national tourism strategy, which was put in place by my good friend, Mr Fergus Ewing.
]]>I confess that I read Labour’s document “Building a business case for Scotland”—I have a copy in front of me—with interest, because I was looking for ideas and we can always learn from others. It runs to about 30 pages, 10 of which are photographs. Many of them are of Anas Sarwar and Keir Starmer staring wistfully into the middle distance. I do not quite know what they are contemplating. To be honest, the document is pretty thin gruel. I will come to some of the specifics as I go through my speech.
First, the document references Scotland’s economic performance. I am always one of the first to highlight areas for improvement, as members across the chamber know. We can always do better but, as the cabinet secretary clearly outlined, we have lower unemployment in Scotland than in the rest of the UK, had faster wage growth in Scotland than in the rest of the UK last year and have the best foreign direct investment performance outside London. Our onshore exports are growing at twice the rate of those in the rest of the UK post-Brexit and we have fewer workers below the real living wage and had higher GDP per capita growth over the past period and higher productivity growth per capita than in the rest of the UK.
We are better than the UK on many economic indicators, but that is a fairly low aspiration. We need to do better with the full powers of independence. That performance did not happen by accident. A coherent set of strategies sits behind it, including the national strategy for economic transformation, the innovation strategy and our digital, FDI, export and other strategies. Of course, we can do better on delivery, but the actions that need to be delivered are clear.
What does Labour’s document say about the specifics? It calls for a simplification of the agency landscape. Labour members might want to have a conversation with Highlands and Islands Enterprise or South of Scotland Enterprise if they have those agencies in their sights. Economic performance in the Highlands and south of Scotland has gone much better than previously as a consequence of those agencies being in place. The document then tops it all by further complicating the landscape in calling for the establishment of a council for economic growth, so it is not even coherent within itself.
The document calls for investment in ports. I do not know whether that is part of Labour’s promised £28 billion commitment to green investment—I am sorry; there is no longer that commitment, so I do not know where the port investment will come from. It also talks about ensuring that Scotland has a voice in the UK immigration system and pushing for EU visa waivers. If Labour was opposed to Brexit in the way that we are, we might get more traction in both those areas.
The document talks about exports and promoting brand Scotland by working with partners including the diaspora. Perhaps Labour has never heard of the GlobalScot programme, which is going from strength to strength, and the export strategy that is driving the export growth, which is faster in Scotland than in the rest of the UK post-Brexit, as I mentioned.
I am interested in getting Labour’s view on Scotland’s international footprint—the Scottish Development International and Scottish Government offices. The Tories are always keen to criticise that, and I would like to get Labour’s perspective in the closing remarks.
The document talks about developing a simple gateway for FDI. We already have that. It is called Scottish Development International and it is delivering on the success of Scotland performing best of all parts of the UK outside of London on foreign direct investment.
On technology, the document talks about supporting the sector to grow, digitising small and medium-sized enterprises and rolling out digitisation in the public sector. All those themes are covered in the Scottish Government’s digitisation strategy, which was developed jointly and powerfully with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.
As a result of work that has been done by Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government over recent years, the Scottish financial technology cluster is one of the leading fintech clusters anywhere in Europe. Labour’s paper does pay tribute to one Scottish Government strategy—the Logan review, which the Government commissioned from the chief entrepreneur. The document discusses that review’s importance, so I give Labour credit for recognising the value of some Scottish Government work.
Labour’s document throws in a comment about “learning from Silicon Valley”, and I would like to get the Labour Party’s perspective on the visit to silicon valley by the Minister for Small Business, Innovation, Tourism and Trade, Mr Lochhead, to learn from people there, as Labour identified that he should do. All that we heard from Opposition members about that visit was criticism of the minister’s taxi fare, rather than understanding of what we have to learn from others internationally. That was a ridiculous piece of nonsense.
]]>No one doubts the minister’s commitment to decarbonising heat in buildings, but commitment and delivery are not necessarily the same thing. Developers in my constituency tell me that they are still permitted to build new houses with gas boilers and that they will continue doing so for at least the next two years. How many buildings across the country have been decarbonised since the minister took office two and a half years ago? How long will it take to deliver net zero across the remainder of Scotland’s housing stock at that rate?
]]>During my time as a minister, I watched Scottish supply chain companies around the world making the transition. They went from 90 per cent supporting the oil and gas sector to 50 per cent or more supporting the renewables sector. Businesses—both the oil majors and the supply chain businesses—understand the need for the transition, and the Scottish Government continues to support it.
What it is most important to recognise is that the way to end fuel poverty in an energy-rich Scotland, to ensure that investment takes place in infrastructure and to ensure that the transition is just is not by making the same mistakes that we made in the 1970s but by ensuring that Scotland has the powers to deliver the benefit of its vast and enduring renewables potential. We should have the powers of a normal, independent country.
