Hansard

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Christine Grahame) SNP

The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-24395, in the name of Ivan McKee, on the draft Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2021. 15:00

The Minister for Trade, Innovation and Public Finance (Ivan McKee) SNP

The purpose of today’s debate on the draft Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2021 is to seek Parliament’s approval for the guaranteed allocations of ...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

I call Bill Bowman to open the debate for the Conservatives. This is Mr Bowman’s final speech. 15:08

Bill Bowman (North East Scotland) (Con) Con

This is my last speech here, and I would like to say a few words about my time in the Parliament. I joined the Parliament following a sad event—the untimely...

Ivan McKee SNP

Will the member take an intervention?

Bill Bowman Con

Of course. How could I resist one last chance to be corrected by Ivan McKee?

Ivan McKee SNP

The member will realise, of course, that the proposal by the Conservatives to give local government a fixed percentage of the budget would have meant not onl...

Bill Bowman Con

No, I do not realise that—but I thank Ivan McKee for letting me know. The SNP Government’s total budget has risen to £44.1 billion in 2021-22. In comparis...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

Thank you, Mr Bowman. I am thrilled that you mentioned the Solicitors in the Supreme Courts of Scotland (Amendment) Bill Committee—a highlight for both of us...

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab

I offer Bill Bowman my very best wishes on his retirement from the Parliament. Yet again, local authorities have a settlement that does not meet their needs...

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green) Green

I congratulate Bill Bowman on his final speech and wish him well for the future. I ask for your forgiveness, Presiding Officer. As we are overrunning slight...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

You put that so sweetly that I feel that I must accept.

Patrick Harvie Green

I am grateful, Presiding Officer. Inevitably in such debates, there are those who ask for perfection, and those who defend imperfection as though there is n...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

Thank you, Mr Harvie. You kept within your time. 15:24

Willie Rennie (North East Fife) (LD) LD

I knew Bill Bowman’s wife, Helen. She was a kind and generous woman, and certainly formidable to anybody who met her. I met her as one of my constituents, an...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

If your final plea is brief, be my guest.

Willie Rennie LD

No; I would not want to encourage that.

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

You are content. That is wonderful. I call the minister, Ivan McKee, to close the debate. 15:28

Ivan McKee SNP

I thank all members who have taken part in the debate, albeit that it has been very short. I thank Bill Bowman for his time in the Parliament, and I wish him...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

That concludes the debate. There will be a short pause before we move on to the next item of business.