Chamber
Plenary, 07 Feb 2007
07 Feb 2007 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2007
That is an interesting observation, but it is of little interest to the honest pensioners who do not contribute to the 7 per cent of uncollected council tax. By and large, my generation pays its dues and does not contribute to the uncollected tax.
The council tax is supposedly fair but, no matter how politicians squeeze it or talk about it, it will have to be replaced with an equitable and fair tax. The Government increases pensions by 2.5 per cent or whatever and is then pleased that council tax goes up by only 3 per cent and that the fuel that pensioners burn goes up by only 28 per cent. What kind of society are we living in?
It is time we all got our act together and did something positive by getting rid of the council tax once and for all. I do not care what it is replaced with, because it cannot be as bad as what we suffer now.
The council tax is supposedly fair but, no matter how politicians squeeze it or talk about it, it will have to be replaced with an equitable and fair tax. The Government increases pensions by 2.5 per cent or whatever and is then pleased that council tax goes up by only 3 per cent and that the fuel that pensioners burn goes up by only 28 per cent. What kind of society are we living in?
It is time we all got our act together and did something positive by getting rid of the council tax once and for all. I do not care what it is replaced with, because it cannot be as bad as what we suffer now.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Murray Tosh):
Con
The next item of business is a debate on motion S2M-5503, in the name of Tom McCabe, that the Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2007 be approved.
The Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform (Mr Tom McCabe):
Lab
The motion seeks approval of the Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2007. As members know, the main purpose of that order is to provide next year's re...
Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
By praising the council tax freeze in Glasgow, the minister seems to be implying that the current council tax levels have been set too high. Can he explain t...
Mr McCabe:
Lab
I am a very difficult person to please, but I am conscious of the need for local democracy. What Mr Morgan says is entirely consistent with statements that t...
Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP):
SNP
Will the minister give way?
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
The minister is over time, so he cannot give way.
Mr McCabe:
Lab
In conclusion, as I have explained, the order will distribute substantial additional resources for this year and next. A great deal of progress has been made...
Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con):
Con
As the minister alluded to, the timing of today's debate is apt given the imminence of the formal setting of council tax levels throughout Scotland. I state ...
Mr McCabe:
Lab
As I pointed out in my speech, today's finance settlement is not about this being an election year. Last year, we had the lowest average council tax increase...
Derek Brownlee:
Con
As I said, people are not daft—they know that the lower council tax increase that might be announced this year might last only for one year, as has been the ...
Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD):
LD
Were there never such arguments under the Tories?
Derek Brownlee:
Con
I will not rise to the bait that Mr Rumbles has offered.Whatever their political affiliation, all members would agree that we should have a strong tier of lo...
The Deputy Minister for Finance, Public Service Reform and Parliamentary Business (George Lyon):
LD
How does the member explain his position, given that when they were in Government, the Tories used capping to ensure that that did not happen?
Derek Brownlee:
Con
In 1996, I was at university rather than in Government. Mr Lyon might notice that some things have changed. If he is so against capping, perhaps he will rule...
Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP):
SNP
Over the past two years, the debate on local government has been helpfully informed by the reports of Parliament's Finance Committee on the overall Scottish ...
Mr McCabe:
Lab
I know that Mr Salmond is in the habit of making things up as he goes along in television studios, but I did not know that that habit is contagious. The coun...
Mr Swinney:
SNP
If Mr McCabe does not believe that council tax is a significant burden on the electors of Scotland, he should reflect on the fact that the tax has increased ...
George Lyon rose—
LD
Mr Swinney:
SNP
I cannot take an intervention from Mr Lyon, as I have only four minutes.We must look at this financial settlement in the context of the Government's long-ter...
Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD):
LD
The SNP might want to freeze council tax for the next two years; the Liberal Democrats want to get rid of it.There can be no doubt that the 4.7 per cent incr...
Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab):
Lab
Is the implication of Mr Rumbles's speech about the population allocation of resources an argument that no account should be taken of deprivation?
Mike Rumbles:
LD
I wish that the member had waited just a little longer—I was about to say that no one argues that councils should be allocated funds simply on the basis of t...
Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab):
Lab
First and foremost, the Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2007 that we are being asked to agree sets out a local government settlement that will cont...
John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP):
SSCUP
Will the member give way?
Bristow Muldoon:
Lab
I want to continue, if I may.Roads and paths are being better maintained, and the level of household recycling has improved substantially. All those and othe...
Derek Brownlee:
Con
Will the member give way?
Bristow Muldoon:
Lab
No, I have only four minutes.Of course, all those achievements would be put at risk under the nightmare scenario of an SNP-led Executive emerging from this y...
Mike Rumbles:
LD
Will the member give way?
Bristow Muldoon:
Lab
No. I have only 30 seconds left.Nicola Sturgeon was not bold enough to state a figure at the conference, although The Herald reported that her spin doctors h...
Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP):
SNP
I am happy to confirm to Bristow Muldoon that the maximum for any local income tax under the SNP will be 3p in the pound. I am delighted to see that Bristow ...