Hansard

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Elaine Smith) Lab

The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-15869, in the name of John Swinney, on the Scottish Fiscal Commission Bill. 17:20

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

The Scottish Fiscal Commission Bill will ensure that there is an independent fiscal institution operating at the heart of Scotland’s devolved fiscal framewor...

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (Lab) Lab

What resources will the Scottish Government have? The cabinet secretary is talking about the possibility of the Government rejecting a commission forecast. W...

John Swinney SNP

I intend to maintain the resources within Government to ensure that we can satisfy ourselves that we have a forecast from the Fiscal Commission that we belie...

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab) Lab

I very much welcome the opportunity to participate in this stage 3 debate on the Scottish Fiscal Commission Bill. At the outset, I thank my colleagues on the...

Gavin Brown (Lothian) (Con) Con

I will begin on a positive note. The bill that we now have—the bill that I hope will pass at decision time today—is considerably better than the bill that wa...

John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP) SNP

I am happy to speak in today’s debate. I very much welcome the fact that we have a Fiscal Commission in place. We are now going to have a strengthened Fiscal...

Jackie Baillie Lab

John Mason has believed in the measure for more than two years. It was not about hunting for something to disagree with; it was about making sure that we hav...

John Mason SNP

We have that. As I have said, a major issue is who does the forecasting. Jackie Baillie’s amendment was on a peripheral issue. I find it hard to get excited ...

The Deputy Presiding Officer Lab

Draw to a close, please.

John Mason SNP

Right. We have been very generous so far with the Fiscal Commission. It costs £850,000, which is more than the Irish or the Swedes get, and we should not thr...

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (Lab) Lab

As members have explained, this has been a long and twisting road. I am afraid that I have not been able to follow every turn—I am not on the Finance Committ...

The Deputy Presiding Officer Lab

We come to the closing speeches. I understand that this will be Gavin Brown’s last speech so, on behalf of the Presiding Officers, I thank him for his contri...

Gavin Brown Con

Presiding Officer, I did not realise until now that this would be my last speech. You obviously know something that I do not. The whip in this Parliament mus...

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab

I have come late to the topic. I have not served on the Finance Committee, although I have watched some of its ambulations over the period. We have reached a...

John Swinney SNP

I begin with a comment that Malcolm Chisholm made. He was concerned about the Government maintaining its capacity to undertake the tax-forecasting function t...

Gavin Brown Con

Of course that responsibility falls to Parliament but, as we have heard time and time again, members of Parliament will be aided by the SFC’s analysis. As pa...

John Swinney SNP

That is a matter of opinion on which Mr Brown and I are going to have to disagree. There is plenty of information and analysis available that will enable Par...

John Swinney SNP

If Jamie McGrigor will forgive me, I am going to have to bring my remarks to a close. Mr Brown has not always been my strongest ally on what I have brought ...

The Presiding Officer (Tricia Marwick) NPA

That concludes the debate on the Scottish Fiscal Commission Bill. Before we move to the next item of business, I am minded at this stage to accept a motion ...