Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 10 February 2016
10 Feb 2016 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Education
I will come on to the detail of that in a second. We do not have just one progressive tax policy with which to invest in education and the future of public services—we have four. We have yet to see a single one from the SNP.
Our motion is simple, and the request it makes is not an unreasonable one. Every party in this chamber has made spending promises that reach into the next parliamentary session. None of us has any problem offering the good news to voters, but, as the debate on income tax in the last few days has exposed, when it comes to telling voters the truth about the harder choices that we must make, most run for cover.
Let us take a look at the SNP’s plans. It has promised to protect spending on the national health service in real terms over the next five years, to protect spending on police in real terms over the next five years, and to protect the small business bonus over the next five years. It has no problem in making long-term spending commitments. Will it make the same commitment to protect education spending in real terms over the next five years?
In the same item of business
Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP)
SNP
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Under standing orders rule 7.2.3, the Presiding Officer may stop a member speaking if they depart from the subject of...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Elaine Smith)
Lab
Order, please, while I hear the point of order.
Stewart Stevenson
SNP
Can you advise me, Presiding Officer, whether the title of the motion, which constitutes the title of the debate, and the terms of the motion stand equally i...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
Order, please. The member is correct that I can stop a member speaking if they depart from the subject of a debate. In fact, most members in the chamber wil...
Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
Education is my passion. I was raised by teachers, and I learned from them how education can enrich lives and overcome any predetermined destiny. Education o...
Mark McDonald (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member give way?
Kezia Dugdale
Lab
Let me make a bit more progress. That sentence means one thing: we will not cut education. There are no party politics in our motion and no judgment on othe...
The Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland’s Languages (Dr Alasdair Allan)
SNP
Given that Kezia Dugdale’s plans for income tax do not meet the cost of the proposal that is laid out in her party’s motion, can she tell us where the remain...
Kezia Dugdale
Lab
I will come on to the detail of that in a second. We do not have just one progressive tax policy with which to invest in education and the future of public s...
Mark McDonald
SNP
The member highlighted three policy areas that we have committed to protect for the next five years. Will she confirm whether she agrees with those commitmen...
Kezia Dugdale
Lab
I posed a question, and I was hoping that Mark McDonald would attempt to answer it, but he did not. Of course we support those goals, but I mentioned them to...
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning (Angela Constance)
SNP
This Government wants to create a world-class education system that is founded on excellence and equity. That is why we are investing around £7.2 billion in ...
Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
Will the cabinet secretary give way?
Angela Constance
SNP
Perhaps later. We are making progress on closing the attainment gap. There has been an increase in the number of school leavers from the 20 per cent most de...
Jenny Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention?
Angela Constance
SNP
No. I want to make some progress first, thank you. There has also been a decline in the number of school leavers who leave without qualifications of at leas...
Hugh Henry (Renfrewshire South) (Lab)
Lab
Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention?
Angela Constance
SNP
Perhaps later. Interruption.
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
Order, Mr Henry.
Angela Constance
SNP
Other people have acknowledged the progress that I described. The improvement service has found that “all the available measures of educational outcome have...
Hugh Henry
Lab
Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention?
Angela Constance
SNP
I will do, later. Interruption. That is my prerogative. However, there is more to do. We are investing in specific priorities to improve all children’s li...
Jenny Marra
Lab
Will the minister take an intervention?
Angela Constance
SNP
Perhaps later. The read, write, count campaign for all families with children in primary 1 to primary 3 is a great example. Since we launched the campaign i...
Iain Gray
Lab
Will the minister give way?
Angela Constance
SNP
Gladly.
Iain Gray
Lab
The cabinet secretary has inadvertently come to the core of the question of today’s debate. We ask her to set out those plans and to protect education spendi...
Angela Constance
SNP
In case Mr Gray had not noticed, there is something called an election to be held soon. The Government will of course set out our proposals in our manifesto ...
Kezia Dugdale
Lab
If I thought for a second that the policy would punish low-income earners, I would not be proposing it. I have the Institute for Public Policy Research, the ...
Angela Constance
SNP
For a moment I thought that Ms Dugdale was going to tell us all about her detailed plans for how she intends to pay for her £5 billion wish list. The only id...