Meeting of the Parliament 09 November 2023
I have already taken a number of interventions, and I need to make some progress.
That would cause real and practical issues for large, cross-border employers. A member of staff in Scotland would have different employment rights to one working elsewhere in the UK. A member of staff who moved from Manchester to Glasgow might benefit from greater employment rights, while the opposite would be the case for one moving in the other direction. That would be an administrative nightmare.
That tells us the SNP-Green Government’s true priorities for the economy. It does not want to deliver faster growth, help businesses to expand, improve our woeful start-up rate or increase the number of secure, well-paid jobs. This debate is about creating a constitutional fight with Westminster, because that is what this Government is obsessed with, to the exclusion of everything else.
There are real issues in the Scottish economy and the Government should be addressing those. That is why we should be looking at the real problems in the Scottish economy and at what we can do to address them.
This week, I read CBI Scotland’s budget submission, which made some excellent suggestions on realising Scotland’s net zero opportunities, developing infrastructure, improving transport, enhancing skills and fostering a competitive business environment. Other business organisations’ submissions are available, but they all have a very similar theme. They want to see the Government creating an environment where businesses can grow, expand their workforce and, therefore, pay better wages. They will do that with the right framework of support, not with further regulations and additional burdens, which is the direction that this Government is going in.
Already, and in contrast to what the cabinet secretary had to say, the UK Government has delivered significant progress in supporting workers. It is the UK Government that introduced the national living wage, which is now £10.42 per hour. In addition, the rise in income tax thresholds means that many lower-paid workers pay next to no income tax on what they earn.
The Scottish Government needs to focus on delivering faster growth here in Scotland. If we could at least match UK economic growth over a 10-year period, that would give us an extra £7 billion in tax revenues that we could spend, which would go a long way towards addressing many of the budgetary challenges that the Scottish Government faces today.
Rather than having a Government that is focused on that objective of delivering economic growth, what we have is one that is obsessed with the constitution, picking fights with Westminster and playing silly political games in the chamber. Businesses that are looking in, hoping for a change in direction from this Government and hoping that the new deal for business will mean something other than empty words, will be sorely disappointed.
I move amendment S6M-11161.2, to leave out from “agrees” to end and insert:
“acknowledges that the Scottish Government’s own economic record is characterised by sluggish growth and a lack of competitiveness; notes that progress in fair work and economic prosperity can only be achieved through a collaborative approach with the UK Government, rather than by advocating for further devolution of employment powers, which is not supported by the business community, and urges the Scottish Government to change tack and focus on effective, pro-market policies and measures to improve Scotland's economic situation and job prospects, as outlined in the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party’s paper, Grasping the Thistle.”
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