§ 14. Mr. SteenTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people were employed in Scotch whisky production in Scotland in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. StewartIn 1987, 11,100 people were employed in plants whose principal product was Scotch whisky and which had 11 or more employees. The equivalent figure for the following four years was on average 10,300. I will give details in the Official Report.
§ The following is the information:
| Number | |
| 1988 | 10,100 |
| 1989 | 10,000 |
| 1990 | 10,700 |
| 11991 | 10,400 |
| 1 Provisional. |
§ Mr. SteenI am sure that my hon. Friend the Minister is not too surprised about the fact that the amount of Scottish whisky consumed in the British Isles over the past few years has been declining dramatically. Does he agree that one reason for that is that the unit of alcohol in Scottish whisky is charged at double the rate per unit of alcohol in French, Italian, Spanish, or German wine? Bearing in mind the fact that the number of people employed in the Scottish whisky industry over the past 10 years has declined by 40 per cent., does he agree that our job in Britain is not to create jobs in Europe and France, but jobs in this country?
§ Mr. StewartThe reaction to my hon. Friend's question shows the popularity of his views on all sides of the House. As my hon. Friend will appreciate, taxation is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer—[HON. MEMBERS: "Here he is."] I can now doubly reassure 290 my hon. Friend that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer is fully informed of the views of the whisky producers on those matters.
§ Mr. DarlingDoes the Minister accept that the Scottish whisky industry needs a constant supply of good quality, cheap water? If water is privatised and a private company has a monopoly, as is the case in respect of the supply of electricity, prices will rise and that will increase the price of whisky. In addition, there will be a constant threat of disconnection for the whisky industry as there is for ordinary members of the public. Does he not accept therefore, that the threat of the privatisation of water is a major threat to the future of the Scotch whisky industry?
§ Mr. StewartThe hon. Gentleman is living in a fantasy world which is even more absurd than that inhabited by most of his hon. Friends. I do not think that that question requires a serious answer.
§ Sir Nicholas FairbairnWill my hon. Friend contemplate the fact that in order to achieve the glory of the Maastricht union, the French are willing to forgo drinking French wine and we should ensure that we drink our whisky and that they do not drink their wine?
§ Mr. StewartMy hon. and learned Friend will no doubt be drinking a toast this evening to the extra £1 million that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced for the Historic Buildings Council in his package this afternoon. With regard to my hon. and learned Friend's more general point, it is worth recording that the Scotch whisky industry was appreciative of the outcome which my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer achieved in discussions on the duty regime with his European colleagues earlier this year.