Hansard

The Presiding Officer (Alison Johnstone) NPA

The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-15048, in the name of Shona Robison, on fiscal sustainability. I invite members who wish to speak in the ...

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government (Shona Robison) SNP

Today’s debate comes at a timely moment, as we await the first budget of the new United Kingdom Government tomorrow. All eyes will be on the Chancellor of th...

Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab) Lab

It is absolutely right that, in the short term, we have to look at net inward migration. In the longer term, however, global population growth is slowing and...

Shona Robison SNP

Yes, I would. I will shortly come on to outline what we need to do to bring all that together in one place so that we can look at it collectively across all ...

Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con

The cabinet secretary is quite right to say that she has had to take emergency decisions. Does she now regret the fact that this debate did not take place mu...

Shona Robison SNP

That would not have made any difference to the fact that emergency controls had to be put in place because of the additional pressures from pay as a result o...

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur) LD

I call Michael Marra to speak on behalf of the Finance and Public Administration Committee. 15:01

Michael Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab) Lab

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Finance and Public Administration Committee, in my role as deputy convener, in this very impor...

Shona Robison SNP

I will set this out in a lot more detail later but, in short, I mean to go from addressing the horizon that the MTFS looks at to addressing the “how”. The de...

The Deputy Presiding Officer LD

You can have your time back.

Michael Marra Lab

It will certainly be welcome to see those details from the Government, and to hear how they apply to its broader policy agenda. I mentioned earlier that pub...

The Deputy Presiding Officer LD

Thank you, Mr Marra. Before I call the next speaker, I encourage all members who are pushing to participate in the debate to check that they have pressed the...

Craig Hoy (South Scotland) (Con) Con

There is a ticking time bomb at the heart of Scotland’s finances. In fact, there are four: the tax system, public sector pay, the Scottish welfare system and...

Michelle Thomson (Falkirk East) (SNP) SNP

On that, will the member give way?

Craig Hoy Con

I will make some progress, then come back to the member, in a moment. If the SNP had done that, the minister would, this year alone, have had £600 million o...

Michelle Thomson SNP

Will the member give way on that point?

Craig Hoy Con

We cannot grow the Scottish economy if we increase regulation or abruptly turn off the taps on North Sea oil and gas. We cannot dramatically expand the footp...

Michelle Thomson SNP

I thank the member for giving way. In some respects, his having carried on speaking has added weight to my point. I wonder what he thinks of Mark Logan’s re...

The Deputy Presiding Officer LD

I can give you the time back for the intervention, Mr Hoy.

Craig Hoy Con

If members saw the response of members on the Government’s front bench, they will have realised that they dealt with that intervention with the same level of...

Shona Robison SNP

rose—

Craig Hoy Con

I will not take an intervention, at the moment. Ireland has just two tax bands—20 per cent and 40 per cent. I accept that there are countries where the tax ...

Daniel Johnson Lab

Will the member take an intervention?

Craig Hoy Con

I will, in a second. However, ministers might not want to do that, because a simplified tax system is also a transparent one, because the smoke and mirrors ...

The Deputy Presiding Officer LD

I encourage members to press their intervention buttons.

Daniel Johnson Lab

Noted, Deputy Presiding Officer. The problem with what Mr Hoy has just set out is that he invokes countries with not just simpler tax systems but lower tax ...

Craig Hoy Con

Given that year-on-year increases in the social security budget have accompanied a reduction in the number of people who are available for work, and given th...

Shona Robison SNP

The return on the investment in the Scottish child payment is fewer children being in poverty, fewer who grow up into poverty and fewer who have their life c...

Craig Hoy Con

No. I am saying that we would grow the economy to a position in which, through time, those benefits would not be as necessary as they now are. We have to ask...

Shona Robison SNP

Will Craig Hoy give way on that point?