Douglas McAllister MP: speeches

Speeches

• 12 Jun 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  This is Carers Week—9 to 15 June—and Carers Week 2025 is focused on caring about equality. Millions of people across the UK provide unpaid care for an ill, older or disabled family member, and their support is worth a staggering £184 billion a year to our country. In my constituency, we are very fortunate to have a wonderful organisation called Carers of West Dunbartonshire, which provides outstanding support to unpaid carers and helps promote equality of opportunity for carers. Will the Leader of the House join me in recognising their efforts, and thank the staff and members of Carers of West Dunbartonshire for all they do throughout the year?

• 9 Jun 2025 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  This is welcome news that will bring even more money to Scotland on top of the record funding settlement that our Chancellor delivered in the Budget. Does the Minister agree that my constituents fear the Scottish Government and John Swinney’s plans to pay out just £100 in Scotland? Those who need it most will now get more in England and Wales than the SNP will pay out to pensioners in Scotland—double, in fact—because the Scottish Government seem determined to pay out to the very wealthiest millionaires in Scotland. Should they rethink that?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Dementia Care · Hansard source

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  There is no doubt that dementia is the biggest health challenge of our time. It is the leading cause of death in the UK, and there will not be a single family across our country that is not touched by this illness. I suspect that for most of in this House, if not all, it will be no different. I look to my own experience with my mum, who developed a condition when she was aged 62 or 63. My mum, Phyllis McAllister, a nurse, nursing sister and midwife—a carer by profession—was also an unpaid carer to my late father, after he suffered a stroke, until she could care no more, with the carer now needing care. It is often said that it can be a postcode lottery when it comes to the provision of dementia care, both at home and in residential care. My family and I were very fortunate in that our experience was a positive one. The provision of dementia healthcare services is the responsibility of local integrated healthcare boards. That is the case across the UK. My Labour-run administration in West Dunbartonshire provided outstanding home care services on a daily basis to allow my mother to remain in her home for as long as possible. However, the highly dedicated team of home carers are often expected to do more for their clients with reduced times. Those are the consequences of the cuts to local government and health and social care budgets from central Government over the last decade. They are played out on the frontline of dementia care. I served as a councillor on West Dunbartonshire council for 21 years and I am very proud of our record on the provision of dementia care. As an administration, we took the bold step—the brave yet correct decision—to continue to offer local authority-run residential care homes. We built two large, state-of-the-art care homes: Crosslet House in Dumbarton; and Queens Quay in Clydebank, where my mother now receives quite outstanding care by a highly dedicated team of care staff, which my brother and I are so appreciative of. I refer to that, because it demonstrates what all local authorities and integrated care boards could and should provide, given the correct support and funding from central Government. I want my UK Labour Government to prioritise a society where every person with dementia receives high-quality, compassionate care, from diagnosis through to end of life care. We must commit to improving dementia care and empower our local leaders with the autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community. That means the UK Labour Government learning the lessons of SNP failure. Early this year, the Scottish Government formally abandoned their national care service plan, scaling back their flagship policy of centralised control under a single national body, wasting time and money—£30 million wasted, money that could have delivered 1 million extra hours of care, stopped care packages being cut and provided the essential dementia care that families across Scotland are so desperate for. There is a role for central Government. The Labour Government’s 10-year health plan provides a key opportunity to fix dementia care. It starts with a blueprint for transforming early dementia diagnosis. Diagnosis late in the progression of the disease costs all of us so much more. Early diagnosis is vital to ensure people with dementia can access the treatment and support they need. Our 10-year plan should include bold, brave commitments to funding and providing our NHS with groundbreaking new treatment, medicines and research, including clinical trials of promising new dementia drugs. I urge the Minister to commit our Labour Government to improving dementia care across the board: causes, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, care and support.

• 22 May 2025 · Independent Sentencing Review · Hansard source

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  I welcome the fact that this Government are getting on with building the largest prison expansion programme since the Victorians. That is a Labour Government in action, fixing the Tory prison crisis once and for all. Can I ask the Secretary of State to learn from the SNP Scottish Government’s abject failure with the new Barlinnie prison project in Glasgow? It has been delayed again, and now will not be ready until 2028, which is nine years late. The cost has soared from £100 million to a staggering £1 billion for one prison. Will we learn lessons from the SNP failure?

• 21 May 2025 · Ukraine: Forcibly Deported Children · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing the debate. Since her visit to Ukraine, she has worked tirelessly to raise the profile of this issue with her report, “Returning the Stolen Children of Ukraine”, on the Floor of the House and again today. She should be congratulated on all her work. On the practical measures that can be taken to help return the stolen children to their families, does she agree that the Minister should consider establishing a UK national day of action to continue her great work and help raise public awareness of this cause?

