Meeting of the Parliament 26 March 2014
The result of the division is: For 63, Against 55, Abstentions 0.
Motion, as amended, agreed to,
That the Parliament welcomes the detailed proposals for Scotland’s public finances and the economy set out in Scotland’s Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland; notes that, over the last five years, Scotland has been in a relatively stronger fiscal position than the UK as a whole by £8.3 billion, equivalent to £1,600 for every person in Scotland; further notes that Scotland has generated more tax revenue per person than the UK as a whole in every year since 1980; welcomes the record levels of investment currently being undertaken in the North Sea and the increase in production and tax revenue that this will generate in the future; is concerned by the impact of the UK Budget on households, whereby Treasury analysis shows that all households have lost income as a result of UK Government cuts, with the lower income families among the hardest hit; notes that, on current UK Government spending plans, 60% of cuts to public spending are still to come, putting Scotland’s economic future at risk; raises further concerns over the financial competence of proposals for further minimal devolution of income tax, and agrees that only independence will provide the Parliament with the full range of economic levers to improve Scotland’s economic performance and tackle inequality.