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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

Rennie, Willie LD Mid Scotland and Fife Watch on SPTV

There are few households that remain unaffected by the current economic crisis. It is at times like this that I am reassured that Scotland is part of a bigger UK family so that we can share the risk, just as, in the good times, we can share the wins.

I move amendment S4M-01501.2, to leave out from “that the Office” to end and insert:

“; notes that the UK Government is investing £68 million in super-fast broadband in Scotland alongside £50 million from the Scottish Government, has won a fuel derogation for the islands from the European Commission, has deferred the 3p fuel duty increase scheduled for January in addition to the cuts in income tax worth £200 to low and middle earners, has increased the bank levy and provided the highest cash increase in the state pension ever announced; notes that the Scottish Government’s response is characterised by an absence of answers on its own plans, including for separation from the rest of the UK and publishing no opinion on the crisis in the Eurozone; is further concerned that the Scottish Government has published no analysis of the credit rating and interest rates likely in an independent Scotland, apart from an unsubstantiated assumption that the UK’s hard-won credit status and record low interest rates would continue in an independent Scotland, even though the evidence from across Europe is that governments that continue to increase borrowing without serious plans to tackle their deficit find that their borrowing rates rocket; understands that such a rise in Scottish borrowing rates on a £60 billion capital programme will result in billions of pounds of extra interest payments and lead to the delay and cancellation of capital projects the length and breadth of the country; finds it absurd that Scottish Government ministers have promised faster delivery of their published investment plans by incorporating additional borrowing made possible through the Scotland Bill while simultaneously threatening to veto the Scotland Bill; is concerned that the Scottish Government is still not using all of the current resources and powers at its disposal, not least on Scottish Water, which continues to have substantial resources locked in it when the Scottish Government’s independent budget review and the Scottish Futures Trust both offered alternative, public sector structures that could free substantial resources for investment in the economy; welcomes the UK Government’s £1 billion Youth Contract programme, which will see around £100 million of benefit to Scotland, a small part allocated to the Scottish Government but the vast majority provided direct to Scottish businesses to improve the prospects of a generation of young people through employment support; regrets that those prospects for young people are harmed by the Scottish Government’s continued plans to cut the budget for colleges despite the unexpected receipt of additional consequentials from the UK Government; notes that success in attracting investment by global companies in Scotland is best achieved by joint working with the UK Government, as evidenced by the recent result at Michelin in Dundee, and calls on the Scottish Government to set out the positive impact on its plans of the addition of £430 million capital consequentials, set out the projects funded by projected Scottish Government borrowing that would be lost if the Scotland Bill was vetoed and allocate its revenue consequentials, including a sum to prevent cuts to college budgets.”

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Meeting of the Parliament 07 December 2011

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