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About John McFall

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John McFall speaks in the House of Commons
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John McFall is the MP for West Dunbartonshire and the Chairman of the House of Commons Treasury Committee .

John McFall was born and educated in Dumbarton, where he has lived all his life with his family. John is married to Joan and has four children: John, Gerard, Elaine and Kevin. Before entering parliament, John was a school teacher in Dumbarton, Kirkintilloch and Glasgow.

John McFall studied at Paisley College of Technology (now Paisley University), the Open University and Strathclyde University, and holds a BSc Honours Degree in Chemistry, a BA in Education and Philosophy and a Masters' Degree in Business Administration. He now holds honorary professorships at Strathclyde University Business School and the University of Glasgow.



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Political career


John McFall was first elected MP for Dumbarton in 1987. In opposition, he held various positions, including Whip and Spokesman on Scottish Affairs. He also sat on Select Committees dealing with Defence, Sittings of the House and Information. He was also a member of the British/Irish Parliamentary Body and sat on his Party's Northern Ireland Committee.

From 1997, John McFall served as a Government Whip, and in July 1998 he was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Northern Ireland Office. He remained in that office until powers were devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

In 2001, John McFall was elected Chairman of the House of Commons Treasury Committee (or 'Treasury Select Committee'), and was re-elected to this position in 2005.



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John McFall speaks about his work on jobs and regeneration in West Dunbartonshire
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Work in West Dunbartonshire


John is chairman of Strathleven Regeneration Company and Clydebank re-built, companies which were set up to bring employment and prosperity opportunities in the constituency.

Strathleven Regeneration company has had an early success in attracting the BBC into the area to establish a production site for a new Scottish TV soap programme. Clydebank Re-built has a particular emphasis on the Queen’s Quays site, the former shipyard where the great Cunarders were built, and has had success in renovating the Titan Crane and redeveloping banks of the canal in Clydebank.

Click here to read more about John McFall's work in creating jobs and regeneration in West Dunbartonshire.



Work on the Treasury Committee


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John McFall questions former RBS and HBOS directors in a Treasury Committee inquiry
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In July 2001, John McFall was elected Chairman of the House of Commons Treasury Committee. He was re-elected to this post in October, 2005.

Recently, the Treasury Committee has been a prominent voice on the banking crisis and credit crunch. In November 2008, the Treasury Committee asked the public to send in questions, which the Committee then put to the Chancellor, the Governor of the Bank of England and the Chairman of the FSA. Click here to find out more about this session, and about John McFall and the Treasury Committee's work on the credit crisis.

Early in 2008, the Committee questioned the authorities (Chancellor, Bank of England and Financial Services authority), as well as Northern Rock directors, investment banks, credit rating agencies and experts, to find out why the credit crisis had happened and what could be done to prevent future ones. Read the report on Northern Rock and the report on Financial Stability and Transparency.

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John McFall receives an award for the Treasury Committee
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The Committee was also prominent on the 10p tax affair in early 2008. The Committee called for action to help those who had lost out from the 10p tax changes. Read the 10p tax report.

John McFall and the Treasury Committee are proud of their record on promoting financial inclusion - enabling everyone to have access to financial services such as bank accounts and savings, even if they are on low incomes. In 2006, John McFall chaired a banking industry Working Group, which led to the banks installing 600 new free cash machines in low-income areas across the UK.

The Treasury Committee won the award for Select Committee of the Year 2008 for its work on the banking crisis and 10p tax.



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