Committee
Local Government and Regeneration Committee 28 October 2015
28 Oct 2015 · S4 · Local Government and Regeneration Committee
Item of business
Draft Budget Scrutiny 2016-17
Cabinet secretary, I return to the issue of city deals and regional inequity that you mentioned. Some of my colleagues have mentioned that as a potential concern, and I have that concern too as a representative of Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley, which is an area where, the last time that I looked, there are no cities. What are the criteria that enable a region to participate in the city deal process? How might the impact on an area such as Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley be assessed? For example, the Glasgow and Clyde valley city deal might set a new course of direction for economic development that might have an impact on us. How could we influence that or be protected from something that might not be in the interests of that part of Ayrshire?
In the same item of business
The Convener
SNP
Item 2, which is evidence on the draft budget 2016-17, is our substantive item for today. The committee has been focusing its budget scrutiny on issues to do...
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy (John Swinney)
I do, convener. I welcome the opportunity to meet the committee this morning and address the issues in connection with the forthcoming Scottish Government bu...
The Convener
SNP
Thank you, Mr Swinney. In the course of our deliberations on the issue, a number of us went to Manchester, where we heard about the cuts to local government ...
John Swinney
The issue comes down to an assessment of the exercise of the fiduciary—I fear that I will struggle with that word all morning—duty that pension scheme manage...
The Convener
SNP
We talked the other week to someone from Strathclyde Pension Fund, who did not seem to have a difficulty with that pension fund investing in arms companies, ...
John Swinney
The option exists for the people who are responsible for pension schemes to set pension policy and investment priorities that provide appropriate parameters ...
The Convener
SNP
The United Kingdom Government has made some changes to pension rules. What impact will those have on the local government pensions in Scotland?
John Swinney
In which respect, convener?
The Convener
SNP
I understand that there have been some changes to UK pension rules that might have an impact on costs and have a major impact on local government pensions. D...
John Swinney
The reforms of the local government pension scheme are consistent with the legislation that the United Kingdom Parliament passed on pensions reform following...
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind)
Ind
Good morning, Deputy First Minister. On ethical choices, some concern has been raised about some of the investments that have been made not only in the local...
John Swinney
The scheme advisory board and the scheme managers have a responsibility to formulate policy decisions that can be considered to be appropriate. The Governmen...
John Wilson
Ind
Will you outline what the Scottish Government’s role would be in guiding or advising the Scottish Public Pensions Agency and the scheme advisory board? The p...
John Swinney
That is not about guidance on ethical investment. It is about operational matters and the work plan for what the scheme advisory board is doing about routine...
John Wilson
Ind
Thank you for that clarification. It is useful to get that on the record, so that there is no confusion about the role of the Government regarding the adviso...
John Swinney
That goes back to one of the points that I made in my opening remarks. There is a balance to be struck between encouraging that type of infrastructure invest...
Clare Adamson (Central Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
I wish to ask you about some of the pressures that you might see coming to local councils in future. I am thinking, in particular, about the change to the pe...
John Swinney
I am in a slightly disadvantaged position in that we are having this conversation in advance of the outcome of the spending review on 25 November, when any q...
Clare Adamson
SNP
Some councils in Scotland have yet to completely settle on equal pay and job evaluation. Does the fact that there is an unknown liability for some councils c...
John Swinney
The situation causes me concern for two reasons. One is because of the unknown liability, which you mention, although I suspect that the liability is pretty ...
The Convener
SNP
We are here to scrutinise the budget, but that is a little difficult because of the lateness of the autumn statement. Obviously, that causes you difficulty, ...
John Swinney
There is never any grief caused to me—I just glide past it all, convener.
The Convener
SNP
You are all calm and collected.
John Swinney
Obviously, the timing is not ideal and I would not begin to suggest that it is anything other than inconvenient. Normally, I present a budget to Parliament b...
John Wilson
Ind
On that point, we have had a spate of announcements by local authorities throughout Scotland on the budget savings that they will have to make. One authority...
John Swinney
They can only be doing that by making a range of assumptions about the budget that have not been informed by decisions that I have taken. That is the only wa...
John Wilson
Ind
Or they could be based on their own understanding of the financial commitments that you entered into a decade ago.
John Swinney
Those factors will be relevant, and the private finance initiative burden will be a particular strain on local authorities that have committed to that approach.
The Convener
SNP
We went to Manchester, we have been to Inverclyde and we have taken evidence on city deals. I was at the launch of the Aberdeen city deal bid in Parliament l...
John Swinney
We are supportive. While you were at the Aberdeen city deal launch in Edinburgh last night, I was in Aberdeen with a business audience discussing that very q...