits add up to tens of billions of pounds, but the costs are being borne by the poorest people in our society.”

“That is also Liberal Democrat policy, so I am pleased to support that. Interestingly—I know you will find this interesting, Sir Roger—France, Italy, Ireland and others have an equalisation of standing charges. Ofgem’s reluctance to reform standing charges has been raised many times in Westminster Hall and in the main C…”

“Palliative care charities are essential partners that deliver compassionate, dignified end-of-life care on behalf of, and much cheaper than, the NHS. Organisations that provide healthcare for the NHS should be treated like NHS bodies in these decisions. Increasing NI contributions for hospices but not the NHS places th…”

“It is appropriate that I am following the words of the hon. Member for Stafford (Leigh Ingham) about the palliative care sector. I am grateful for the substantial settlement for the NHS, especially as Scotland will get £3.4 billion, which will make an enormous difference. The Belford hospital in Fort William has been c…”

“I invite hon. Members to refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings) for her commitment to our essential amendments, both in Committee and here today. I also thank the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichto…”

“Will the hon. Gentleman explain why the SNP Government have left community benefit at the same £5,000 level it was in 2014, even though prices have gone through the roof? Their advisory information could have been changed. They have been pressed on the issue many times because it has severely damaged the income of rura…”

“Will the hon. Lady give her opinion on business improvement districts? Does she think they are valuable for rejuvenating the economies of market towns and small cities across Britain?”

“It is fair to say that building a visitor centre was not one of my list of key things to do with the money, but I shall add it to my list at around No. 97 —there is a space there. We will talk about this more in a minute, but fuel poverty, affordable housing and so on are probably the key uses for that money at the beg…”