5. What recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the prospect of a currency union with an independent Scotland. (903083)

6. What recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the prospect of a currency union with an independent Scotland. (903084)

8. What recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the prospect of a currency union with an independent Scotland. (903087)

I have not had any discussions with the Scottish Government about the prospect of a currency union. The Chancellor, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the shadow Chancellor have all said that there will not be a currency union. The only way to keep the pound is to stay in the United Kingdom.

Alex Salmond claims that an independent Scotland will still use the pound. Given that there is no likelihood of a currency union between the remainder of the United Kingdom and any future independent Scotland and that Scotland would therefore not have the backing of the lender-of-last-resort facility of the Bank of England, does my right hon. Friend agree that such a path is disastrous for Scotland—particularly its financial and banking sector?

Indeed. If Scotland made herself a foreign country to the rest of the United Kingdom, there would be no question of the Bank of England and the taxpayers who underpin it continuing to stand behind banks headquartered in that foreign country. That simply does not happen. As we have already explained, a number of financial services and banking companies north of the border have rightly identified that as a risk to their continued future governance.

Following the First Minister’s admission at the weekend that his own fiscal commission working group is looking at not only a plan B but a plan C, D, E and F, is it not the truth that the Scottish National party can offer no certainty for the people of Scotland about currency provision for an independent Scotland? They cannot keep the pound, because—

Order. The hon. Gentleman has had his say, but it did not remotely resemble a question.

On currency, we started with a White Paper and we have now been given an alphabet soup. I cannot believe that the First Minister does not have a plan B; I cannot believe that, six months from an independence referendum about which he appears to be serious, he has not actually decided what that is going to be. What worries me is that he seems so reluctant to tell the people of Scotland.

The First Minister, Alex Salmond, has previously described the pound as a millstone around Scotland’s neck and insisted that it was sinking like a stone. Does my right hon. Friend know what has changed?

My hon. Friend invites me to look into the workings of the First Minister’s mind—not a particularly edifying enterprise, and one that goes beyond even my ambition. My recollection is that when the First Minister made that remark, he wanted us to be independent in Europe. I cannot remember whether that was the time when we were going to be part of the arc of prosperity, but it seems to be all change these days. The truth of the matter is that the First Minister does not care about the pound or anything other than independence.

On 29 January, the Financial Times reported that on independence, with £100 billion of sales, Scotland would be one of the top 35 exporting countries in the world. If the Secretary of State has his way—I am sure that he will not—when does he intend to run around to the good people of England explaining the impact on their currency when £100 billion of Scottish export sales are no longer receipted in sterling?

The hon. Gentleman should listen to some of the experts. The Institute of Directors, for example, has said in terms, that the well rehearsed risks of a currency union far outweigh the problems of the sort of transaction costs that the hon. Gentleman is talking about. He needs to listen to the experts and tell us what he is going to do instead.

Does it not tell us all we need to know about those arguing for independence that when the Governor of the Bank of England, in an impartial and carefully produced speech, draws attention to the reservations he has about a currency union, he is dismissed out of hand by the Scottish National party?

In that respect, the Governor of the Bank of England is in very good company—he is with the President of the European Commission, the Prime Minister of Spain and the permanent secretary to the Treasury. The truth of the matter is that, day by day, bad news comes to those who want to remove us from the United Kingdom, and they are just not prepared to listen to it.

If and when the Secretary of State does speak to the First Minister, will he remind him that any attempt to use sterling informally without a central bank would mean that an independent Scotland would not meet the terms of entry to the European Union? What could be more damaging for jobs and growth in Scotland than that?

The nationalists are always very keen on telling us about their vision. In fact, if we were to use sterling without the central bank in the Bank of England, the relationship between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom would be like that between Panama and the United States of America. That is not a vision; it is a nightmare.

The Minister will be aware that there is nothing more important in a pensions system than—[Interruption.]

Order. Perhaps the House can calm down and the hon. Gentleman can actually have the advantage of free speech, which is what this House is about.

I am delighted by such a reception, Mr Speaker.

The Minister will be aware that nothing is more important as regards the certainty of a pensions system than clarity about the currency in which pensions are paid out and saved. Does he therefore agree that the lack of clarity from the Scottish nationalists about the currency that an independent Scotland would use is very damaging for Scots and their pensions?

Indeed. The future of the pensions industry and the security of pensions for Scots post-independence is one of the biggest risks that comes from that lack of clarity. It is quite remarkable that six months out from the independence referendum date, we still do not know what the nationalists are offering us by way of a currency.