Malcolm Chisholm: 5. To ask the First Minister what level of public expenditure the Scottish Government considers necessary in order to end austerity. (S4F-02757)
Malcolm Chisholm: I am sure that the First Minister would like to end austerity, although I advise her to dump full fiscal autonomy in that case. However, is not her whole strategy based on distorting and misrepresenting Labour’s fair plan to end austerity, which the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said will deliver more spending at the end of the next Parliament than her proposals? Is she not ashamed of...
Malcolm Chisholm: Three GPs have recently left the Leith Links medical practice in my constituency and it has been unable to recruit replacements. As a result, 2,000 patients have been told that they must leave the practice, which is causing great concern in my constituency. I hear what the cabinet secretary says about the range of measures that are being taken, but does she realise the urgency of the...
Malcolm Chisholm: As other members have pointed out, two of the main concerns that are most frequently raised about TTIP involve the inclusion of the health service and the controversial investor-state dispute settlement. I will talk about both those things, but first there is the overwhelming concern of many inquiry witnesses that the discussions on TTIP have not been open and transparent. It seems almost...
Malcolm Chisholm: I am sorry—I am not in a position to state what Labour’s position on that is, although I know that Labour has certainly expressed concerns about the health service and about ISDS, which I will now move on to, given that the inclusion of ISDS would potentially add insult to injury and would be completely unacceptable. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy spoke in...
Malcolm Chisholm: I congratulate George Adam on introducing once again a debate on this important subject and on championing the cause, following in the footsteps of the Presiding Officer. I also welcome the MS Society to the Parliament this week. It has been my privilege and, I am sure, the privilege of many members to talk to it, read its materials and learn from it. It is a feature of neurological...
Malcolm Chisholm: Will the minister take an intervention?
Malcolm Chisholm: Various organisations, such as MND Scotland and Parkinson’s UK, have concerns about funding for the Neurological Alliance, so will he agree to meet them to discuss it?
Malcolm Chisholm: 3. To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to the kind of nurse-led initiatives highlighted in the Royal College of Nursing Scotland campaign, nursing at the edge. (S4O-04236)
Malcolm Chisholm: Does the cabinet secretary agree that, as well as taking general action to deal with inequalities in society, it is important that the health service should have specific initiatives to address the needs of those who are most disadvantaged and vulnerable in society, and that the kind of nurse-led initiatives that the RCN highlights are a very important part of that? Will the cabinet secretary...
Malcolm Chisholm: I am sure that we all agree that it would be in the interests of the health of many people in Scotland if a much higher percentage of fresh local food was used in schools and hospitals. Will the Government undertake, in partnership with Food Standards Scotland, to actively and vigorously promote appropriate public sector procurement practices to further that objective?
Malcolm Chisholm: I welcome the opportunity to discuss the important relationship between Scotland and Europe, and our shared goals over the coming years. Our committees play a vital role in scrutiny of how effective that relationship is, thereby ensuring that we as a Parliament fulfil our commitments. Scotland’s policy relationship with Europe is important for achieving stable growth through...
Malcolm Chisholm: 5. To ask the First Minister what services will be supported by the recently announced £20 million to help tackle domestic abuse. (S4F-02714)
Malcolm Chisholm: I am sure that the First Minister supports the Edinburgh domestic abuse court service, which helps to ensure the safety of women who are experiencing domestic abuse as well as ensure their access to justice. However, does she realise that the service, which is run by Edinburgh Women’s Aid, is facing a shortfall of £147,000 from 1 June? Will she therefore use some of the domestic abuse...
Malcolm Chisholm: 13. To ask the Scottish Government whether it supports more progressive taxation for those on the very highest incomes and those with the most expensive properties. (S4O-04196)
Malcolm Chisholm: I welcome the fact that the cabinet secretary has played catch-up with Labour on the 50p tax rate for those with the highest incomes, contradicting what Alex Salmond said on “The Andrew Marr Show” 10 days ago. Will the cabinet secretary now go further and also support a mansion tax, to provide extra money for the national health service; a bankers’ bonus tax, to provide a job and...
Malcolm Chisholm: Linda Fabiani, like other SNP members during the last few weeks and no doubt over the next five weeks, does not want to talk about full fiscal autonomy, so I shall come to that in a moment, as it is the main subject of the debate today. Of course what the SNP does want to talk about, as we heard at the end of the cabinet secretary’s speech, is the alleged unity of Labour and the...
Malcolm Chisholm: As Jim Eadie knows—this again undercuts the SNP’s central charge—the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which has rightly been much quoted in the debate, has made it clear that there is a much smaller gap between Labour and the SNP proposals than there is between the proposals of Labour and the Conservatives. I support Labour’s proposals, with the proviso that the gap between them and the...
Malcolm Chisholm: Will the cabinet secretary give way?
Malcolm Chisholm: Forgive me for saying so, but I notice that John Swinney is still reluctant to talk about full fiscal autonomy. If he listened to the full first half of my speech, he will know that I dealt with all the issues that he mentioned. The simple summary is that the Labour Party is not signed up to the Conservative Party’s cuts. The IFS has pointed to the £30 billion gap between Labour spending...
