Hansard

Today we are sitting in uncharted waters. Parliament could be about to vote to allow the Scottish Government to impose a tax rise on local government, claw that money back and then spend it as it sees fit on a nationwide school attainment fund. It is totally unprecedented.

First of all, let us be clear: we on these benches are in favour of a school attainment fund. We need to close the attainment gap after nine years of failure by the Scottish National Party. I imagine that the chamber will be united on that statement—the first part of it, anyway.

However, as the Green amendment makes clear, the Scottish Government’s funding of a measure—any measure—on the back of councils is an attack on local democracy and local accountability. As I said in a previous debate on the matter, it is a basic principle that money should be spent by those who have been elected to raise it and who are answerable for it to the electors. If council tax increases, the increase should be spent by councils. It should be entirely a matter for East Renfrewshire Council, for example, to decide how to spend the £4 million that will be raised by increasing the amounts charged in the top four bands, for Edinburgh to decide how to spend its £15.6 million or for South Lanarkshire to decide how to spend its £5.5 million.

However, in a financial sleight of hand that would do Derren Brown proud, Derek Mackay will allow local authorities to keep their extra council tax—legally, he has to—but will take it back by cutting grants. It is the first time that that has ever happened, and it is a slippery slope.

We will be voting for Andy Wightman’s amendment, because it rightly points out the grave way in which that undermines local accountability and autonomy. It undermines accountability because it is councillors who should be answerable to the people for council tax, and it undermines autonomy because it is councillors who should decide how that tax is spent.

Other Opposition MSPs accepted that when we last debated these measures, and they voted that way—with one exception. Will they stand by their principles today and vote against this measure? I hope so, because principle is in short supply in politics. Simply noting the issues does not go far enough. If members truly believe in localism—and we do—the only way to vote is against this national tax that is being dressed up as local. If the measure goes through, when people get their council tax bills next year they should be in no doubt that part of the increase is nothing to do with their councils and everything to do with the SNP and anyone who votes with it today.