Hansard

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Christine Grahame) SNP

The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-17190, in the name of Colin Smyth, on Scotland’s future: scrap the cut to the air departure tax. I invite...

Colin Smyth (South Scotland) (Lab) Lab

Last week, the Scottish Government made a welcome, if overdue, commitment to strengthening our emissions reduction targets and to accepting the Committee on ...

John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP) SNP

Colin Smyth is talking about policies. Would the Labour Party be prepared to support the workplace parking levy, which might help?

Colin Smyth Lab

The answer to that question is no. Nobody believes that Derek Mackay’s proposal for a workplace parking levy was anything other than a fig leaf to cover the ...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

Everything should be through the chair, please, cabinet secretary. I like to fulfil my function.

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work (Derek Mackay) SNP

Colin Smyth has just said that, apparently, nobody in the Labour Party believes in the workplace parking levy. Does that include those who took the other pos...

Colin Smyth Lab

The Labour Party put its policy to its conference; the SNP did not. Derek Mackay sneaked the policy through in the budget because he knows that it is a regre...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

Excuse me a minute, Mr Smyth. There is a wee debate going on between the Glasgow MSPs on the back benches. I ask them to show some respect to the member who ...

Colin Smyth Lab

Thank you, Presiding Officer. I presume that they are working out how much the SNP’s proposed workplace parking levy will be. When it comes to transport and...

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green) Green

Will the member take an intervention?

Colin Smyth Lab

Unfortunately, I do not think that I will be able to have extra time. Is that correct, Presiding Officer?

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

I can let you have extra time if you wish.

Colin Smyth Lab

Thank you. In that case, I will take Patrick Harvie’s intervention.

Patrick Harvie Green

I am very grateful for that. Colin Smyth is right to point out that other parties have changed their views. Will he remind us when Labour changed its view? I...

Colin Smyth Lab

I can tell Mr Harvie that our manifesto commitment was very clear—and we have stuck to it, while it seems that the SNP and the Tories have been dropping thei...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

Just stop for a minute, please, Mr Smyth. I am looking at the motion, and it seems that I may have been quite lax in allowing you to continue. The motion ref...

Colin Smyth Lab

I will refrain from arguing the link between the two, Presiding Officer. Over the past 200 years, humans have shown that they can change the climate—unfortu...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

I remind members to please keep to their amendments as set out in the Business Bulletin and not to drift into other areas, exciting though they might be. 15:20

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work (Derek Mackay) SNP

To be fair, Colin Smyth has at least shown himself to be agile enough to amend his speech in the light of circumstances. We are in the midst of a climate em...

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con

In the light of everything that the cabinet secretary has said, is the Scottish Government still committed to supporting the third runway at Heathrow?

Derek Mackay SNP

As I have said, the environment secretary and other ministers will look at appropriate policy responses with regard to our overall suite of policies, but thi...

Patrick Harvie Green

Will the cabinet secretary give way?

Derek Mackay SNP

If I have time.

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

It will have to be a short intervention.

Patrick Harvie Green

Thank you. I recognise that the Government wants to look at its wider range of policies, but is it not clear that, if a tax measure that boosts faster aviati...

Derek Mackay SNP

Aviation emissions actually account for a relatively small amount of Scotland’s overall carbon emissions. The decision on ADT alone will have little impact i...

Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab) Lab

Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention?

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

The cabinet secretary does not have time.

Derek Mackay SNP

We must take all appropriate action. On finance, we are committed to increasing the share of capital expenditure on low-carbon projects year on year to ensur...

Jamie Greene (West Scotland) (Con) Con

This very second, I am reading straight from the Scottish National Party’s website, in a section that is ironically named “Scotland: open for business”: “We...