Meeting of the Parliament 11 December 2013
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 no 2p rise per litre. That means that we will have a freeze for the remainder of the Parliament, and it will have been in force for four and a half years overall, which is the longest freeze in over 20 years. The average motorist will save £7 every time they fill up. While that is good news for motorists, it has a wider impact on the economy as a whole, as it flows through to the prices that we all pay for goods and services.
We heard an extremely interesting announcement on national insurance. The chancellor announced last week that, starting from April 2015, the UK Government will abolish employers national insurance for all employees who are under 21 provided that they earn less than approximately £813 a week. That will apply to existing employees and future ones. It will represent an enormous saving to businesses up and down the country as it is worth the best part of half a billion pounds a year. It is a boost for employers, for young people who have been hit hardest during the downturn, and for the economy as a whole. The Scottish Government ought to welcome that policy when it makes its contribution to the debate.
The UK Government also made big announcements about business rates. We heard about the business rates cap. The UK Government decided that, instead of capping the annual increase at September’s widely predicted retail prices index increase of 3.2 per cent, it will cap it at 2 per cent for the year starting in April 2014. That is an example of a Government that has listened to business. There have been many complaints about increases in business rates, and the Government listened to them and took them on board. It showed leadership when that was required.
The Conservatives therefore welcome today’s announcement from the Scottish Government. Just an hour or so ago, the cabinet secretary announced in the chamber that the Scottish Government would match the UK Government decision. Instead of business rates in Scotland going up 3.2 per cent, they will rise by 2 per cent. We welcome that, but it is incumbent on the Scottish Government to acknowledge that leadership on the issue came from the UK Government. The Scottish Government is following where the UK Government has led. We can be fairly sure that, had the chancellor decided to raise business rates in line with September’s RPI, the Scottish Government would have followed suit. We would have seen a 3.2 per cent rise instead of a 2 per cent rise.