Chamber
Plenary, 07 Mar 2007
07 Mar 2007 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Small Business
Nobody can prejudge the outcome of the election. Who knows where we will be after it? The Conservatives may be sitting here with a much expanded group and—as everybody is starting to accept—holding the balance of power. Let us not rule anything out. Who knows what may happen?
We already see other parties taking their lead from us. I am pleased that Mr Purvis and his party have taken our lead on Scottish Water, and I am pleased to see other parties reacting to the lead that we have given on drugs policy. The Conservatives are setting the agenda. Even the SNP is following, with Alex Salmond talking about procurement on Monday. I am delighted that he has read our manifesto on procurement and is taking some lessons from us. It is encouraging to see that; it is just a shame that he will not be here after May to implement any policies.
Small businesses in Scotland have been neglected by government at all levels for too long. It is time to give them a boost. They are the backbone of our economy. For too long they have borne the brunt of high rates, high water charges, poor transportation and excessive regulation. It is time to redress that balance, which is exactly what the Scottish Conservatives will do. I have pleasure in moving my amendment.
I move amendment S2M-5690.1, to leave out from "welcomes" to end and insert:
"condemns the proposals put forward by the SNP and the Liberal Democrats for a local income tax which would represent a significant new financial burden for the many small businesses that are unincorporated; further condemns the policies of the Lib-Lab pact which have done so much to harm business, especially the decision taken by Jack McConnell MSP to abolish the uniform business rate in 2000 which has cost Scottish businesses an extra £900 million, and welcomes the fully costed proposals put forward in the Scottish Conservatives' business manifesto, including the abolition of business rates for all firms with a rateable value under £7,000, a tiered rates cut for all firms with a rateable value of between £7,000 and £15,000, a £20 million annual town centre regeneration fund, a dedicated public procurement unit to cut through the bureaucratised process of approval when businesses are tendering for public contracts, five-year sunset clauses on all primary legislation, a presumption against gold-plating of EU regulation, a new dedicated skills agency to work with business, schools and colleges to tackle the skills shortage, extra investment in the road network to prioritise improvements on key links such as the A9, A75, A96 and A82, and the building of a new Forth crossing, a package which will deliver real benefits to Scotland's small business and lead to higher economic growth."
We already see other parties taking their lead from us. I am pleased that Mr Purvis and his party have taken our lead on Scottish Water, and I am pleased to see other parties reacting to the lead that we have given on drugs policy. The Conservatives are setting the agenda. Even the SNP is following, with Alex Salmond talking about procurement on Monday. I am delighted that he has read our manifesto on procurement and is taking some lessons from us. It is encouraging to see that; it is just a shame that he will not be here after May to implement any policies.
Small businesses in Scotland have been neglected by government at all levels for too long. It is time to give them a boost. They are the backbone of our economy. For too long they have borne the brunt of high rates, high water charges, poor transportation and excessive regulation. It is time to redress that balance, which is exactly what the Scottish Conservatives will do. I have pleasure in moving my amendment.
I move amendment S2M-5690.1, to leave out from "welcomes" to end and insert:
"condemns the proposals put forward by the SNP and the Liberal Democrats for a local income tax which would represent a significant new financial burden for the many small businesses that are unincorporated; further condemns the policies of the Lib-Lab pact which have done so much to harm business, especially the decision taken by Jack McConnell MSP to abolish the uniform business rate in 2000 which has cost Scottish businesses an extra £900 million, and welcomes the fully costed proposals put forward in the Scottish Conservatives' business manifesto, including the abolition of business rates for all firms with a rateable value under £7,000, a tiered rates cut for all firms with a rateable value of between £7,000 and £15,000, a £20 million annual town centre regeneration fund, a dedicated public procurement unit to cut through the bureaucratised process of approval when businesses are tendering for public contracts, five-year sunset clauses on all primary legislation, a presumption against gold-plating of EU regulation, a new dedicated skills agency to work with business, schools and colleges to tackle the skills shortage, extra investment in the road network to prioritise improvements on key links such as the A9, A75, A96 and A82, and the building of a new Forth crossing, a package which will deliver real benefits to Scotland's small business and lead to higher economic growth."
