Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 19 September 2013
19 Sep 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Scottish Economy
That is certainly something to look at. When I started work again, when my daughter was a bit older, I shared employment and found that very helpful.
At First Minister’s question time two weeks ago, the First Minister hinted at a desire to look at a transformative childcare system based on models from Scandinavia. I urge him to take that forward.
Economic powers for Scotland should mean a vision for enterprise, not inward investment from multinationals in search of the next tax break. Economic powers should mean a concerted effort to pay people fair wages. We know that the majority of benefits go not to the unemployed, but to people in work on poverty wages, through so-called corporate welfare. Some actions do not need to wait for independence. Evidence from around the globe points to the greater economic benefits of small-scale infrastructure projects.
The Government’s motion talks about more than growth as the purpose of the economy, and that is why I will support it tonight. People and society should not be held to ransom by a casino economy designed to benefit big business. Scottish independence is a chance to change that, but it remains a battle to be won. What would be different if sustainable economic growth was not the Government’s sole purpose? If as much regard was given to wellbeing and health outcomes as to economic growth, cycling and walking would be given an appropriate slice of the budget and insulation projects would be warming people’s homes and reducing fuel costs now. Moreover, it is not a case of either/or. Such investment would do much more to strengthen the economy and make it more resilient. Investing in those areas provides jobs, cuts emissions and bills, and improves health. That is the kind of growth that we should encourage and it is the kind of economy that the Green amendment requires.
I move amendment S4M-07734.3, in the name of Patrick Harvie, to insert at end:
“, and believes that this society will not be achieved by a return to ‘business as usual’ economics but rather by the pursuit of a new economic model emphasising good quality, satisfying jobs, small businesses, entrepreneurs, affordable homes, closing the gap between rich and poor, and fairly balancing social, environmental and economic priorities, as consistently advocated by the Green New Deal Group over the last five years.”
At First Minister’s question time two weeks ago, the First Minister hinted at a desire to look at a transformative childcare system based on models from Scandinavia. I urge him to take that forward.
Economic powers for Scotland should mean a vision for enterprise, not inward investment from multinationals in search of the next tax break. Economic powers should mean a concerted effort to pay people fair wages. We know that the majority of benefits go not to the unemployed, but to people in work on poverty wages, through so-called corporate welfare. Some actions do not need to wait for independence. Evidence from around the globe points to the greater economic benefits of small-scale infrastructure projects.
The Government’s motion talks about more than growth as the purpose of the economy, and that is why I will support it tonight. People and society should not be held to ransom by a casino economy designed to benefit big business. Scottish independence is a chance to change that, but it remains a battle to be won. What would be different if sustainable economic growth was not the Government’s sole purpose? If as much regard was given to wellbeing and health outcomes as to economic growth, cycling and walking would be given an appropriate slice of the budget and insulation projects would be warming people’s homes and reducing fuel costs now. Moreover, it is not a case of either/or. Such investment would do much more to strengthen the economy and make it more resilient. Investing in those areas provides jobs, cuts emissions and bills, and improves health. That is the kind of growth that we should encourage and it is the kind of economy that the Green amendment requires.
I move amendment S4M-07734.3, in the name of Patrick Harvie, to insert at end:
“, and believes that this society will not be achieved by a return to ‘business as usual’ economics but rather by the pursuit of a new economic model emphasising good quality, satisfying jobs, small businesses, entrepreneurs, affordable homes, closing the gap between rich and poor, and fairly balancing social, environmental and economic priorities, as consistently advocated by the Green New Deal Group over the last five years.”
References in this contribution
Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Tricia Marwick)
NPA
Good afternoon. The first item of business is a debate on motion S4M-07734, in the name of John Swinney, on Scotland’s economy.
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth (John Swinney)
SNP
It is now five years since Lehman Brothers collapsed and the United Kingdom, along with much of Europe, tipped into recession. No one should underestimate ju...
Willie Rennie (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD)
LD
I am glad to see that the cabinet secretary made it back from Culloden. The cabinet secretary has made a lot of play of the difference between the economic s...
John Swinney
SNP
The outcomes are not the same. As I just said to Parliament, Scotland’s GDP grew by 1.2 per cent in the four quarters to quarter 1 in 2013, while UK growth w...
Margo MacDonald (Lothian) (Ind)
Ind
I ask the minister—urge him, even—to let Mr Rennie explain why not.
John Swinney
SNP
Mr Rennie has made his contribution and I am sure that we will hear from him later.Willie Rennie rose—
John Swinney
SNP
Let us have another intervention from him now.
Willie Rennie
LD
How does Mr Swinney explain last month’s rise in unemployment? How does that tie in with his improvement in Scotland?
John Swinney
SNP
Month-by-month factors clearly affect the employment rate, which is why the Office for National Statistics suggests that it is valuable to compare annual sta...
Margo MacDonald
Ind
Will the minister give way?
John Swinney
SNP
I will give way one more time.
Margo MacDonald
Ind
Does Mr Swinney expect that, after the election, the incoming Westminster Government will cut a bit more?
John Swinney
SNP
We have heard that suggestion from the Office for Budget Responsibility and the UK Government, which gave clear indications during the spending round at the ...
Gavin Brown (Lothian) (Con)
Con
Given the figures that the cabinet secretary has and those that he has published, does he think that we will be in a stronger position over the next five years?
John Swinney
SNP
The debate around that point was reflected in the various scenarios in this morning’s report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The analysis that the IFS...
Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab)
Lab
Is control of interest rates one of the levers that Mr Swinney is talking about?
John Swinney
SNP
As Mr Macintosh well knows, no country that Scotland would compare itself to as a developed western European economy has interest rates that are under politi...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
I now call Iain Gray to speak to and move amendment S4M-07734.1. Mr Gray, you have 10 minutes.14:45
Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
Thank you, Presiding Officer.What could be more timely than a debate on the economy? After all, a recent opinion poll told us that the majority of Scots thin...
Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green)
Green
Given that glowing list of attributes that we enjoy in the current climate, what on earth has been going wrong all these years—even before the recession—with...
Iain Gray
Lab
Mr Harvie’s question is really a question about political will. Interruption.
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Order.
Iain Gray
Lab
If Mr Harvie looks at the poverty statistics, he will see that the gap reduced between 1997 and 2007 but has now stopped reducing. It is political will that ...
Margo MacDonald
Ind
I take everything that the member said about Slovakia and the Czech Republic, but has he checked on the position now?
Iain Gray
Lab
I certainly checked on the facts that I have just given. Those are the things that happened when those countries separated.Even renewable energy—the SNP’s pa...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Order.
Iain Gray
Lab
I even believe in our capacity to listen to other people’s ideas. I believe that we are good enough and smart enough and should be determined enough to seize...
The Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism (Fergus Ewing)
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Iain Gray
Lab
I am sorry; I think that I have taken enough.We have the best of both worlds, and our obligation is to make the most of it. That is what the Scottish people ...
Fergus Ewing
SNP
Will the member give way?