Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 25 January 2012
25 Jan 2012 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Budget (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
If the SNP Government had read the Bank of England’s inflation reports prior to the election, it would have anticipated sharp increases in inflation for 2011 and, sadly, for the bulk of 2012—although, we hope, not in 2013. The sharp increases in inflation were not completely unanticipated and the reality is that the Government has more money at its disposal for next year than it has this year.
We should judge the SNP on its words. It claims that it wants to prioritise the economy and to use every lever that it has at its disposal, but when we look at what the SNP is doing in the budget, we find several gaping holes in that statement. The first of them relates to colleges. It is a pity that Mr Russell has left the chamber—well, I suppose that it is kind of a pity, although the jury might be out on that. However, there is a one-year cut in the college budget. The cabinet secretary boasted that the Government will spend £500 million on further education colleges over the next financial year. However, in the previous year, the college budget was the best part of £550 million and in the year before that it was considerably higher. The point is this: at a time when unemployment is dangerously high and when youth unemployment in particular is at its highest, with 88,000 18 to 24-year-olds in Scotland out of work, we are deciding to cut the college budget dramatically in a single year. That makes no financial sense. It is not only that; the cut will be £74 million by the end of the spending review period, which also makes no sense in the current financial climate.
For me, the second gaping hole is in relation to housing, because the housing budget is being cut from £389 million to £300 million in a single year. We have heard all the rhetoric from the Government and from economists about the importance of infrastructure and housing and the effect that they can have on the economy. However, in the draft budget the Government is making a very sharp reduction in the housing budget in a single year, and it will drop further after that.
I gently point out that the First Minister talked at great length earlier today about the fantastic mandate that he won in the May election last year, so I ask the SNP this: did it say in its manifesto last year that it would slash the housing budget from £389 million to £300 million? I do not think that many people would have voted for that.
We should judge the SNP on its words. It claims that it wants to prioritise the economy and to use every lever that it has at its disposal, but when we look at what the SNP is doing in the budget, we find several gaping holes in that statement. The first of them relates to colleges. It is a pity that Mr Russell has left the chamber—well, I suppose that it is kind of a pity, although the jury might be out on that. However, there is a one-year cut in the college budget. The cabinet secretary boasted that the Government will spend £500 million on further education colleges over the next financial year. However, in the previous year, the college budget was the best part of £550 million and in the year before that it was considerably higher. The point is this: at a time when unemployment is dangerously high and when youth unemployment in particular is at its highest, with 88,000 18 to 24-year-olds in Scotland out of work, we are deciding to cut the college budget dramatically in a single year. That makes no financial sense. It is not only that; the cut will be £74 million by the end of the spending review period, which also makes no sense in the current financial climate.
For me, the second gaping hole is in relation to housing, because the housing budget is being cut from £389 million to £300 million in a single year. We have heard all the rhetoric from the Government and from economists about the importance of infrastructure and housing and the effect that they can have on the economy. However, in the draft budget the Government is making a very sharp reduction in the housing budget in a single year, and it will drop further after that.
I gently point out that the First Minister talked at great length earlier today about the fantastic mandate that he won in the May election last year, so I ask the SNP this: did it say in its manifesto last year that it would slash the housing budget from £389 million to £300 million? I do not think that many people would have voted for that.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Tricia Marwick)
NPA
The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-01773, in the name of John Swinney, on stage 1 of the Budget (Scotland) Bill. Will members who wish to ta...
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth (John Swinney)
SNP
Last week, I introduced the Budget (Scotland) Bill for 2012-13, which will implement the draft budget that I set out in September last year. I thank all thos...
Gavin Brown (Lothian) (Con)
Con
I am grateful to the cabinet secretary for giving way so early in his speech. Does he accept that this year’s budget is a cash-terms increase?
John Swinney
SNP
The words that I have used in my speech are:“another real-terms reduction to our total departmental expenditure limit”.That is what the Government faces. We ...
Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab)
Lab
Further to that, does the cabinet secretary believe that plan MacB is making a difference to the Scottish economy?
John Swinney
SNP
Yes I do, because the Scottish Government has, since 2008, used a set of measures and interventions to try to offset the difficulties and serious consequence...
Ken Macintosh
Lab
It is good to hear the minister’s words about his commitment to tackling youth unemployment, but how will cutting the colleges budget by 20 per cent, followi...
John Swinney
SNP
The Government is ensuring that it supports the further and higher education sectors effectively. I have recounted the resources that we are applying in the ...
Gavin Brown
Con
Some of that capital transfer comes from savings from the Forth crossing. For about the fifth time in the chamber, I ask the cabinet secretary whether he wil...
John Swinney
SNP
For about the fifth time, I say that I have explained to Mr Brown the basis of what is happening. Savings in the Forth replacement crossing budget have been ...
Ken Macintosh
Lab
Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention?
John Swinney
SNP
I need to bring my remarks to a close.Our recently published infrastructure investment plan secures the project pipeline, thereby bringing stability and pred...
Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab)
Lab
None of us can be in any doubt about the seriousness of the economic difficulties that we face. Last week’s unemployment figures simply confirmed the damage ...
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
In addressing the underlying problems, will Ken Macintosh acknowledge that 43 per cent of people on benefits in Scotland have an underlying mental health pro...
Ken Macintosh
Lab
I welcome Ms Scanlon’s question. It is important that the welfare system be sustained and that we all feel that we are part of it. It should be there for eve...
John Swinney
SNP
Before Mr Macintosh moves on from capital spending, will he accept that the size of the capital DEL budget that the Scottish Government has at its disposal i...
Ken Macintosh
Lab
I am arguing first that the budget is not radical enough overall and secondly, that the budget does not deliver on the claims that the minister makes for it....
The Deputy Presiding Officer (John Scott)
Con
I remind members to speak through the chair, please.
John Swinney
SNP
Those are Mr Macintosh’s opinions; of course, we can trade opinions. However, on the factual point that I made, I want Mr Macintosh to consider whether the c...
Ken Macintosh
Lab
Mr Swinney seems to be avoiding the key point that I am making about his claims for the budget. He can excuse himself and say that plan MacB is working, but ...
Ken Macintosh
Lab
SNP members’ approval is interesting, so I ask them what levers of economic power they have in mind. Perhaps they mean control over currency—the pound or the...
John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP)
SNP
The member has been talking about capital expenditure. Does he accept that one power that we do not currently have but which we could have is borrowing power...
Ken Macintosh
Lab
We will get more borrowing powers if the SNP supports the Scotland Bill. It will be interesting to see whether that happens.As I understand it, the First Min...
Gavin Brown (Lothian) (Con)
Con
Prior to the publication of the draft budget and every day since then, the Scottish Conservatives have said that the budget must focus on jobs and the econom...
Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP)
SNP
Does Mr Brown accept that, when the SNP drew up its manifesto, we did not anticipate an inflation rate of 5.2 per cent? He talks about cash terms, but the re...
Gavin Brown
Con
If the SNP Government had read the Bank of England’s inflation reports prior to the election, it would have anticipated sharp increases in inflation for 2011...
Maureen Watt (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP)
SNP
Given that the cabinet secretary has had to make cuts, is it not reasonable and realistic to make the cuts in the areas where other methods of finance can be...
Gavin Brown
Con
I think that we got a bit of policy on the hoof there; I am not sure whether that has been cleared by the SNP front bench. If we follow that argument to its ...
John Swinney
SNP
Will the member give way?
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Con
The member is in his last minute.