• 20 May 2025 · Pensions: Expatriates · Hansard source

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  My West Dunbartonshire constituent, Fraser, has now retired and lives in Australia. He is one of the half a million British citizens and voters now affected by this 70-year outdated and harsh practice. He is from my home town of Clydebank. He worked in the ordnance factory in Bishopton for decades, and then in the Govan shipyards. He paid his national insurance contributions for many years, but his pension is frozen. He tells me that every year it is getting harder and harder for him to make ends meet. Does my hon. Friend agree that that is a scandalous injustice? We are not seeking a full backdating, but for the Government to introduce some form of yearly indexing to answer that injustice.

• 19 May 2025 · Defence Sector Jobs · Hansard source

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  5. What steps he is taking to support jobs in the defence sector.

• 19 May 2025 · Defence Sector Jobs · Hansard source

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  Increasing our investment in defence not only bolsters our national security, but is an opportunity to support vital, skilled defence sector jobs and boost economic growth. Will the forthcoming defence industrial strategy spread prosperity across the regions and nations of the UK, and will the Minister use defence procurement and investment to generate wealth and create high-quality jobs in the west of Scotland and make defence an engine for growth across Scotland?

• 29 Apr 2025 · Nuclear Power Sector · Hansard source

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  The transition to net zero is a chance to create decent, high-skilled jobs for the future. That includes the next generation of small nuclear reactors, which could revolutionise our energy market and deliver cleaner affordable energy. The SNP has vetoed nuclear energy projects in Scotland for almost 20 years, determined to leave Scotland behind. Is Scotland missing out on the economic opportunities that nuclear offers?

• 29 Apr 2025 · Nuclear Power Sector · Hansard source

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  9. What steps he is taking to support the nuclear power sector.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Scientific and Regulatory Procedures: Use of Dogs · Hansard source

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  I am advised by Matthew, a West Dunbartonshire constituent, that animals—including dogs—bred for scientific procedures and not used are omitted from Britain’s annual statistics on animal testing. If true, that means we have no real idea how many animals are used for science overall in Britain. The Home Office estimated back in 2017 that an additional 1.8 million animals were bred and then not used, which is nearly 50% more than our annual official Government figures would suggest. Sadly, apparently those animals either died or were destroyed. Does my hon. Friend agree that the task of becoming a country or society that does not harm dogs and animals will be more difficult without full transparency?

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Earlier this month, my hometown football club, Clydebank FC, were crowned West of Scotland premier division champions. On Saturday, they play their final home league game of the season at Holm Park, and it will be my pleasure to be there and see them lift the trophy. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating all the players, the manager, the coaches, the staff and the Bankies supporters on such a wonderful and successful season? Does she wish to join me—never mind the FA cup semi-final—in West Dunbartonshire on Saturday to celebrate the Bankies winning the league?

• 23 Apr 2025 · Exports: Impact of US Tariffs · Hansard source

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  Will the Secretary of State join me in welcoming the pragmatic and calm approach of our Prime Minister to this issue? He is working in the clear interests of businesses and consumers, in contrast to Opposition Members, who seem interested only in social media and quick headlines.

• 8 Apr 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

• 8 Apr 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The Chancellor set out in the spring statement a clear plan to drive better value for taxpayers, including through the transformation fund, which will transform frontline delivery while making savings in the long term. Does he agree that that is in stark contrast to the SNP Scottish Government’s record of waste?

• 3 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My constituent Jagtar Singh Johal, who has now been in arbitrary detention in India for seven and a half years, was acquitted of all charges on 4 March in the first case against him to conclude. However, he has not been released because he is facing eight other essentially duplicate cases, without the prospect of any credible evidence by the Indian prosecutors against him. Time is of the essence. It is exactly one month since the verdict, and my constituent’s family advise that his conditions of detention have significantly deteriorated since the acquittal. Can I ask the Leader of the House to arrange an urgent statement confirming that our Government are acting with the utmost urgency, that there is the political will to push robustly for his immediate release, and that they recognise that now is the moment to bring him home to my constituency and to his family in Dumbarton?

• 3 Apr 2025 · UK-US Trade and Tariffs · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. The announcement of a 10% tariff on all products exported from the UK to the United States means that for the second time in just five years, the Scotch whisky industry could be impacted by tariffs in the industry’s largest global market. That will be concerning news across communities where Scotch whisky is a major employer, including in my constituency. Scotch whisky makes up a quarter of all Scottish exports to the US, but it is not one-way traffic; to give just one example, the Scotch whisky industry imports up to $300 million of ex-bourbon casks every year. I urge the Secretary of State to work with the US Administration and ensure that a mutually beneficial resolution can be agreed as soon as possible to support the Scotch whisky industry.

