Hansard

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, ...