Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 20 February 2013
20 Feb 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Capital Projects
We ask the Government to publish the list for the year before, to explain why so little has been delivered thus far and why little will be delivered next year, and to give us a guarantee that the latest projections for this year and next will be delivered in full.
I move,
That the Parliament notes the Scottish Government’s claim that every £100 million spent on capital investment supports around 1,400 jobs; is therefore extremely disappointed with the result so far of the non-profit distribution (NPD) pipeline, which delivered nothing on the ground in 2011-12 and is projected to deliver only £20 million on the ground in 2012-13, compared with the £353 million projected in the 2011 spending review; is wholly unconvinced by the reasons given for delay thus far by the Scottish Government; calls on the Scottish Government to publish immediately the complete high-level overview for 2011-12, to explain in detail why the delivery of the NPD pipeline has been weak in 2012-13 and why the current projection for 2013-14 is far lower than was predicted in the 2011 spending review, and further calls on the Scottish Government to give an assurance that the current projections for 2012-13 and 2013-14 will be either met or exceeded.
I move,
That the Parliament notes the Scottish Government’s claim that every £100 million spent on capital investment supports around 1,400 jobs; is therefore extremely disappointed with the result so far of the non-profit distribution (NPD) pipeline, which delivered nothing on the ground in 2011-12 and is projected to deliver only £20 million on the ground in 2012-13, compared with the £353 million projected in the 2011 spending review; is wholly unconvinced by the reasons given for delay thus far by the Scottish Government; calls on the Scottish Government to publish immediately the complete high-level overview for 2011-12, to explain in detail why the delivery of the NPD pipeline has been weak in 2012-13 and why the current projection for 2013-14 is far lower than was predicted in the 2011 spending review, and further calls on the Scottish Government to give an assurance that the current projections for 2012-13 and 2013-14 will be either met or exceeded.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Tricia Marwick)
NPA
The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-05653, in the name of Gavin Brown, on capital projects. I remind members that this and the subsequent deb...
Gavin Brown (Lothian) (Con)
Con
Our objective this afternoon is to have a focused debate on the non-profit-distribution pipeline, a Scottish Government flagship programme that was first ann...
Jim Eadie (Edinburgh Southern) (SNP)
SNP
Notwithstanding the member’s characteristically reasonable tone, would he not like to take the opportunity to apologise to the people of Edinburgh for the ex...
Gavin Brown
Con
That was a fairly predictable intervention from a Scottish National Party back bencher. The only surprising aspect was that it took one minute and 56 seconds...
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth (John Swinney)
SNP
Before Mr Brown proceeds much further in his analysis, will he acknowledge that one of the reasons why the Scottish Government has had to embark on an NPD pr...
Gavin Brown
Con
Long before the economic crash, we had PFI and public-private partnerships. At that time, the then wanting-to-be Scottish Government had a not-so-clear plan ...
John Swinney
SNP
Will the member give way?
Gavin Brown
Con
I am happy to.
John Swinney
SNP
For completeness, would Mr Brown observe and confirm the fact that the Scottish Government has had its capital budget cut by 26 per cent by the United Kingdo...
Gavin Brown
Con
It has never been denied from this side of the chamber that, over the course of the spending review, the Scottish Government budget has been reduced in real ...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
You must bring your remarks to a close.
Gavin Brown
Con
We ask the Government to publish the list for the year before, to explain why so little has been delivered thus far and why little will be delivered next yea...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Let that be an example to everyone—Mr Brown finished bang on time.14:50
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities (Nicola Sturgeon)
SNP
I welcome the debate, not least because it gives me the opportunity to outline the progress that the Scottish Government is making in our capital programme i...
Willie Rennie (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD)
LD
Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention?
Nicola Sturgeon
SNP
If the member lets me make a bit of progress, I will give way in a moment.It is because we believe that capital investment is fundamental that we published t...
Gavin Brown
Con
Just for clarity, how many of the NPD projects were delivered on the ground in 2012?
Nicola Sturgeon
SNP
I am coming on to the NPD programme.Does Willie Rennie still want to intervene?
Willie Rennie
LD
I am intrigued by the cabinet secretary’s UK Government angle. Is she saying that the UK Government forced the Scottish Government to mishandle the NPD progr...
Nicola Sturgeon
SNP
The UK Government, of which Willie Rennie’s party seems to be a proud member, slashed this Government’s capital budget by 26 per cent. If Willie Rennie canno...
Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
Mr Brown has brought a very important debate to the chamber, given ministers’ repeated comments of how crucial their NPD programme is to their economic strat...
John Swinney
SNP
In the previous UK Government’s final budget in March 2010, public sector net investment was forecast to fall in cash terms from £40 billion in 2010-11 to £2...
Richard Baker
Lab
Mr Swinney is making a similar claim to that of George Osborne. According to Channel 4 FactCheck, latest Office of National Statistics figures show that Mr O...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (John Scott)
Con
Order, Mr Swinney.
Richard Baker
Lab
Indeed, the Scottish Futures Trust won an award in the 2012 public-private partnerships awards as the best PPP promoter. I have not seen the shortlist for th...
Nicola Sturgeon
SNP
Does Richard Baker not know that the schools for the future programme is governed by a national programme board, which includes representatives from local go...
Richard Baker
Lab
Will the cabinet secretary therefore tell us the result of that dialogue and what the impact on local educational goals has been of the Scottish Government’s...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Con
Speeches should be up to four minutes, please. We are very tight for time.15:03
John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP)
SNP
I think that most of us would agree that capital spending is an extremely good thing and that spending on housing in particular has many benefits beyond the ...
Margaret McCulloch (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
For the avoidance of doubt, I make it clear that I will vote for the Labour amendment.Often when we debate capital spend in the chamber, we find ourselves di...