Hansard

Yes—I agree with the Deputy First Minister on that point.

A range of other projects were proposed by the previous Conservative Government, not least projects that were funded through the towns fund, which affected, for example, Dunfermline and Perth, in my region. That funding has now been cancelled, which is very regrettable.

Let me talk about what the previous Conservative Government did, and put some of this into context. According to the Scottish Government’s own “Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland” figures, the Barnett formula delivers nearly £2,400 extra for every man, woman and child in Scotland compared with what is spent elsewhere in the United Kingdom. That is money that would not be available if this Government got its way and separated us from the rest of the United Kingdom.

In addition, we saw a programme of direct investment in Scotland from the previous UK Government, totalling nearly £3 billion of its spending. We saw £1.5 billion investment in city, region and growth deals—money coming into vital projects in Scotland delivering key infrastructure, innovations and projects in the culture and tourism space.

I can mention two examples in my own region. The excellent new Perth museum is drawing many more visitors than expected to the centre of Perth, helping the local city centre economy. It showcases the city and surrounding area’s history and is home to the stone of destiny. If members have not visited the museum yet, I encourage them to do so and, while they are, to spend some money. In Invergowrie, the James Hutton Institute, which is world leading in crop innovation, is benefiting from growth deal investment and is creating jobs and delivering world-beating science.

Direct investment does not stop there. We have seen a further £1.4 billion in levelling up investment, and the freeports that the minister referred to. Let us not forget that, initially, the Scottish Government was against the freeports, perhaps due to the influence of the anti-growth Greens who were in government at the time. Fortunately, the Deputy First Minister stepped in and good sense prevailed—and now, thank goodness, we have the freeports. However, that was a UK Conservative Government initiative.

We have seen the investment zones and projects to regenerate town centres. On top of that, we see vital local community projects being directly supported by levelling up funding: funding for local sports clubs and cultural projects, all of which have benefited from direct UK Government investment.

I want to focus on two sectors in particular. The first is the defence sector, which is relatively more important to the Scottish economy than it is to that of the UK as a whole. The sector employs more than 13,000 people in Scotland and accounts for £2 billion in economic turnover. That number of people—13,000—employed in defence is higher than the number of defence employees in London.

The Ministry of Defence spends more per head in Scotland than in the rest of the UK: an average of £380, which is higher than the UK average of £370. That spend in Scotland grew 13 per cent from 2018 to 2021-22. The jobs created by it tend to be highly skilled, in sectors such as shipbuilding, engineering, science and technology. We saw the benefit of the spend on the two new UK aircraft carriers, which were built on the Clyde and the Forth. Babcock in Rosyth, in my region, continues to benefit from the UK Government’s shipbuilding programme.

Looking at the uncertain world that we now face, there will be a need—recognised by the Prime Minister—to increase our defence spending. That has already been signalled and I expect that it will have to go yet further. That is a tremendous opportunity for Scotland. It will support our economy, develop skills and provide careers and opportunities to expand on what is already a very successful defence sector, in which we lead the world with some of our technology. For example, Leonardo provides radar systems for Lockheed Martin that are sold across the world, supporting thousands of jobs in the Scottish economy. That should have the whole-hearted support of every party in this chamber.

Of course, that happens only because of UK Government spend. Scotland benefits from that spend, and if the spend increases, Scotland will benefit even more. There will need to be positive engagement from the Scottish Government to make sure that that happens: a celebration of our defence sector, which, frankly, too many colleagues in this chamber seem to be embarrassed about.

Yesterday, when the First Minister made his statement on Ukraine, he spoke positively about the opportunities for defence in Scotland. I wish that that positivity was reflected among all the SNP back benchers. Unfortunately, too many of them seem to be ashamed of our defence sector.

Some of us will remember the dreadful event that took place more than a year ago in the Parliament, when young apprentices from the defence industries came in and were subject to abuse—they were heckled as they arrived, simply because of the sector in which they worked. That was a disgraceful and shocking set of scenes, cheerleadered by a member of this Parliament from the Green Party—frankly, that was disgraceful. If we are to see more opportunities in the defence sector, we, in the Parliament, must be positive about it, otherwise young people will not be encouraged to take up apprenticeships, which are vital.

I hope that we will have some leadership from the SNP Government on this issue. We have already seen, for example, the entire Royal Navy submarine fleet relocated to the Clyde, bringing with it jobs. There will be other opportunities for Scotland, too, but we must make sure that the Scottish Government is welcoming of those new jobs and that investment.

I will mention one more sector: energy. We are seeing huge investment at present—we debated that just yesterday afternoon—in green technologies and the renewable energy sector. That is very welcome and it is funded by electricity bill payers right across the United Kingdom. It is the UK energy market that provides the money that we need for huge developments, particularly in offshore wind, that drive economic regeneration in the Highlands and across other parts of Scotland. UK Government support underpins the regulatory framework and makes sure that those jobs are coming and developing a new economy for the future.

It is just a pity, as I highlighted last week—indeed, this issue came up in yesterday’s debate on Scotland’s renewable future—that the SNP Government’s anti-nuclear stance means that we cannot benefit from jobs in that sector.

In the same vein, we need to ensure that there is a viable future for oil and gas. Labour has already set its face against oil and gas, and the SNP equivocates when it comes to the proposed new Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields. We in the Scottish Conservatives are very clear that we need to continue with the extraction of oil and gas from the North Sea, not least to provide energy security and reduce our reliance on imports. The UK Government should be supportive of that approach.

There is much to celebrate in the record of the previous UK Government in investing directly in the Scottish economy, and there are great opportunities for the future in energy and defence. We should be seizing those opportunities for Scotland and not carping from the sidelines. Those are the points that I make in my amendment, which I am pleased to move.

I move amendment S6M-16667.3, to leave out from “deserve” to end and insert:

“benefit significantly from an abundance of direct investment initiatives established under the former UK Conservative administration, including £3 billion in Levelling Up funding, City Region and Growth Deals, Green Freeports, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and the British Business Bank; recognises that the importance and significance of these investments demonstrate the commitment that was held by the former UK Conservative administration to supporting economic growth in Scotland; acknowledges the full responsibility that is held by the Scottish Government for economic outcomes deriving from its devolved powers, and calls on the UK Labour administration to hold to the critical pledges made by its predecessors to level up Scotland’s economic prosperity.”