John Swinney: The performance of any country’s economy is not an abstract concept. The prospects for the economy, as well as its focus, are fundamental to the life chances of every person in our society. They affect the living standards of our people, the ability of people to fulfil their potential and the choices that we can make about how we use our resources. They all, as is at the heart of the debate...
John Swinney: That is obviously a significant factor in the performance of the economy, as my opening remarks make clear. The size of the economy, the way in which the economy develops and grows and its impact on people are all relevant to the circumstances and the wellbeing of individuals. One of the key issues that I will come to—Mr Johnson will not be surprised—is population growth, which is a...
John Swinney: I always want to keep myself in proper order in Parliament. I think that I might be straying from that if I were to move into that territory. I was actually going to say something kind about Mr Rennie later on—
John Swinney: I am being encouraged to strike it from the record, but I will be more generous. However, I say to Mr Rennie, just to set his expectations in the right place, that this is not my last speech. I will make another one at the end of the debate, so he should be careful what he intervenes on me about before we get to that point. The budget that was set out by the Chancellor of the Exchequer last...
John Swinney: Yes. A good thing about the investment that this Government makes in education is that we now have record levels of young people leaving our education system for positive destinations and having positive outcomes. We also have the largest-ever proportion in our history of young people from deprived backgrounds entering higher and further education. Those are just two examples of the successes...
John Swinney: I take no issue with that; it is very welcome, indeed. That is about ensuring—our universities are critical to the whole endeavour—that we create economic opportunities through research collaborations. Recently, I visited the University of Glasgow and the magnificent Mazumdar-Shaw advanced research centre, which has been developed with the incredible generosity of Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and...
John Swinney: That is an important objective, but we should also recognise that people will want to move to other jurisdictions for wider experience and economic opportunity. However, we must be able to ensure that we can welcome others into our society. That is where Scotland’s opportunities have been constrained by the folly of Brexit.
John Swinney: Obviously, a range of factors will affect that. People are certainly welcome to come here. If we look at the labour market data, we have near record lows in unemployment and economic inactivity, and very high—almost record—levels of employment in Scotland. We have a very tired and constrained labour market, so the invitation for people to come to Scotland is clear. It is important to...
John Swinney: I will draw my remarks to a close. That network is now bearing significant fruit through sharing of economic and intellectual thinking between Scotland and other jurisdictions that have significant roles to play. All that is relevant to ensuring that we create an economy that meets the needs of all our citizens in Scotland—an economy that uses our resources wisely and plans on the basis of...
John Swinney: I am grateful to Liz Smith for giving way—I will come back to her earlier remarks later. Does she understand that she is on rather thin ice in giving the SNP Government advice on economic policy when she demanded that I follow the Liz Truss budget in September 2022? If I had done, I would have caused absolute mayhem with the public finances of Scotland.
John Swinney: Will the member give way?
John Swinney: Those latter comments about the chasing of headlines could aptly sum up Mr Marra’s contribution to every debate. Can I just ask Mr Marra for his explanation of why Labour opposed the Government’s budget, which included progressive tax changes, when it came to Parliament in February? I am confused by this great exposition of consistent principle from Mr Marra, who argues for progressivity...
John Swinney: Why? Tell me why.
John Swinney: Oh!
John Swinney: At the outset of the debate, Daniel Johnson posed the question about how we define the wellbeing economy, and we have had some important contributions to that discussion. Formidable among those, were the contributions of Fiona Hyslop and Maggie Chapman. Fiona Hyslop went through some of the arguments around the fact that, over a long period—she referred back to my first role in government...
John Swinney: Sarah Boyack’s proposed member’s bill raises important and substantial issues that are very much the consideration of the Government in relation to how we take forward the wellbeing economy agenda. Given the length of her experience, Sarah Boyack will understand that I can commit to absolutely nothing this afternoon. However, I am sure that there will be a willing audience on the...
John Swinney: Today’s statement maintains the commitment that was given by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy some time ago to update Parliament on progress in the building of the MV Glen Sannox—801—and hull 802 at Ferguson Marine and to do so openly and transparently. I am providing this update in place of the cabinet secretary. First, I will address the Audit Scotland section 22...
John Swinney: In response to the first of the two questions that Mr Simpson put to me, I advise him that the details that I have set out today are the assessment by the chief executive of the build programme of hull 801. That is the rationale for the details that I have set out to Parliament. There is no reason other than the build programme that the chief executive has set out, and that is what I have...
John Swinney: In all of this, the intention of ministers has been to support the retention and development of shipbuilding on the Clyde. Back when Ferguson’s went into administration, in 2014, I led the Government’s efforts to secure a rescue of Ferguson’s. The purpose of that was to preserve the very employment that Mr Bibby talks about—of some of the finest people I have met in my life: the...
John Swinney: The issue of a direct award is one on which the Government has to proceed with great care in terms of all the issues that we are rehearsing here. We will have to make sure that we get the arrangements for that correct, if it is possible to do so. On the small vessel replacement programme, the Government is committed to on-going investment in the ferry network. We have the two vessels that...
