Meeting of the Parliament 14 June 2017
I have not mentioned independence in today’s debate, yet Willie Rennie, who is utterly obsessed with it, has once again sought to hoover it into the debate.
It was interesting that, on the morning after the election, Jeremy Purvis—elected by nobody, but speaking on his platform—said that it was time that the SNP dropped its commitment. He was immediately asked whether he would drop his commitment to another referendum and he could not answer the question. As for Christine Jardine’s appalling statement on Sunday, I do not know what to say. Once again, the Opposition parties are obsessed with independence. Let us get back to the economy, which is what we should be talking about.
As I mentioned, the funding that is provided through structural funds complements the wider actions that we are taking to drive productivity. The investment in infrastructure includes projects such as the Queensferry crossing, the dualling of the A9, the dualling of the A96, the Aberdeen western peripheral route and the M8, M73 and M74 improvement project. Furthermore, the Scottish growth scheme will provide £500 million to support innovative SMEs with high growth potential that struggle to obtain finance through conventional means. We are also investing more than £1 billion in our universities this year alone, and we are supporting collaborations between universities and businesses through our innovation centres.
Inclusive growth is at the heart of our actions to grow the economy as we equip our young people for the future, which is why we are increasing the number of modern apprenticeship opportunities to 30,000 per year by 2020 and expanding funded childcare to improve young children’s outcomes and reduce barriers to parents’ participating in the economy. We are also driving internationalisation by boosting Scotland’s trade and international connections.
Scotland’s economic fundamentals remain strong, but we face economic challenges from, in particular, the damage that will be caused by the UK Government’s desire to take Scotland out of the EU and the single market. I have set out a range of actions that we are taking to grow and strengthen our economy for the future. We must continue to invest for growth by promoting and supporting innovation, investment and internationalisation, as is set out in Scotland’s economic strategy. I urge members to support the motion in my name.
I move,
That the Parliament recognises that Scotland’s economic fundamentals remain strong with opportunities for growth; welcomes the fact that Scotland has closed the gap in productivity performance with the UK as a whole, the continued attractiveness of Scotland’s economy for inward investment and, in particular, the recent analysis by Ernst and Young, which shows that Scotland attracted more research and development foreign direct investment projects than anywhere else in the UK in 2016; recognises and acknowledges the challenges facing Scotland’s economy, in particular from the downturn in the oil and gas sector and the damage that will be caused by the UK Government taking Scotland out of the EU and the single market; believes that Scotland must continue to invest for sustainable and inclusive growth by promoting and supporting innovation, investment and internationalisation, as set out in Scotland’s Economic Strategy; highlights the important contribution that European structural and investment funds make to support sustainable and inclusive growth in Scotland, and calls on the UK Government to commit to ensuring that it replaces this funding in full following Brexit.
14:53