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid):
NPA
The next item of business is a debate on motion S2M-5690, in the name of Jim Mather, on the economy and small business.
Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP):
SNP
Members will know that we in the Scottish National Party want to create the conditions that will make Scotland more populous and more prosperous. Members of ...
Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD):
LD
The problem is that people do not know which SNP to put into power. Is it the SNP of Jim Mather, who wants to cut taxes, or the socialist republic SNP of Chr...
Jim Mather:
SNP
We will raise taxes by growing the economy. The member should read his newspapers. If he had read The Scotsman five months ago, he would have seen the editor...
The Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning (Allan Wilson):
Lab
Jim Mather talks about raising taxes by growing the economy. By how much will he grow the economy to fill the £11 billion gap that is the differential betwee...
Jim Mather:
SNP
The minister wears his fantasy like a badge of pride, which it is not. If the calculations included our oil, a proper allocation of civil service jobs and de...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
Will the member tell us how the SNP's plans for a local income tax of 6.5 per cent, which would be paid on the profits of every unincorporated small business...
Jim Mather:
SNP
If the member listened to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which tells us that the rate will be about 3 per cent, he would perhaps copy our policy on that, ...
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
I call Allan Wilson, to speak to and move amendment S2M-5690.3. Interruption.
The Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning (Allan Wilson):
Lab
The fact that I am being attacked before I have said anything is a badge of pride that I wear in the chamber.In the five minutes that are available to me, it...
Jim Mather:
SNP
We are in a global boom at the moment, but all Scotland can muster is 2.3 per cent, so yet again we are working on low growth. Does the minister equate low g...
Allan Wilson:
Lab
What I equate with stability are the fundamentals of economic growth. That view is held not simply by the Labour and Liberal Democrat Scottish Executive but,...
Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
Will the minister give way?
Allan Wilson:
Lab
No. I will carry on, if the member does not mind.We have almost the lowest unemployment since quarterly records began—the rate is below the UK rate for the f...
Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
The minister is fond of saying that Scotland is being subsidised by the rest of the UK to the tune of £11 billion. I do not accept that figure, but the minis...
Allan Wilson:
Lab
Unlike Mr Morgan, I am not a nationalist who thinks that the gap necessarily requires to be closed—Interruption. Members of the Scottish National Party are l...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
I welcome this afternoon's opportunity to debate the future of the Scottish economy and, in particular, support for small businesses. The debate is timely as...
Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP):
SNP
If the Conservatives are so against quangos, why does Murdo Fraser's amendment propose a new quango—a dedicated skills agency? How much would it cost? How ma...
Murdo Fraser:
Con
It will have a budget of £170 million. We are proposing to transfer away from Scottish Enterprise—which is a largely discredited organisation that deals with...
Alex Neil rose—
SNP
Murdo Fraser:
Con
Mr Neil is now going to justify that outrageous tax grab against small businesses.
Alex Neil:
SNP
Not at all—Mr Neil is simply going to ask two straightforward questions. First, how are the Conservatives going to fund the council tax rebate to pensioners ...
Murdo Fraser:
Con
We have made it perfectly clear where the money to fund our pensioner council tax discount will come from. When we move Scottish Water out of the public sect...
Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD):
LD
Will the member give way?
Murdo Fraser:
Con
Do I have time, Presiding Officer?
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
You have a maximum of about two minutes.
Murdo Fraser:
Con
I will happily give way.
Jeremy Purvis:
LD
Have the policies that Mr Fraser is outlining been met by an explosion of indifference across the country because the Tories have said that they have no desi...
Murdo Fraser:
Con
Nobody can prejudge the outcome of the election. Who knows where we will be after it? The Conservatives may be sitting here with a much expanded group and—as...
Mr Andrew Arbuckle (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD):
LD
I find it interesting that the SNP motion is on small businesses rather than the large business sector and that Jim Mather provided a pretty rosy-eyed romp t...