Budget: Scotland
Debate between Kirsty McNeill and Dave Doogan(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Kirsty McNeill)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I begin by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Livingston (Gregor Poynton) on securing this debate on the impact of the autumn Budget on Scotland, and on his very dogged advocacy on behalf of those in his constituency who need the East Calder medical centre.
The UK Government were handed a challenging inheritance: £22 billion of unfunded in-year spending pressures, debt at its highest level since the 1960s, an unrealistic forecast for departmental spending, and stagnating living standards. This Budget took difficult decisions to restore economic and fiscal stability so that this Labour Government can keep the promises we made to the Scottish people. We promised to put Scotland at the beating heart of this Government; we have. We promised to end austerity; we did. We promised we would invest in Scotland’s future; we are.
It is no surprise to me that we have heard the usual carping from Opposition parties. They simply cannot face facts, because the facts are that this was a great Budget for Scotland.
Kirsty McNeill
I will make some progress. The Budget ensured the largest real-terms Budget settlement for the Scottish Government in the whole history of devolution, with an additional £1.5 billion for the Scottish Government to spend this financial year and an additional £3.4 billion next year. It means that the Scottish Government are receiving more than 20% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending in the rest of the UK. It delivered the most for those with the least, because that is what Labour Governments do.
Kirsty McNeill
I will make some progress. The hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) and my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton) shared moving testimony about the impact of changes by the Scottish Government on rural communities. My hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Johanna Baxter) talked about the crisis in NHS and social care. The answer to all those challenges is the same: investment in our public services. That is exactly what this Budget is designed to do.
Kirsty McNeill
I will make some progress. I have been listening very intently to the speeches and chuntering from some hon. Members; I have not been taking any notes on economic credibility. The Fraser of Allander Institute, Audit Scotland and the Institute for Fiscal Studies have all confirmed that the challenges in Scotland’s public finances are a mess of the SNP’s making. As for the party that brought us Liz Truss, the verdict of the people of South West Norfolk tells us all we need to know.
I urge everyone instead to listen to my hon. Friends the Members for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie), for Airdrie and Shotts (Kenneth Stevenson), for Glasgow East (John Grady), for Edinburgh North and Leith (Tracy Gilbert) and for Glenrothes and Mid Fife (Richard Baker) about how to get Scotland growing. Our objective is not simply to rescue our economy from the havoc wrought by the Conservatives, but to grow it. That is why we support Great British Energy, providing £125 million next year to set up the institution at its new home in Aberdeen. That is a huge boost to the granite city, inexplicably voted against by the right hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn) and his fellow SNP MPs, all sent here to deliver for their constituents but who instead sought to sabotage investment that would benefit them.
I am also pleased that we have been able to confirm our commitment to invest nearly £1.4 billion into important local projects across Scotland over the next 10 years.
Kirsty McNeill
I will make some progress. Those are all the choices of a Government resolutely focused on the future. In conclusion, the Budget does exactly what Scottish Labour was elected to do. It secured billions for Scotland; the SNP voted against it.
Dave Doogan
On that point, will the Minister give way with only seven minutes to go?
Kirsty McNeill
I am going to make progress. The Budget secured billions for Scotland; the SNP voted against it. It delivered a pay rise for 200,000 of the lowest-paid Scots; the SNP voted against it. It ended Tory austerity; the SNP voted against it. The simple fact is that they are out of road, out of excuses and out of time. This Budget helps us invest in Scotland and rebuild Britain. I am proud to tell my constituents that I voted for it and I look forward to seeing all the ways that it will change Scotland for the better.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Kirsty McNeill and Dave Doogan(5 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Kirsty McNeill
Mineworkers from my own constituency of Midlothian, from my hon. Friend’s constituency and from across our coalfields powered this country, so I am delighted that our Labour manifesto committed to ending the injustice of the mineworkers’ pension scheme by conducting a review of the unfair surplus arrangements and of transferring the investment reserve fund back to members. I would be delighted to write to my hon. Friend and to other Members representing coalfield seats with a further update in due course.
Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) (SNP)
I welcome the Secretary of State to his position. He will know that the Scottish Government have their own tax-raising powers. He will remember criticising the Scottish Government for not using them, then criticising the Scottish Government when we did use them. Nevertheless, this generates £1.5 billion of extra revenue in Scotland, and taxing those who earn more slightly more allows us to tax those who earn slightly less even less than is the case in the rest of the United Kingdom. What advice would he give the Chancellor to mirror those efforts in Scotland to have a more progressive and fair tax system for our workers?
Kirsty McNeill
The Member will be aware that the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said this morning that the tax policies of the Scottish Government have actually cost Scotland money rather than raised it. He will know, too, that this Government have had to undertake a comprehensive audit of spending to make sure that we can clear up the mess that we have inherited. The £22 billion black hole is real, and the Treasury reserves have been spent more than three times over. He will be aware that the focus of the Chancellor is on making sure that we fix the foundations and get the economy back on track.