Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 19 June 2024
19 Jun 2024 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Growing the Economy
Liz Smith is right that the college and university sector is critical; I am about to talk about education and skills. She will recall that our public finances are under extreme strain, that inflation has eroded our ability to spend and that both of those are products of UK Government and Conservative policies. Based on the figures for inflation that were published this morning and a change to the austerity agenda, my hope is that we might be able to continue to invest in all the public services that matter for Scotland.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-13679, in the name of Kate Forbes, on Scottish Government priorities: growing the economy. I call on the ...
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic (Kate Forbes)
SNP
When I took up the role of Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic—six weeks ago, I believe, although the election has distracted ...
Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
Kate Forbes is correct to say that, but why did the Scottish Government feel the need to cut the budget for the university and college sector, which is instr...
Kate Forbes
SNP
Liz Smith is right that the college and university sector is critical; I am about to talk about education and skills. She will recall that our public finance...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
Will the member take an intervention?
Kate Forbes
SNP
Why not?
Murdo Fraser
Con
At the launch of the Scottish National Party manifesto this morning—which, I believe, the Deputy First Minister attended—I was intrigued to see that the SNP ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
I will take the opportunity, at this early stage in proceedings, to remind members that the debate is about matters for which Parliament has responsibility. ...
Kate Forbes
SNP
I am sure, having shared multiple platforms with Mr Fraser in various hustings around the country, that I will shortly have the opportunity to answer his que...
Fergus Ewing (Inverness and Nairn) (SNP)
SNP
I am most grateful to the Deputy First Minister for giving way. Does she agree that economic growth is not all about more money and more cash—it is also abo...
Kate Forbes
SNP
I agree that we need to ensure that Scotland is a great place to do business. I will perhaps come on to that in the limited time that I have available. For ...
Paul Sweeney (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
Will the member take an intervention?
Kate Forbes
SNP
Do I have time?
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
There is a bit of time in hand.
Paul Sweeney
Lab
I thank the cabinet secretary for giving way. She raised an important issue about the growth and scaling of firms in Scotland. One of the concerns that has o...
Kate Forbes
SNP
Paul Sweeney has put his finger on it when it comes to our ambition for Scottish start-ups. In supporting companies to start up and then scale up, we do not ...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
As the Deputy First Minister fairly said, she and I, as well as Mr Johnson and others, have been doing the rounds with various debates during the course of t...
Kate Forbes
SNP
Who would the member say has been responsible for Scotland outperforming the rest of the UK economically in recent times?
Murdo Fraser
Con
The Deputy First Minister needs to look at the wider picture, because, since 2014, the Scottish economy has grown, on average, at half the rate at which the ...
Fergus Ewing
SNP
Would Murdo Fraser agree that, as far as the development of renewables in the UK is concerned, which both Governments and all parties agree is a huge opportu...
Murdo Fraser
Con
Mr Ewing makes an important point. I do not like making off-the-cuff responses to ideas that I have not heard before, but I think that he identifies correctl...
Keith Brown (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) (SNP)
SNP
I hear what Murdo Fraser says. However, does he congratulate the Scottish Government on the fact that the majority of people in Scotland pay less in income t...
Murdo Fraser
Con
The benefit with regard to income tax is a few pennies a week and it makes no substantial difference to people’s household incomes. Anybody who earns more th...
Paul Sweeney
Lab
Will the member give way on that point?
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
The member is bringing his remarks to a close.
Murdo Fraser
Con
I apologise for being unable to take the intervention. Our ambition, which is set out in our amendment, is to keep taxes in Scotland competitive with those ...
Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Lab
I will start by approaching the debate very much in the spirit that the Government is offering—the economy is too important to be discussed only in the narro...
Fergus Ewing
SNP
I must say that I agree with the principles behind what Mr Johnson has said. Does he agree that, to achieve that growth in renewables, it is essential that w...
Daniel Johnson
Lab
I agree with the broad sentiment. I suspect that there might be some points of disagreement implied, but I will acknowledge two things. First, transition is ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
I can be relatively generous.