Scotland Bill

Debate between Fiona Bruce and Sheila Gilmore

Monday 14th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sheila Gilmore]

It is important that we move forward on these tax powers for the Scottish Parliament. The big difference between these proposals and the ones in the Scotland Act 1998 are that these apply to all the different rates of tax. The structure being used and the fact that there will be a corresponding reduction in the block grant will deliver to the Scottish Parliament a real ability to make decisions, be accountable and test how well these things work. We wanted that in Scotland and we need it, but that is not to say that the arrangements will not have any complications and that there is no need to be clear about the answers to some of these questions. Some could be covered by regulations that are to follow, but there is always an anxiety involved in depending too much on detailed regulations, as opposed to primary legislation.

I wish to discuss two particular areas, one of which is tax avoidance and the provisions that the Government suggest we put in place to deal with it. The last thing that we would want is for those who have the ability to arrange their tax affairs in different ways to be able to avoid paying this tax, as that would harm the Scottish economy and undermine the whole principle behind what we are trying to achieve. We need to know what provisions will be put in place to deal with tax avoidance in the future. My hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North (Ann McKechin) mentioned the self-employed, and they are also important. It is easier for them to arrange their tax affairs in a beneficial way, whereas those of us on PAYE may not be able to do that. It is important for self-employed people to know exactly how this system will work for them, particularly if they generate earnings in different parts of the United Kingdom, as it is quite possible for such people to generate.

I also have concerns about the future interrelationship between the benefits system and the tax system. This is important because the way in which benefits are calculated for some people depends on their income after tax, which means that a variation in tax will affect benefits. The Government may be clear that systems will be in place to deal with that very quickly, but the last thing that people on benefits need is any uncertainty about their income. They need to know how any increases in their income, and therefore in their tax liability, or any decreases in their income will affect them, because at that level of income people suffer particularly badly when changes are made. If the Welfare Reform Bill proceeds in full, we will be moving towards a new benefits system at just about the same time as some of these new powers come into force, so it is important to get this right. I urge the Government to provide answers to these questions, if not now, in time for Report, so that we can be clear about how this interrelationship will work.

[Fiona Bruce]

May I begin by telling hon. Members how pleased I am that, after a thorough independent evaluation of the devolution settlement in Scotland, this Government have been quick to legislate on this issue, fulfilling a manifesto commitment of more than one party in this House? After more than a decade, the time is right to assess the implications and consequences of the devolution settlement.

I shall now speak generally in support of the provisions of clause 26. The Calman commission review predates the economic crisis, but the need to recover the UK’s economic strength makes this issue ever more important. It is clear that economic growth will be driven by enterprise in local communities. Creating a Scottish rate of income tax will give the Scottish Government more responsibility over not only how they spend revenue, but how they raise it. That is a crucial discipline, which we hope will increase the likelihood that fiscal decisions will reflect the needs and priorities of Scotland, the Scottish economy and, most importantly, the people of Scotland. This is an opportunity for genuine fiscal accountability.

The proposals outlined in the Bill are not entirely new, but they do mark the next stage of the devolution settlement for Scotland. The existing Scottish variable rate gives the Scottish Government the power to raise or reduce the basic level of income tax. As Donald Dewar, the original First Minister, said, the Scottish variable rate

“asks the Scottish Parliament to face real financial choices and makes it, in a sense, more directly accountable to the people it represents.”—[Official Report, 31 July 1997; Vol. 299, c. 465.]

However, as we have discussed tonight, the Scottish variable rate has previously been only somewhat theoretical, in that it has never been employed as a tool to influence the economic fortunes of Scotland. That raises the question of whether the new rate will be any different, but I believe that it will be. I believe that the Scottish Government can and will enjoy more financial responsibility through the radical proposals in the Bill. More importantly, the proposals have the propensity to have long-lasting positive effects in Scotland.

To understand that, we have only to ask ourselves how our constituents—no matter which part of the UK we represent—would respond if more funding were raised and distributed locally, rather than by central Government. If that were the case, I am sure that my constituents would take an even greater interest in what their money was spent on and would be able to assess more easily whether politicians were responding to local priorities. Although the provisions relating to Scotland are based at the national level, not the local one, the same phenomenon should apply. This move should strengthen democratic accountability and bolster political engagement in Scottish communities.