• 31 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  There has been a recent slew of successful European sting operations that have resulted in the arrest of prominent individuals involved in people-smuggling gangs. Does the Minister agree that this highlights the crucial importance of international co-operation, and signals that Labour’s plan to smash the gangs is working?

• 27 Mar 2025 · Prevention of Drug Deaths · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure, Dr Murrison, to serve under your chairship. I thank and congratulate the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for securing this vital Westminster Hall debate. With your leave, Dr Murrison, I will begin by paying tribute to Christina McKelvie, MSP and Scottish Government Minister, who sadly died earlier today. Christina was taking leave for cancer treatment. She was the Scottish Government Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy in the Scottish Parliament. Our thoughts are with her partner, Keith Brown MSP, and her family. In my West Dunbartonshire constituency, drug-related deaths increased this year. Figures released in August 2024 from National Records of Scotland showed that in Scotland 1,172 people died due to drug misuse, which was an increase of 121 deaths on the previous period. In the West Dunbartonshire local authority area, which is a very small one, the rise was from 20 to 26, comprising the deaths of nine females and 17 males. Opioids, including heroin, morphine and methadone, were implicated in 80% of those deaths. I pay tribute to Alternatives, a West Dunbartonshire community drug service. Its staff and volunteers do incredible work to tackle drug addiction, offering support across my constituency, as does the West Dunbartonshire Drug and Alcohol Partnership. Of course, as the hon. Member for Strangford said in his opening remarks, there are a person, a family and a story behind every statistic, and it is very important to remember that. People in the most deprived areas of Scotland are more than 15 times as likely to die from drug misuse as people in less deprived areas, and I suspect that the same is true for Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. The Scottish Government and the UK Government need to do more. The “Evaluation of the National Mission on Drug Deaths” report, which was released last month, found that only one in three alcohol and drug partnership co-ordinators believed that Scottish Government leadership was effective. The report makes it clear that those who understand the drug deaths crisis best do not have faith in the SNP Scottish Government’s leadership. So, the SNP must listen to frontline workers and work with them to deliver the funding that this essential mission needs, properly fund local government, and reverse the cuts to our local health and social care partnerships, which fund and support the frontline organisations across West Dunbartonshire, such as Alternatives, and across our country.

• 27 Mar 2025 · Supporting Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  Scotland’s ferry network to the islands is an essential transport system. Island communities have at times been effectively cut off due to ferry chaos, disruptive cancellations and expensive repairs. The SNP has decided to inflict a 10% fare hike and sent a contract for seven new ferries to Poland. The Scottish Government are depriving Scotland’s iconic shipbuilding industry of much-needed growth and jobs. Can the UK Government assist the Scottish Government with fundamental reform of how we procure and run ferries in our country?

• 27 Mar 2025 · Supporting Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  7. What steps she is taking to help ensure that the transport system supports economic growth.

• 27 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  BBC Scotland announced last week that the much-loved, long-running drama series “River City” will be decommissioned by the autumn of 2026. The fictional town of Shieldinch is based in my constituency of West Dunbartonshire; the set and studio are in Dumbarton. BBC Scotland is part of the wider BBC, which is a public service broadcaster with a duty to use public funds to produce Scottish content, including drama. After 23 years of BBC Scotland supporting Scottish actors and production talent, I am concerned that skills and career development opportunities in the industry will be lost in the west of Scotland. Can the Leader of the House bring this to the attention of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and will she urge the BBC to reconsider its decision and save Scotland’s only domestic TV soap?

• 26 Mar 2025 · UK Space Launch · Hansard source

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  What work is the Department doing to ensure that the UK space sector is a launch pad for innovation and investment, and creates skilled jobs—both commercial and in the defence sector—across Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole?

• 26 Mar 2025 · UK Space Launch · Hansard source

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  3. What plans his Department has to support a UK space launch.

• 20 Mar 2025 · Conflict in Gaza · Hansard source

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  Bombing civilians and preventing access to basic humanitarian supplies as a tactic of war is a war crime. I thank the Foreign Secretary for his statement, and for his tireless diplomacy. A call for a full, transparent investigation is welcome, as is a call to return to a ceasefire. However, given our strong opposition to the return of hostilities, and the bombing by the Israelis, we must now go beyond persuasion. Their actions are incompatible with international law. Is it not time to make a direct response beyond persuasion? What stronger options do the Government have, which would assist diplomacy? I know he cannot speak about specifics, but can he confirm that these options are being considered, so that we can send a clear message now, and help stop the bloodshed?