Malcolm Chisholm: 4. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Office for National Statistics regarding the implications of the European system of accounts 2010. (S4O-04731)
Malcolm Chisholm: Have the discussions led the cabinet secretary to believe that it will be possible to unlock the delayed capital investment without a massive hit on up-front capital expenditure? Have his officials had discussions about university funding, about which there is considerable concern? I believe that Universities Scotland has had discussions and has come to conclusions that are quite different...
Malcolm Chisholm: I will spend the first part of my speech dispelling Tory myths about tax credits and the second part exposing SNP myths about why nothing can be done. Tax credits were one of the great achievements of the previous Labour Government. The IFS said in 2003 that they were “a substantial reform” whose “distributional impact is fully in keeping with that of past Labour reforms, with the...
Malcolm Chisholm: The fact of the matter is that there are fewer people on tax credits now than there were under the Labour Government. I accept that, but Murdo Fraser should have acknowledged that, at this moment—before the cuts—less than 50 per cent of working families are on tax credits. In a way, we have already moved on from Alistair Darling’s comment from a few years ago. Torsten Bell of the...
Malcolm Chisholm: Our costings are in excess of what is required to restore tax credits. We have made a choice and we will always make choices that lead to improvements for working families and a more equal society. We should remember that the choice involves no extra tax increases; it just means a different choice from other parties about tax reduction. The amendment from the SNP Government says that this...
Malcolm Chisholm: It is interesting—
Malcolm Chisholm: It is interesting that the Government is thinking up new arguments that it obviously had not thought about for its amendment.
Malcolm Chisholm: My last word is that the SNP may think that being all things to all people is a good strategy for building support for a referendum, but it is a useless strategy for creating a fairer and more equal society and, for some of us, that is the purpose of politics.
Malcolm Chisholm: For me, the arguments against Trident are moral, legal, financial and strategic, but I also take very seriously the concerns of those who are in Trident-related employment. We must take action to secure their future. To those of us who have been opposed to nuclear weapons for decades, the moral arguments have been of supreme importance, but that should not lead to an attitude of moral...
Malcolm Chisholm: 2. To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that charities with social welfare objectives should make ethical investment decisions that are consistent with those objectives rather than seek to maximise income at all costs. (S4O-04699)
Malcolm Chisholm: Given that some charities seem to think that they are obliged to achieve the maximum possible income when they dispose of assets or make investment decisions, will the Government issue guidance that makes it clear that it is perfectly proper for charities—especially charities with social welfare objectives—to take account of community benefit and community harm when they dispose of assets...
Malcolm Chisholm: I welcome the principles of the Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Bill, which aims to make the higher education system more modern, inclusive and accountable. It is right to rebalance the power of university governing bodies to increase transparency and accountability and to have more involvement of staff and students. To that extent, I agree with the Scottish Government and, if it can...
Malcolm Chisholm: I congratulate Patricia Ferguson on securing the debate on this important motion, which focuses on healthcare in the most deprived general practice populations. The general problems of general practice, which we debated on 1 September, are highly relevant to the subject. For example, we know about the recruitment and retention problems, and Richard Simpson has reminded us that the level of...
Malcolm Chisholm: I apologise for having to leave soon to chair a meeting of the cross-party group on rare diseases that was due to start at 5.30 but cannot start until I am there. I congratulate Sandra White on securing the debate and reminding us again of the desperate situation in Gaza, which is graphically described in the report from the United Nations Trade and Development Board. Although members have...
Malcolm Chisholm: The report contains many important recommendations, all of which I agree with. I suppose that the most controversial part relates to the Fiscal Commission, and we should welcome the fact that the convener and other SNP members have been willing to challenge the Government both on the need for the commission to carry out its own forecasts, and through the committee’s recommendation that the...
Malcolm Chisholm: I absolutely agree with that. The block grant adjustment is a key issue for the whole fiscal framework, and the Finance Committee has emphasised that the calculation of the block grant must be “open and transparent”, which clearly it is not now and never has been. We need the right initial adjustment to the block grant and then, crucially, fair indexation. That has already been...
Malcolm Chisholm: I welcome Clare’s law and the other initiatives that the First Minister announced in her first answer, but I can tell her that at the cross-party group on men’s violence against women last night there was some discussion about the specific offence of domestic abuse that was in the consultation paper. Can she tell us why there has been a delay in introducing such a law, and can she give a...
Malcolm Chisholm: I congratulate James Dornan on bringing this most important issue to the chamber, and I welcome the opportunity to recognise the many great charities that work across Scotland to welcome and support refugees and asylum seekers. People who arrive on our shores are fleeing unimaginable hardship and conflict, and humanity calls on us to see them not as statistics, but as individuals—women, men...
Malcolm Chisholm: I am not quite sure how anyone could doubt that there is a strong link between the sex trade and human trafficking. Clearly there are other aspects of human trafficking, but we cannot deny that strong link. It is necessary to look at tackling demand. Much of the written evidence on the bill highlighted that, including evidence from the Scottish Trades Union Congress and the trafficking...
Malcolm Chisholm: As Jenny Marra said, today is a proud day for the Scottish Parliament and it has been four years in the making. However, as she reminded us, it is merely the first step in the fight against human trafficking. What happens from now on will determine how successful the bill is. There are many people to thank. I congratulate the Government; the committee; the cross-party group on human...
