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Meeting of the Parliament 19 January 2012

19 Jan 2012 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Agenda for Cities

Carlaw, Jackson Con West Scotland Watch on SPTV

I accept the report and its contention that cities are a good thing; that Scotland has some; and that they are generally to be commended. Indeed, I share the ambition and am broadly sympathetic to the approach. Nevertheless, I have to say that the dynamic that will deliver it is to be found not in the chamber but in the entrepreneurial ability of those in the cities who function in the civic and corporate worlds or in the private sector to realise the potential that I think we are all seeking to achieve.

It is so unusual and rare for a Conservative in this chamber to be confronted with a motion that mentions

“attracting large-scale private sector investment”

in such a positive way that I would support it several times over just for that phrase. However, I point out to those who embrace such an idea that we need to be careful about the language that we use about the private sector. The producers of alcohol in Scotland, who are huge contributors to the Scottish economy, are not wicked; the producers of oil in the North Sea are not polluting evildoers; and those who are involved in the private healthcare sector are not just profiteers. We have to recognise that the self-same people on whom the economy relies are the private sector that we are celebrating in this motion.

When I looked at the structure of the Scottish cities alliance, I thought, “Well—fine.” However, my one concern, which I hope the cabinet secretary and all those involved in the alliance will share, is that the structure must not become an end in itself. The problem with community health partnerships was that the clinicians withdrew because they thought the whole thing had become bureaucratic and there was really no point to it. It is crucial for business and all the other parties that the structure seeks to embrace to believe that it does something and does not just exist. I am sure that that is the intention, but it will be important to drive that forward if it is not, like many other programmes, to become mired in good intentions instead of action.

I found page 12 of the report fascinating, because it illuminated a deep split in the Scottish National Party Government. It says:

“However, for recovery to be sustained—and for faster sustainable economic growth to be delivered—the main driver will be increases in levels of private sector investment. This requires appropriately functioning capital markets, and for a climate to be created where companies and investors with available capital feel confident about investing.”

I realised that that was a call from the Deputy First Minister to the First Minister to accelerate the timescale for the referendum on Scotland’s future in the certain knowledge that the prerequisite for feeling confident about investing is a clear statement on Scotland’s economic future.

Like others in the chamber, I come from a business background. If one reads the report from a business perspective, one has to ask: what do businesspeople think about politicians? Largely, they are oblivious to them and get on with their business without them. Business does what it needs to do. It needs to succeed not because it wants to contribute to a Government strategy but because it has to succeed in order to exist. Business has its own dynamic.

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Meeting of the Parliament 19 January 2012

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