Meeting of the Parliament 03 June 2014
That is not to say that we are opposed to the reform of air passenger duty. However, during any such considerations, the full implications of any reform should be known.
It must also be remembered that air passenger duty was introduced as an environmental levy. The white paper makes a clear commitment to decarbonisation. How are the two policies consistent? The white paper states:
“We will be able to align transport policy with energy policy to achieve Scotland’s ambitious decarbonisation targets.”
Section 33 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 commits the Scottish Government to reduce carbon emissions by 46 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020, with a further reduction of 80 per cent on 1990 levels by 2050. The Scottish Parliament unanimously backed that target. The act also requires the Scottish Government to hit annual emissions reduction targets and report back to Parliament. Both of the targets have been missed, making the subsequent targets more difficult to hit.
The Scottish Government has also been criticised by Opposition parties and a number of environmental organisations for having too many proposals and not enough policies in its annual report on proposals and policies. Those criticisms include basing long-term goals on vague assertions, such as the availability of new technology in the future.
There is striking similarity between this debate and that report because the Government can offer only the same vague assertions that everything will be okay. There are no costings to consider, no figures on how the environmental impact and carbon reduction targets would be offset, and no proposals for any reform of air passenger duty to reduce the carbon emissions from air travel.
The debate should essentially be about transport connectivity but instead it is about transport connectivity—as with everything else—in an independent Scotland. I have said that nothing will change after today; we will simply carry on as we were. That would not be the case if the Government were serious about transport connectivity.
We could have been debating the actions and options that the Scottish Government is taking right now to make Scotland a more connected and attractive place to come and visit for business or leisure. The Government could be well on the way to delivering a rail link to Glasgow airport, boosting one of our most important city regions, but here we are again talking about powers and process and a continuation of the Government’s independence agenda of tax cuts for big business.
I move amendment S4M-10185.1, leave out from “with concern” to end and insert:
“that reducing air passenger duty by 50% would take £135 million out of Scotland’s budget in addition to the £385 million that the Scottish Government’s proposed cuts to corporation tax would cost; further notes that these reductions in revenue would have to be fully funded by tax rises or cuts to vital public services; calls on the Scottish Government to confirm immediately what tax rises or public service cuts it would introduce in an independent Scotland, so that the people of Scotland can make an informed decision on 18 September 2014, and further calls on the Scottish Government to hold a serious debate on transport connectivity.”
15:04Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.