Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 07 December 2011
07 Dec 2011 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Autumn Budget Statement and the Scottish Economy
I have already given way to Mr Brown. I will try to take an intervention from him later.
We understand that there will be limited consequentials in the new plans for housing from the UK Government. We hope that they will be invested in social housing in Scotland.
Labour has offered alternative proposals for a different strategy—for a plan B. We have come forward with a five-point plan for our economy that includes a tax on bank bonuses to fund a national jobs plan for young people, a temporary reversal of the damaging increase in VAT, a one-year cut in VAT on home improvements to 5 per cent, and a one-year national insurance tax break for every small firm that takes on extra workers. Those points are for the UK Government, but the fifth is very much a Scottish Government responsibility too, as the aim is to bring forward investment in infrastructure projects to get people back to work.
We have, of course, also offered alternatives to the Scottish Government policy, as we outlined in the debate on youth unemployment last week. We have called for a number of measures, including the appointment of a dedicated minister for youth employment. We are pleased that the Scottish Government has made that appointment, and we welcome Angela Constance to her new role. Beyond expanding the future jobs fund, we have also called for new legislation on procurement to support local businesses, and a capital investment plan that works.
When we heard the cabinet secretary say in the summer that he wanted to pursue a different route from the UK Government and prioritise investment in infrastructure—he outlined that again in today’s debate—we very much welcomed that. Indeed, that is the kind of strategy that Labour has been promoting on a UK-wide basis. However, although we have had agreement on the analysis, we have been disappointed in the delivery. The budget for affordable housing is being cut by 50 per cent, and major infrastructure projects have been delayed or there is no timetable for their completion.
We hoped that the release of the infrastructure plan yesterday would bring greater clarity on future projects, but I could not put things better than The Scotsman did this morning. It reported:
“Hours after infrastructure secretary Alex Neil set out his blueprint for new building projects in parliament yesterday, it became clear that many of the schemes had already been announced, while others are not due to be completed for decades.”
We need clarity now on delivery and on the detail of how the schemes will be funded. We will continue to press the Scottish Government on these issues, because we need action, not aspiration, on key infrastructure projects.
We understand that there will be limited consequentials in the new plans for housing from the UK Government. We hope that they will be invested in social housing in Scotland.
Labour has offered alternative proposals for a different strategy—for a plan B. We have come forward with a five-point plan for our economy that includes a tax on bank bonuses to fund a national jobs plan for young people, a temporary reversal of the damaging increase in VAT, a one-year cut in VAT on home improvements to 5 per cent, and a one-year national insurance tax break for every small firm that takes on extra workers. Those points are for the UK Government, but the fifth is very much a Scottish Government responsibility too, as the aim is to bring forward investment in infrastructure projects to get people back to work.
We have, of course, also offered alternatives to the Scottish Government policy, as we outlined in the debate on youth unemployment last week. We have called for a number of measures, including the appointment of a dedicated minister for youth employment. We are pleased that the Scottish Government has made that appointment, and we welcome Angela Constance to her new role. Beyond expanding the future jobs fund, we have also called for new legislation on procurement to support local businesses, and a capital investment plan that works.
When we heard the cabinet secretary say in the summer that he wanted to pursue a different route from the UK Government and prioritise investment in infrastructure—he outlined that again in today’s debate—we very much welcomed that. Indeed, that is the kind of strategy that Labour has been promoting on a UK-wide basis. However, although we have had agreement on the analysis, we have been disappointed in the delivery. The budget for affordable housing is being cut by 50 per cent, and major infrastructure projects have been delayed or there is no timetable for their completion.
We hoped that the release of the infrastructure plan yesterday would bring greater clarity on future projects, but I could not put things better than The Scotsman did this morning. It reported:
“Hours after infrastructure secretary Alex Neil set out his blueprint for new building projects in parliament yesterday, it became clear that many of the schemes had already been announced, while others are not due to be completed for decades.”