]]>As we all know, oil and gas was always going to be a finite resource, and our modern understanding of climate change drivers makes it even more so. SNP members are clear in our understanding that, had we had the power to do what Norway has done since the 1970s, an independent Scotland would now be one of the richest countries in the world. We should remember that, in the 1960s, Norway was poorer than Scotland. Having made that mistake once, we now have the opportunity to do it right the second time around. Like someone who bought the winning lottery ticket, lost it and then bought the winning lottery ticket again the next week, we need to take advantage of the opportunity that we have been presented with.
The renewable energy revolution finds Scotland at its heart. As well as vast natural resources, Scotland has expertise in deepwater technology, a global reputation in energy and a highly skilled workforce, and the Government has invested in that technology to make sure that it is developed in order that we can maximise the opportunities for renewable energy development that exist in our country.
]]>I understand that His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is collecting longitudinal data on the movement of tax per location between Scotland and the rest of the UK, and vice versa. Is the minister aware of when that data will be available and whether it will be separated by tax band?
]]>Appropriately, I will move on to industry. The defence strategy recognises the need to focus on Scotland’s defence needs and on the role of the Scottish defence industry within that. That sector would, to a significant extent, continue to support the maritime needs of Scotland’s defence strategy. An independent Scotland would also have control of its arms export regime. That would allow us to align that with our human rights-based approach to international relations, which is quite different from the UK Government’s approach. We could use the internationally well regarded vision for trade that we have already set out in a Scottish Government document as a model to inform how we align our arms export regime with our human rights principles and others.
The commitment to a non-nuclear Scotland is absolutely central to the document and to the SNP’s approach, which is unlike that of the Labour party. There will be no new nuclear weapons on Scottish soil, a position that is similar to that of most other NATO member states. I welcome the cabinet secretary’s commitment to maintain our position on international nuclear non-proliferation and prohibition treaties.
Scotland is well equipped to be an independent nation. In fact, when we achieve our independence, we will be the best prepared country ever to become a full member of the international community. The paper takes us one more step along the road towards independence as that becomes the settled will of the Scottish people.
]]>Scotland already operates internationally in the trade and investment environment through the network of Scottish Government and Scottish Development International offices that are already working with partners, including through Nordic partnerships. The success of team Scotland makes this the best-performing part of the UK outside London when it comes to attracting inward investment, and it means that we have the fastest-growing rebound of onshore exports post-Brexit.
We must recognise the success that Scotland can deliver. One of the mistakes that Mr Hoy’s party and others make when they try to pooh-pooh Scotland’s international footprint is that they fail to recognise the jobs, investment and export success that that footprint delivers as a consequence of Scotland being able to project itself on the world stage.
I look forward to being a full member of the European Union, reversing the disaster of Brexit and having access to one of the biggest markets in the world. This party, unlike the Labour and Tory parties and now even the Lib Dems—I apologise to Willie Rennie, but I have to say that again—remains committed to Scotland being a full member of the European Union.
The paper also addresses the future defence and security arrangements of an independent Scotland, recognising Scotland’s key geographical position and our commitment to working with neighbours and partners on broader defence issues.
]]>I welcome the paper, which is part of the “Building a New Scotland” series and lays out how an independent Scotland would thrive as one of the independent nations of the world. The paper is particularly important because it covers Scotland’s international relationships. Scotland looks forward to taking its place as a full member of the international community, projecting our human rights values on to the world stage, working in partnership with others and addressing global challenges in defence, security, human rights, international development and, of course, climate change—to Scotland being a good global citizen. That is very much in contrast with the approach of Westminster. The cabinet secretary has already outlined the stark contrast between the approach of the Scottish Parliament and the views of the Scottish people and the approach of Westminster when it comes to demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Eleven papers have been published so far, and the area of international relations offers the most opportunity for progress and change when Scotland becomes an independent country. Scotland has the opportunity to truly make its mark on the international stage.
I thank Craig Hoy for spending some minutes of his speech outlining the high regard in which Scotland is held in countries around the world. There is widespread international awareness of the nation of Scotland, and I think that he would struggle to find any other sub-national entity that has such recognition in Singapore, China and other countries around the world, whether that is in terms of our history, our culture, our trade relations or the iconic products that Scotland exports around the world. The education in our universities is world renowned, and there are so many international students here. This summer, we will celebrate the Scottish national men’s football team taking part in the European championships in Germany.
]]>I look forward to the Scottish Government providing stage 2 amendments by 29 March, as was asked for by the committee. That will enable the committee to undertake extended stage 2 scrutiny in order to meet the timetable that has been laid out. I am glad that the minister confirmed during the debate that the amendments will be lodged by that date.
