The Crisis in Scotland arose in my own constituency where the co-operative society tendered for the contract for the painting of a large number of municipal houses.

If we get on the Board Labour or Communist politicians - the united front - who understand how the Crisis in Scotland has developed, who understand the economic basis of the crisis, who understand the politics of the situation, we shall get the very best results from this Bill.

These people believe that some of the proposals for solving the economic Crisis in Scotland could be more adequately met if we had some form of national rule.

As my right hon. Friend the Member for Kilmarnock (Mr. Ross) said, the people who sent us to Parliament expect Scottish M.P.s to ask for a debate about these, the worst figures for Scotland, because, although they are contained in the figures for the United Kingdom, there is a special and acute Crisis in Scotland.

We shall be coming back to further debates on the Crisis in Scotland, Wales and development areas generally and the English regions which have also been very badly hit, especially so since the figures released by the Department of Trade and Industry on Thursday last show that there was a big drop in the number of new jobs which have become available in development areas in every part of the United Kingdom.

We have come out of our recent Crisis in Scotland, I am told - the industrial problems that we have been facing for the last few weeks.

What we have to get across is that there is a desperate Crisis in Scotland.

This lies at the heart of the Crisis in Scotland.

However, is it not a measure of the enormity of the economic Crisis in Scotland that such announcements should be met with relief?

Clause 2(3) relates to the withdrawal of grants to promote the sale of coal to the electricity boards and the hon. Member for Midlothian mentioned the Crisis in Scotland.

] As there is a serious Crisis in Scotland in the energy industry, the shipbuilding industry and the motor car industry, we as Members of Parliament are entitled to an opportunity at Question Time to ask questions - [Interruption.

The Crisis in Scotland's schools is the outcome of years of frustration in the teaching profession at theGovernment's educational policies.

Surely the Minister ought to do a great deal more and look at the reality of the Crisis in Scotland - for example, at the appalling potential job losses that are being faced at the BREL works in Springburn?

I thank the Minister for meeting a delegation of my hon. Friends and myself this morning to discuss the beef Crisis in Scotland.

Ministers must be brought to realise that they face a political Crisis in Scotland.

Who is lying about this Crisis in Scotland?

The Opposition welcome his remarks about the future and importance of the coal industry, especially in relation to the present Crisis in Scotland.

I think that my hon. Friend the Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson) made the point that this is an extraordinary response to what is a Crisis in Scotland for our tenants.

We have a political Crisis in Scotland.

We are facing the likelihood of a major constitutional Crisis in Scotland, chiefly because of the Conservative party's insensitive and uncaring governance of the nation.

I genuinely believe that we are facing a political and constitutional Crisis in Scotland, which has been brought about by the insensitive and uncaring Government.

What does the Secretary of State intend to do about the Crisis in Scotland, which the Government have failed to deal with in the past 13 years?

Yet what did we find when the story first broke and the issue became a Crisis in Scotland?

After all, the Crisis in Scotland was his first major challenge as Secretary of State for Scotland.

If Ministers are telling the truth, those people are inventing a Crisis in Scotland.

It has struggled under the impact of foot and mouth disease, but it was in Crisis in Scotland long before the latest outbreak.

In the final minute of his speech, will the Minister address my central question: does he think it right, with the current university financial Crisis in Scotland, that Scottish MPs should be able to vote on further reform of university finance in England?

Or is he just going to sit on his hands while the cost of living Crisis in Scotland gets worse by the day?

I believe that there is a real Crisis in Scotland.

Now that we have a Crisis in Scotland, what are the SNP Government doing about it?