Hansard

The Deputy Presiding Officer (John Scott) Con

The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-11830, in the name of Ruth Davidson, on the Smith commission. 14:40

Ruth Davidson (Glasgow) (Con) Con

The Smith commission process was a remarkable feat of fast-forward constitutional reform. As this Parliament debates the commission’s verdict for the first t...

Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP) SNP

Will the member give way?

John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP) SNP

Will the member give way?

Ruth Davidson Con

If the two gentlemen can decide between themselves, I will give way to one.

Stewart Stevenson SNP

Like the member, I very much welcome the new powers for this Parliament. Does she assert that we will be more powerful than the provinces of Canada, the stat...

The Deputy Presiding Officer Con

Your point is?

Stewart Stevenson SNP

Can the member tell us of any tax in any of those places that we cannot assert? She will not have to look very far.

Ruth Davidson Con

I welcome the member’s welcome for the Smith commission powers and tell him that I do not need to assert anything. As I said on Thursday during First Ministe...

Rob Gibson (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP) SNP

Will the member give way?

Ruth Davidson Con

Not at this time. Let us look at the timetable for the transfer of powers. We know that the draft clauses that flesh out the heads of agreement will be prod...

The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy (John Swinney) SNP

Will Ruth Davidson set out whether all the proposals need to be delivered in one legislative instrument or whether there is an argument to continue, as she s...

Ruth Davidson Con

If we use the Scotland Act 2012 as our template for constitutional change, we will have a single legislative instrument—a single act—that transfers powers at...

Mark McDonald (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP) SNP

Will Ruth Davidson give way?

Ruth Davidson Con

Not at this time. The SNP would be unwise in the extreme to place roadblocks in the way of that development or to create straw men to knock down. The SNP’s...

Jim Eadie (Edinburgh Southern) (SNP) SNP

Will Ruth Davidson give way?

Ruth Davidson Con

I have a long list and I am still going, so I will not give way at this point. The devolution of the work programme—the largest welfare-to-work programme in...

Mark McDonald SNP

Will Ruth Davidson give way?

Ruth Davidson Con

I look forward to any SNP MSP proving me wrong by having the good grace to stand up and say that that package of powers is significant. That includes Mark Mc...

Mark McDonald SNP

We have made it quite clear that we welcome new powers coming to this Parliament, but Ruth Davidson must accept that a range of organisations from civic Scot...

Ruth Davidson Con

I reject that entirely. The Smith commission took submissions from people right across the land. For example, it took a submission from the Institute of Char...

Mike MacKenzie (Highlands and Islands) (SNP) SNP

Will the member take an intervention?

Ruth Davidson Con

I want to make progress. From Labour and the SNP, for example, we already hear calls to increase income taxation. That will be their choice and one that the...

The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy (John Swinney) SNP

I seem to have offended Ruth Davidson in the formulation of the Government’s amendment and in my comments on this subject. However, I find it rather strange ...

Gavin Brown (Lothian) (Con) Con

Will the cabinet secretary give way?

John Swinney SNP

Perhaps Mr Brown will explain why the Conservatives are not prepared to get on with it.

Gavin Brown Con

Let us just assume for a moment that APD was devolved tomorrow. What would the cabinet secretary do with it?

John Swinney SNP

Let us go back to the white paper, which said that we would halve APD. We would halve it over time before 2020 and then move to abolish it. That is taking th...

Dennis Robertson (Aberdeenshire West) (SNP) SNP

Is the cabinet secretary as disappointed as I am to have heard that Iain Duncan Smith has already said that he is not prepared to change his mind with regard...

John Swinney SNP

That is a point to be regretted. However, the fact that the Secretary of State for Scotland made it clear in his meeting with the First Minister last Thursda...