Andy Kerr: 5. To ask the First Minister what support the Scottish Government is offering to first-time home buyers. (S3F-2986)
Andy Kerr: The First Minister did not mention the Scottish National Party’s 2007 manifesto commitment to introduce a grant of £2,000 for first-time home buyers. He could not mention it because he did not offer it. When we return to this place in six weeks or so, will the First Minister—from the Opposition benches—support Labour’s plans to offer real support to first-time home buyers to get a...
Andy Kerr: To ask the Scottish Executive what support it gives to the almost 13,000 children who leave primary school each year unable to read, write or count.
Andy Kerr: I place on record my thanks to Andrew Welsh for his contribution to the Parliament and its workings. I also thank the Finance Committee for its report. Having listened to this afternoon’s debate, I think that we should reflect on some measures that we have taken. We should not beat ourselves up too much about issues to do with preventative interventions. Malcolm Chisholm mentioned the David...
Andy Kerr: Schools are a vital part of our infrastructure programme. The Scottish National Party Government emptied that programme of nearly £1 billion, largely due to its view on private finance. I welcome the complete reversal of the Government’s position on the use of private finance, as outlined in its budget, in which it adopts public-private partnerships back into the mainstream of public...
Andy Kerr: 14. To ask the Scottish Executive what provision it is making for patients with chronic pain. (S3O-12971)
Andy Kerr: I welcome the cabinet secretary’s response to my question. I take heart from some of the efforts that are being made regarding chronic pain management. I am aware that a number of our constituents from throughout Scotland have to travel elsewhere in the country, for instance to Bath, for treatment. Is the cabinet secretary considering—as part of the initiatives that she referred to in her...
Andy Kerr: Come on, come on, Presiding Officer.
Andy Kerr: Of course, a Government’s budget is not only a list of spending commitments such as the one that we have just heard. Cumulatively, over the years, line by line in every budget, the figures add up to a statement of the Government’s values. Those values will give direction to all parts of Government and public services and, with the will of the people, they will plot the country’s course....
Andy Kerr: I have met Mr Swinney and his colleagues on many occasions in the past few weeks to discuss matters that are dear to our hearts. While we have been having those conversations, a lot has happened in our economy. Lloyds Banking Group has announced 200 job losses, mainly in insurance. Forestry Commission employees in Scotland fear for their jobs. There are threats to teaching and support posts...
Andy Kerr: Mr Swinney offers box ticking on arrangements around parties. He offers half measures while Labour offers full measures. The SNP Government has been saved by the very coalition parties that seek to wreak havoc in our public services and economy in Scotland. On four occasions John Swinney has stood up in Parliament to outline his budget and on four occasions he has been supported by the...
Andy Kerr: We do not want half measures. Labour offers full measures and we will ensure that we deliver those in government. The budget has moved 0.1 per cent. Let us remember what folk—they are not from the Labour Party—say about the budget. Peter Wood, director of Optimal Economics, said: “I fear that the commitment to economic growth is more of a slogan than a reality.”—[Official Report,...
Andy Kerr: In a second, when the member might answer my next point. We have been nothing but consistent in our view of this Government’s investment in infrastructure. It got things badly wrong from the outset; it has refused to change its position in four years; it emptied the pipeline of projects; it dismissed this party’s appeals about the Glasgow airport rail link; and it has never dealt with the...
Andy Kerr: From my eight years in government, I recall that the SNP lodged only one amendment to the budget. I also recall that in the negotiations around the SNP Government’s first budget, we put forward 20 amendments, one of which—on police—was rejected by the SNP, which then went round by the back door and did a deal with their friends on the Tory benches. That is how the SNP acts in...
Andy Kerr: Will the member take an intervention?
Andy Kerr: I refer the member to my earlier speech. We stand for the progressive majority in Scotland, but on the point—[Interruption.]
Andy Kerr: What would he say to his UK coalition partners—the Lib Dems have made the biggest mistake in UK politics for a long time—about regulation? They advocated to Gordon Brown a reduction in regulation to create more avenues for the banks to make money, and their view was shared by our First Minister.
Andy Kerr: Will the member inform the chamber of the weekly savings that a band D household in Dundee will make from the council tax freeze? When it came to the retail levy, we listened to the views of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers—the workers’ representatives.
Andy Kerr: If the cabinet secretary carries out such a review, will the member also ask him for a forward look on his adoption of PPP for the building of major road projects?
Andy Kerr: The cabinet secretary reads out our list for us, but what he says does not reflect the conversations or discussions. In my speech at stage 1, I quoted from what was said at the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee. Respected academics and businesspeople were saying that the Scottish Government’s budget did not do enough for the economy. Now we know, however, that the Con-Dem partners think...