Hansard

The Convener Lab

The next item is further consideration of the Scotland Bill and relevant legislative consent memoranda. I am delighted to welcome to the committee the Cabine...

Stephen Imrie (Clerk)

I apologise if members have not had the opportunity to look through the material that has just been provided to them. I received it at about 20 past 1 today....

The Convener Lab

It may be helpful for the minister or the cabinet secretary to comment on the issue. Given that the committee met for a pre-meeting at a quarter to 2, it was...

The Minister for Culture and External Affairs (Fiona Hyslop) SNP

I am more than happy to comment. When we appeared before the committee in December, I indicated that we had had extensive discussion and dialogue with the Un...

The Convener Lab

We will try to give the material due scrutiny later.I move to the substance of today’s meeting. There are both financial and non-financial matters to cover. ...

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth (John Swinney) SNP

I put on record that I will need to be at this afternoon’s meeting of the Cabinet, as it comes at a rather critical point in Parliament’s decision-making pro...

The Convener Lab

That is understood.

John Swinney SNP

Thank you, convener—that is appreciated.I will reiterate two questions that the Government believes are crucial to consideration of the bill. First, do the p...

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP) SNP

The committee has heard that Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development figures show that growth in public spending has been higher than growth i...

John Swinney SNP

Essentially, my point—and this is the point that we make in the analysis with which we have provided the committee—is that, over the period that the Governme...

Brian Adam SNP

How long will the period that we are about to enter last? When will we return to the previous position of spending outstripping tax receipts?

John Swinney SNP

I expect that we will be back into that period before the Scotland Bill is implemented. It is not for me to tell the committee when the bill will be implemen...

Brian Adam SNP

You are suggesting that income tax will rise more slowly than all taxes in general. What evidence do you have that income tax will rise more slowly in the lo...

John Swinney SNP

The historical patterns tell us what we need to know in this respect. It is pretty clear that that is the pattern that it would be realistic to expect in the...

Brian Adam SNP

Can you point us to detailed evidence on that, either now or in writing?

John Swinney SNP

With the greatest respect, Mr Adam, I can point only to the historical trends. I suspect that, if I were able to point to future trends, the Chancellor of th...

Brian Adam SNP

From your engagement with the business community, can you tell us anything about its feelings about the devolution of corporation tax?

John Swinney SNP

To be fair, I think that the business community will have mixed views on the matter. Some members will be very comfortable with and positive about such a mov...

The Convener Lab

In response to Brian Adam, you appeared to indicate that income tax’s share of the tax take was declining. However, figures from the Scottish Parliament info...

John Swinney SNP

I do not think that that was my point. I apologise if I did not make it clear enough but what I said was that public spending was rising at a faster rate tha...

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con) Con

I want to follow on from Mr Adam’s questions and nail down some of the numbers. I am looking at the income tax proposals additional information summary, with...

John Swinney SNP

So that I can follow carefully what Mr McLetchie is saying, could he just—

David McLetchie Con

I am referring to table 1.

John Swinney SNP

Is this in “Scotland Bill Income Tax Proposals—Additional Information”?

David McLetchie Con

Yes. I think that that is what I said at the start.

John Swinney SNP

Sure.

David McLetchie Con

If we look at table 1 and at the four years of the spending review period from 2011-12 onwards, I think that, in 2011-12, we see a deficiency between the Sco...

John Swinney SNP

This really gets to the nub of the issue. It goes back to what I said in answer to Mr Adam’s point about the historical trends. I said that, to me, the forth...

David McLetchie Con

There is—

John Swinney SNP

Let me complete this. There is of course a choice to be made here. One can opt for the mechanism set out currently in the Scotland Bill, but we should do it ...