I know that the Government takes the bill very seriously as a priority, and I understand that the team that is working on it now numbers 160 civil servants. We have been given assurances by civil servants that there is no lack of resource being deployed on developing those amendments and taking forward proposals to thrash out the details of the bill as amended.
I would like to focus briefly on the finance proposals in the operating model, which I have looked through over the past couple of days, and on the fact sheet that was provided and the minister’s responses. There is a commitment to have a clearer funding model with greater transparency, and there is a provision for ministers and the board to fund specific local activities directly in certain circumstances, but I would like clarity from the minister on that. That seems to suggest that the bulk of the funding—around £5 billion in total, I think—will continue to flow, as it does presently, either through health boards or through local authorities. Some clarity on that—on what is meant by the suggestion of greater transparency in the funding flows—would be helpful.
A key priority that is critical to get right for the whole sector is its pay rates. The commitment to, and delivery of, a minimum of £12 per hour is welcome, as it takes everyone to at least the real living wage and shows that the mechanism was already in place to deliver that in advance of the bill. That increase and future increases towards £15 per hour will help to tackle the sector’s major challenges in recruitment and retention, notwithstanding the impact of Brexit, immigration restrictions and the lack of devolution of immigration to Scotland, which have significantly hampered the sector.
We all recognise that that pay rate and the taking forward of the wider fair work agenda are absolutely critical. However, I make the point that that is not only to the benefit of the staff and those who are served in the social care sector. Because of the scale of that sector, any additional pay increases that are delivered to its workers have a wider economic benefit not just in how that money is spent, but in driving the labour market in the private sector to increase wages across other sectors that, unfortunately, still suffer from low wages. I suggest that that is one of the most cost-effective ways in which the Government can tackle poverty across society more generally.
In conclusion, I hope that the debate can now move on to issues of substance in the Government’s proposals and to amendments to the format of the delivery of the national care service. I look forward to the details of the Government’s main amendments—as do stakeholders, so that they can take their positions on those—and I look forward to the further evidence that we will take at stage 2 and our engagement with stakeholders on that. I welcome the Government’s commitment to supporting the committee and others in that work, because, as I said at the outset, it is critically important that we get this right, to deliver for generations now and into the future.
]]>There is a commitment to provide long-term sustainable solutions to the challenges that we face not just in Scotland and the UK, but internationally, and to build on the work of the Feeley review, which lays out clearly the steps that need to be taken.
I suggest that everyone can agree with the general principles that are articulated in the bill as introduced, such as the recognition that spending on social care is an investment in society; the need for financial stability; the commitment to fair work; the human rights focus; the importance of dignity, equality and inclusion; and the commitment to co-design. I think that, so far, everyone can absolutely sign up to those principles.
It is unfortunate that too much of the recent debate on the bill has focused on process. It is important that we recognise that process is there for good reasons. It is there to ensure that we make good legislation that delivers on the principles that are clearly articulated in the bill. It is important to get that right.
It has been recognised in the debate that the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee and other committees have identified uncertainties in the proposals that have been laid out, and significant changes have been made to the bill as introduced in order to arrive at the proposals that have been agreed with the Government, which the minister and COSLA have articulated over the past few months and which have been taken forward in the co-design process.
I very much welcome the provision by the minister and the Government of the target operating model, which came out in the past two days, and the fact sheet that was sent to MSPs alongside that.
]]>We live in an increasingly competitive international economy. Countries around the globe are developing their education systems at depth and scale. That is great for economic development, but it makes the situation even more competitive—I think that India has about 2.5 million STEM graduates annually, which is what we are competing against. Scotland’s competitive advantage will involve building on our strong educational legacy to stay ahead of those trends and our competitors.
The availability of skills is a key issue for inward investment and business growth, and it is the factor that inward investors identify most when they come to Scotland. The issue is not how much money Scottish Enterprise gives them or anything else that is going on, but the great skills pipeline that we have coming through our higher and further education system. It is hugely important that that continues to keep us in pole position.
Employers and businesses need meta skills—critical thinking, innovation, interpersonal skills, teamwork and much more—as well as students and young people who are coming through the system with knowledge. The combination of both is critically important. Technology does not solve all problems. We cannot google everything; it is absolutely essential that we understand the answers that come up and how to apply them. It is important that that builds on and supports the curriculum for excellence agenda.
The review identified the importance of project learning, which is a key part of the proposed Scottish diploma of achievement. It was welcome to hear the cabinet secretary mention that in her opening remarks. Project work allows learners to develop meta skills through work in areas that they have an interest in. It is also important that project work that involves business start-up ideas brings out entrepreneurial skills, as was cited in many cases that were mentioned in the review.
