Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 11 December 2013
11 Dec 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Finance
In a few minutes.
There was positive news, too, in relation to borrowing. When the coalition Government came to power, the deficit was 11 per cent of gross domestic product. It is now 6.8 per cent. That is a remarkable reduction in just three years. Even better, it is due to drop year on year until it reaches a small surplus in the financial year 2018-19. Back in 2009-10, the country borrowed £158 billion. This year, the figure is projected to be £111 billion, and that is about £9 billion less than was projected in March at the time of the budget. Although I am sure that there will still be some wobbles along the way, the economic picture is looking far better than it was nine months ago, and that is a consequence of the policies and the approach that are being taken over the long term by the coalition Government.
Let us look at some of the policies that we heard about last week, which build on the cuts to corporation tax that we had already heard about. They include the increase in the personal allowance to £10,000, looking at tax-free childcare, and previous policies on national insurance.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Tricia Marwick)
NPA
The next item of business is a Conservative debate on motion S4M-08551, in the name of Gavin Brown, on finance. Mr Brown, you have 14 minutes. 15:12
Gavin Brown (Lothian) (Con)
Con
There is a long way to go and there will be many difficult decisions still to make and no doubt a number of setbacks along the way, too. However, I think tha...
Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP)
SNP
Page 96 of this week’s edition of The Economist, which I am holding up, lists 42 economies. Some of them are pretty major, such as those of Japan, Canada and...
Gavin Brown
Con
We can always rely on Mr Gibson to bring a sense of doom to the action and to ignore the central forecasts of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.
Jamie Hepburn (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member give way?
Gavin Brown
Con
In a few moments. We also saw important news on employment. Members throughout the chamber will agree that unemployment is still far too high, but the numbe...
Jamie Hepburn
SNP
Will the member give way?
Roderick Campbell (North East Fife) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member give way?
Margo MacDonald (Lothian) (Ind)
Ind
Will the member give way?
Gavin Brown
Con
In a few minutes. There was positive news, too, in relation to borrowing. When the coalition Government came to power, the deficit was 11 per cent of gross ...
Kevin Stewart (Aberdeen Central) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member give way on that point?
Gavin Brown
Con
I think that the member needs to have his microphone turned on, Presiding Officer. I happily give way to Mr Stewart.
Kevin Stewart
SNP
Mr Brown trumpets those things, but the UK Government’s welfare reforms risk putting a further 50,000 children in Scotland into poverty by 2020 and will take...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Is this a speech or an intervention, Mr Stewart?
Kevin Stewart
SNP
Will the member comment on that?
Gavin Brown
Con
I was about to intervene on the member’s intervention. It is simply incorrect to say that the welfare budget is being cut. It rises year on year. What is hap...
Margo MacDonald
Ind
Will the member give way?
Gavin Brown
Con
Not at this time, I am afraid. There were positive announcements last week on fuel duty. The planned rise for September has been scrapped and there will be ...
Margo MacDonald
Ind
Much as I appreciate hearing the detail that is comprising the debate at this precise moment, I cannot help but think that the Opposition has to come up with...
Gavin Brown
Con
The member needs to read the green book that goes with last week’s autumn statement, because it contains policy upon policy relating to the cost of living. K...
Mark McDonald (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member outline to the chamber what impact he thinks his Government’s 20 per cent VAT rate has had on that hard-pressed retail sector?
Gavin Brown
Con
I refer Mr McDonald to the growth rates that were announced just last week—enormous increases in projected growth for this year, next year and the years that...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Elaine Smith)
Lab
Time is extremely tight. If members could take less than their six minutes, that would be incredibly helpful. Cabinet secretary, you have a maximum of 10 min...
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth (John Swinney)
SNP
The Conservative Party motion invites us today to welcome last week’s autumn statement. As the Conservative Party will know, I am always generous in my prais...
Gavin Brown
Con
Surely the cabinet secretary has to take into account the meltdown of the euro and the consequences of that, which were not predicted in 2010.
John Swinney
SNP
I am simply putting into context the information that Mr Brown shared with Parliament. I am just trying to be helpful to Parliament by sharing objective stat...
Margo MacDonald
Ind
I have a very basic question, for the benefit of people who might not understand all the high-flown economics. How can we be experiencing growth without the ...
Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
We are borrowing less.
John Swinney
SNP
Mr Johnstone says that we are borrowing less. I thought that Mr Johnstone did not like it the first time that I went through the figures, but I will go throu...
Gavin Brown
Con
Answering straight, will the cabinet secretary say whether, had the chancellor announced last week that business rates would rise next year by 3.2 per cent, ...