What recent discussions he has had with representatives of the car manufacturing and trading sectors in Scotland on Government support for the industry.

Mr. Speaker, good morning, and thank you for all the guidance that you have given me and so many others in all parts of the House over the years.

I have met Scottish manufacturers, including representatives from the car industry, to discuss the car scrappage scheme. I have also met people from Scottish companies that work in climate change technologies, which are, of course, an enormous growth area in Scotland.

I share the comments made by the Secretary of State for Scotland on how welcome you have been, Mr. Speaker, to us on the Labour Benches.

I thank the Secretary of State for his answer. The car scrappage scheme is helping manufacturing and UK consumers. However, there remains genuine concern among car retailers, such as John McGuire in my constituency, about the Treasury's recent decision on the vehicle excise duty refund. Will the Secretary of State make representations to the Treasury to get that decision overturned?

My hon. Friend has raised that matter with the Treasury on a number of occasions. The gentleman whom he mentions, Mr. McGuire at Phoenix Honda, operates a company in his constituency but is a constituent of mine, so he has also come to my surgeries. Mr. McGuire raises important points on behalf of his company and many others across Scotland. I know that my hon. Friend will continue to raise the matter with the Treasury. If there is anything that I can do to assist in that, I will of course be happy to do it.

The Secretary of State mentioned that he has had meetings with people in the renewable energy sector. What conversations has he had with his colleague, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on securing some of the £400 million that has been announced for that sector? Has the Secretary of State given particular thought to how the money might be used for marine renewable energy in the Pentland firth?

The hon. Gentleman has raised that important issue with me in the past, and I look forward to visiting his constituency in the parliamentary recess to discuss the points that he raises about the Pentland firth. I have spoken to the Chancellor of the Exchequer about the issues. The hon. Gentleman will be pleased to know that about a third of the £750 million strategic investment fund established by the Government is to be earmarked for low-carbon investment. We now have to see what opportunities for the type of marine technology that he mentions are provided by that fund, the additional sources of Government support and the private sector. There is an enormous opportunity for a green industrial revolution in Scotland and beyond.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for all your kindness during the years in which you have been in the Chair.

I may have to declare an interest, as I have a car that is more than 10 years old, and the Donohoe household is looking for a new one. May I ask my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to give me some indication of the number of applications made under the scrappage scheme?

There is certainly great evidence to be had from car dealers across Scotland. When I visited Arnold Clark in Stirling, along with my right hon. Friend Mrs. McGuire, people there were saying how popular the scheme was. The Government are working to provide specific figures shortly, but Douglas Robertson, the chief executive of the Scottish Motor Trade Association, has said:

"The arrival of the government backed scrappage scheme has without doubt affected Scotland's figures. Traditionally Scotland has always had, on average, the oldest cars in the UK so it is to be expected that we should show the most benefit from the scheme."

That is the intention behind the scheme; it is a kick-start for the motor industry, and it is supportive of the environmental industries as well.

The Secretary of State will know that manufacturing industry, including the car industry, is vital to the recovery of not only the Scottish but the United Kingdom, economy. Is he confident that the Government are not loading additional burdens on manufacturing and industry, at a time when competitiveness is very important? Secondly, does he believe that the banking system, which has benefited from huge taxpayer largesse, is playing its role in ensuring the success and survival of manufacturing industry?

The hon. Gentleman raises a serious point. The car industry is of strategic importance across the UK. There are about half a million people employed in the motor retail sector across the UK, so there is a challenge not just in Scotland, but throughout the United Kingdom. We always have to bear in mind the balance of regulation and bureaucracy in the private sector, as well as in the public sector, and the need to do so is particularly acute at a time of economic difficulty. Along with the rest of the Government, we are seized of the need to ensure that, where possible, regulation has as light a touch as possible on the motor industry and others, particularly at this difficult time.

Contrary to the Government's spin on the car scrappage scheme, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has said that new car registrations in May fell at an annual rate of 25 per cent.—almost no change from the previous month. This month Ministers had to concede that four months after Lord Mandelson launched his £2.3 billion automotive assistance programme not a single penny from the scheme has been received by struggling firms. On a day when it is revealed that the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance in Scotland has doubled in one year alone, is it not about time that the Government matched their words with actions and offered real help to hard-working families across the country, rather than just headlines and spin?

There we have it: the authentic voice of the Scottish Conservative party, via Lancaster. The hon. Gentleman neither understands nor has any real sympathy for the people of Scotland. Of course there are real difficulties in the Scottish and UK economy, but he should stop playing politics and remember that when the Conservatives were in power their message was "Get on your bike and search for work" and that unemployment was a price worth paying. We will do everything we can to help Scotland through the current recession. We have looked at the lessons of the recession of the 1980s, when communities were destroyed and families were scourged by unemployment across the generations, and we are determined that there will not be a generational consequence of this recession in Scotland.