The work of the review needs to be closely aligned with the work of the national strategy for economic transformation in two ways. First, it must align with the skills actions, which are one of the five pillars of the national strategy for economic transformation. There should be close alignment on how the work will be taken into the economic space. Secondly, it needs to align with our drive to create more entrepreneurial start-ups, and it needs to enthuse young people by giving them the understanding that that is a legitimate, worthwhile and encouraged career path for them. The encouragement of meta skills and project-based learning helps to draw that out among young people and to highlight the link between curriculum work and what they may choose to do in their future career.
As all members do, I spend time visiting schools in my constituency and engaging with young people, and because of the work that I did when I was a minister and work that I continue to do to engage with the business community, I go from the school environment to talk to businesses that are in Scotland’s tremendous, world-leading growth sectors, such as space, life science, financial technology, financial services, advanced manufacturing and many others besides.
Creating that link strikes me as being somewhat challenging. There could be understanding in the school environment of the opportunities in the work environment and of the well-paid jobs and fulfilling careers that exist in the sectors of the future. We need to do anything that we can to ensure that young people, their teachers and others in the school environment understand how changes to the curriculum can lead to worthwhile and profitable career opportunities. Businesses are keen to be part of that work.
I am glad that the Government is doing this work. It is hugely important that it continues to engage with businesses and other employers, which happened as part of the Hayward review. It also needs to continue to engage with others in the education system, including teachers, parents, pupils and staff.
]]>My next point is about spending. A lot of numbers are thrown around about the spends of different portfolios. It is important to go below the bonnet on that, to understand, below those headline numbers, how effective each spend is. Christie gives us the road map and underlining principles to take forward that work to understand how effectively and efficiently that money is spent in each portfolio and what the opportunities are for the removal of duplication and more effective and efficient public service delivery.
The public sector reform agenda needs to pick up pace, and I look forward to that being taken forward with clear metrics on what we are measuring and comparisons across different organisations—all 129 of the Scottish Government’s agencies and non-departmental public bodies. Data on the details of the spend—how much is spent in the back office versus the front line—is hugely important for each of those bodies. It is important that we understand the delivery of funding streams, in order to make those as streamlined and efficient as possible. We have spoken about the estates strategy, and there is much more besides.
What is really important, as a number of members have raised, is to recognise the lack of powers of the Parliament and the Government—for example, on economic levers around company law and tax, and levers around employment law to drive up low wages. The Labour Party has refused to support the delegation of that to the Scottish Parliament.
There is a lack of borrowing powers, which Scotland needs to have as normal independent countries do. Only with those full powers of independence can we deliver on the potential of the Scottish economy.
]]>I will focus on how we strengthen that social contract and maximise the funds available to support front-line services. The Scottish Government absolutely recognises the importance of delivering an expanding tax base to fund that social contract.
I will first talk about how we can broaden the tax base, ensuring that more taxpayers are paying more tax and that we have more higher-rate taxpayers in Scotland. We all agree with the progressive principle, but it is hugely important to understand where we are in that regard and to monitor that to ensure that the policies we are executing deliver more, not less, revenue.
We need to understand the percentage of revenue lost due to behavioural changes, doing so both through the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s theoretical calculations and by understanding what is happening in reality. We know that more people are moving to Scotland from the rest of the UK than are moving in the other direction. We must continue monitoring that very closely. I look forward with interest to the longitudinal data that will soon be published by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and that will track how Scottish and UK taxpayers move, so that we can understand in more detail the effect of the tax changes that have been rolled out in the past few years. We must also understand the multiplier effect, which is not only about tax revenue but about the money that is spent within the broader economy as a consequence.
My second point is about the need to broaden types of tax. It is important to recognise the need to move beyond income tax to have a coherent policy on property taxes. I very much welcome the Deputy First Minister’s commitment to take that work forward and review those property taxes, so that we can have more progressive and proportionate taxation as a consequence. I also welcome the commitment to work towards more decentralisation, particularly of the general power of competence, to give councils more power to address broader issues.
]]>We must recognise and appreciate the UK Government’s fiscal context; the drag caused by Brexit, which is pulling down our economy; and the fallout that we are still living with from the disastrous experiment in Trussonomics, which we see in the numbers that the Deputy First Minister laid out today. That will not get any easier when UK Labour is rapidly back-pedalling on its commitments, whether those are on green investment or support for social security payments.
We should be proud of our values, of the social contract between the Government and people of Scotland, of the provision of universal services and of the principle that those who can afford to pay more should do so. I will list those services, because we sometimes forget about them: free tuition fees, free prescriptions, free travel for the under-22s, free school meals, free childcare, and free dental services for those under 26. Of course, there is also the Scottish child payment, among many more benefits.
We should be proud of the work that the Scottish Government has done to embed that social contract and of its acceptance by the people of Scotland. However, part of that social contract should be to continue ensuring that we have excellent delivery of those services and that we spend taxpayers’ money as efficiently and effectively as possible.
]]>