I am sure that I am not the only hon. Member recently to have received letters from constituents unhappy about the level of block grant funding given to the devolved nations and, in particular, concerned that there is a difference in funding for certain policy areas, such as university fees and prescription charges. What needs to be communicated more effectively is how the Scottish Government can prioritise their funding. In England, all funding is distributed by the UK Government but in Scotland, the UK Government pay for national—that is, UK-wide—public services, such as defence and industry, and the block grant funding is distributed by the Scottish Government and pays for devolved powers: education, various aspects of health policy and so on. As a result, although decisions on funding in England must involve national, regional and local priorities, the Scottish Government can spend their block grant funding on regional and local issues only.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sheila Gilmore]

Will the hon. Lady concede, nevertheless, that choices are made about how to spend that block grant and that if a Scottish Government make a choice about how to deal with university funding, they do so to the potential detriment of other funding? The decisions that have been taken in this place about tuition fees and the reduction of the teaching grant for universities have had a considerable impact on Scotland, so we are not somehow free from those decisions.

[Fiona Bruce]

The hon. Lady makes a valid point and that is why I prefaced my remarks with the phrase, “What needs to be communicated more effectively is how the Scottish Government can prioritise their funding.” By that, I meant that checks and balances are involved and that that needs to be communicated nationwide. A greater understanding of that needs to be gained.

Savings Accounts and Health in Pregnancy Grant Bill

Debate between Fiona Bruce and Sheila Gilmore

Monday 22nd November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sheila Gilmore]

Let me offer these words to the House:

“Simply put the Child Trust fund started people saving for children again. Since its introduction, child saving across all schemes and products has risen. We should acknowledge that asset building for children became a widespread reality in the UK through the introduction of the Child Trust Fund in 2005, and it quickly became an internationally renowned example of a long term tax free savings and investment account for children, one which encouraged saving and promoted an understanding of personal finance.”

Those are not my words but the words of Phillip Blond, in a new pamphlet called, “Asset Building for Children—Creating a new civic savings platform for young people”. I did not expect to be speaking his words, let alone encouraging the Minister to listen to them.

[Fiona Bruce]

It is correct that families have engaged in, and benefited from, the improved financial awareness that was one of the stated aims of the child trust fund. However, the evidence given by Dr Samantha Callan, a witness to the Committee, said that of parents who opened child trust funds,

“99%...have not received the maximum funding available. Therefore, it is not those on the lowest income that are actually taking the initiative to open the accounts.”––[Official Report, Savings Accounts and Health in Pregnancy Grant Public Bill Committee, 4 November 2010; c. 102, Q253.]

That means that they are not benefiting from the financial education and engagement that the funds were aimed at providing.

--- Later in debate ---

[Fiona Bruce]

I support the abolition of the health in pregnancy grant, not least because £150 million a year could simply be better spent on improving the life chances of our younger generation—for example, by reducing the deficit and the burden that they would otherwise bear as a result for years to come. The grant is poorly focused, poorly targeted and poorly timed. It is poorly focused because it does not have to be spent on nutritious food or on the health and well-being of the mother or child, as was originally intended. As Dr Callan of the Centre for Social Justice said in evidence:

“There was absolutely no guarantee that the grant would be spent on nutritious food.”––[Official Report, Savings Accounts and Health in Pregnancy Grant Public Bill Committee, 4 November 2010; c. 116, Q279.]

Indeed, the Committee heard evidence to the contrary, as has tonight been confirmed by a Labour Member.

The grant is poorly targeted because it is paid to the better-off and not just those who really need extra financial help in pregnancy. I find that quite offensive, as someone who—along with many of, if not all, my colleagues on this side of the House—shares a real desire to improve the life chances of the less well-off.

[Sheila Gilmore]

On that basis, if the hon. Lady feels so strongly about it, why has she not advocated that the grant should be retained but restricted to the groups that she feels need it most? I am not saying that that is my point of view, but I was not aware that she or her colleagues were proposing it.

[Fiona Bruce]

The hon. Lady makes a valid point: we are continuing the Sure Start maternity grant and the healthy start vouchers because their benefit is that they really hit their target, which is some half a million mothers in difficult circumstances who obtain vouchers from the 10th week of pregnancy to buy vegetables, vitamins, fruit and other healthy foods.