Official Report search · Parliament Workbench

Chamber

Meeting of the Parliament 23 February 2012

23 Feb 2012 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Economy and Recovery

Swinney, John SNP Perthshire North Watch on SPTV

I will press on.

On building on our recovery, I will set out some actions that the Government intends to take to capture opportunities that will ensure sustainable growth for the long term.

New markets and the growing emergence of new players in the global economy are driving global growth. We have seen evidence of that in the way in which the Government’s efforts to support business developments in the Chinese market, for example, have delivered significant increases in the business prospects of our salmon industry and our whisky exporting sector, in which there has been substantial growth. In the creative industries sector, our video games industry is an example of an industry in which Scotland is capable of punching well above our weight, but we must be alert to the threats that are posed to that industry by the tax incentives that are offered in Canada, the United States, Australia and other countries, which can be a threat to the competitive position of the Scottish economy, unless that is properly and fully reflected in the tax position of the Government and this country.

Scottish Development International is actively involved with a range of Scottish companies in ensuring that we boost their opportunities for growth. It is engaging with 8,000 to 10,000 more businesses in Scotland, which will be able to ensure that they continue to grow in the international economy. The Government will support it in its efforts.

A major part of the Government’s economic strategy is ensuring that Scotland is a competitive location to which we can attract business. We appreciated the verdict of the Ernst & Young UK attractiveness survey report, which concluded that Scotland was the leading location for foreign direct investment in the UK in terms of employment generation. That is an indication of the way in which we have marshalled our efforts and activities to attract major companies to be based in Scotland and to support the development of the Scottish economy.

The Government will use every lever at its disposal to ensure that we support the process of economic development in Scotland, encourage employment growth for all our citizens, and seize every opportunity to ensure that Scotland is able to work out of the economic difficulties that we have faced and deliver sustained economic growth in the period to come.

I move,

That the Parliament calls on the UK Government to acknowledge that its pursuit of austerity in the absence of a credible plan for economic growth is threatening the UK recovery; supports the Scottish Government’s distinctive approach, as set out in the Government Economic Strategy and its budget, to accelerating recovery, supporting long-term sustainable economic growth and boosting employment; further calls on the UK Government to do more to support growth, particularly through expanding capital investment, and welcomes the actions taken by the Scottish Government to ensure that Scotland grasps the opportunities in international growth markets by growing its international presence, boosting exports and attracting international investment.

15:09

Search Hansard contributions

Meeting of the Parliament 23 February 2012

In the same item of business