We need clarity now on delivery and on the detail of how the schemes will be funded. We will continue to press the Scottish Government on these issues, because we need action, not aspiration, on key infrastructure projects.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (John Scott)
Con
The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-01501, in the name of John Swinney, on the United Kingdom Government’s autumn budget statement and the Sc...
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth (John Swinney)
SNP
I am grateful for the opportunity to open the debate on the autumn budget statement and the wider Scottish economy. It is now more than three years since the...
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
In comparing the United Kingdom with France and Germany, does the cabinet secretary accept that the coalition Government inherited the highest level of debt ...
John Swinney
SNP
I know that Mary Scanlon assiduously follows my speeches in the Parliament. She will not have noticed me in any way shirking from apportioning responsibility...
Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
The cabinet secretary has rightly referred to the revision downwards of growth forecasts. What impact will that have on the Scottish Government’s spending re...
John Swinney
SNP
Mr Baker asks a fair question. I point him to the evidence that I shared with the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee some weeks ago. In the year of greate...
Gavin Brown (Lothian) (Con)
Con
I apologise for missing the start of the cabinet secretary’s speech.In the switch from revenue to capital quite a large sum—about £150 million—will go into t...
John Swinney
SNP
No. The budget proposals rely on a shift from the revenue columns to the capital columns—that is a straightforward transaction in the budget document.
Gavin Brown
Con
The Forth crossing is not in the revenue budget.
John Swinney
SNP
I point out to Mr Brown that the UK Government has of course reduced our capital budget by 36 per cent, which has been moderated to 32 per cent. In the overa...
Willie Rennie (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD)
LD
The infrastructure plan is a 20-year plan. The increased funding is provided within the first three years. What has been accelerated as a result of the incre...
John Swinney
SNP
Mr Rennie expects me to take a look at those questions, and we will come back to the Parliament, as we will on the other consequentials, to set out how our p...
Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
Will the minister give way?
John Swinney
SNP
I would give way to Mr Findlay if—
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Con
Cabinet secretary, you are in your last minute.
John Swinney
SNP
I apologise to Mr Findlay. I will happily deal with his points during the debate.The autumn statement provided some additional capital consequentials for the...
Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
This is a welcome opportunity to debate the autumn statement and its implications for Scotland. It comes at a critical point for our economy and for the worl...
Jackson Carlaw (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
Is it not a consequence of the coalition Government’s strategy that we have the lowest interest rates in the world? Would not a consequence of the Labour Par...
Richard Baker
Lab
I presume that Mr Carlaw would not have acted to bail out the banks. The UK Government has left us the lowest rates of growth in the world, and it has choked...
Gavin Brown
Con
Will the member acknowledge what the Institute for Fiscal Studies has stated? It said that if Labour’s plans had been implemented, they would“now of course h...
Richard Baker
Lab
No, because the figures that I have show that the UK Government plans £37 billion more borrowing in future years than the amount in Labour’s plans that were ...
Gavin Brown
Con
Will the member give way?
Richard Baker
Lab
I have already given way to Mr Brown. I will try to take an intervention from him later.We understand that there will be limited consequentials in the new pl...
John Swinney
SNP
Will Mr Baker take this opportunity to confirm his understanding of the spending review, which involves a rising trend of capital expenditure in Scotland des...
Richard Baker
Lab
My understanding, from what the cabinet secretary said earlier, is that there will be consequentials later in the spending review cycle involving increased s...
Gavin Brown (Lothian) (Con)
Con
It is worth reflecting on some of the analysis and feedback from economists since last week’s autumn statement. The Economist put it simply, stating that“the...
Stuart McMillan (West Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
Does Gavin Brown agree that it is strange that it takes the OBR 18 months to realise that the strategic deficit is worse than planned? What has it been doing...
Gavin Brown
Con
I find it surprising that the member wishes to criticise the OBR, which has received praise for its work from across the political and economic spectrum and ...
Richard Baker
Lab
What is the cost to our economy from the fact that our growth rates are higher than only those of Greece and Portugal, out of the whole euro zone?
Gavin Brown
Con
The growth rates are very disappointing, but if one looks at the OBR report in full—not just the press release that accompanied it—one sees that, although th...