Did you mean data forbes?
Graham Simpson: ...our own ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars into line with Europe’s? What is that about? You would have thought that SNP members would be happy about that. The move to push back to 2035 the date by which a new boiler has to be replaced by a heat pump, if appropriate, is also just common sense. Speaking of being in line with Europe, I note that in July the EU passed a law that...
...of the Parliamentary Bureau, is: For 83, Against 27, Abstentions 3. Motion agreed to, That the Parliament agrees that the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 (Amendment of Expiry Date) Regulations 2023 [draft] be approved. The final question is, that motion S6M-10524, in the name of George Adam, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, on membership of European bodies, be...
Ruth Jones: ...and the FCDO taking steps to support Nepal through this ongoing process, and I call on the Minister to designate funding to support a training delegation to Nepal to help local administrators with FORB best practices. Nepal has a large population of Tibetan refugees; indeed, according to the lowest estimate from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, about 12,000 Tibetan...
Fiona Bruce: ...of religion or belief—a role I hugely enjoy and count as a great privilege, having the potential to make a real difference to some of the most oppressed and vulnerable people on earth. My mandate from the Prime Minister refers to three strands of work, and I want to raise my concern regarding progress on one of them, which is my duty to support the implementation of the Truro review. The...
Murdo Fraser: ...calendar. Normally, it is when we get to hear all the parties’ big hitters deliver their great lines. In that respect, it is very disappointing that, as far as I have seen, none of the candidates for SNP leader—and First Minister of Scotland—has even appeared in the chamber, let alone contributed to the debate. We would have enjoyed hearing speeches from them all, setting out their...
Alison Thewliss: ...other online retailers during the pandemic. My colleague in the Scottish Parliament and evangelist for Paisley, George Adam MSP, raised that issue and the Scottish Government Finance Secretary Kate Forbes certainly agreed with the principle. It is disappointing that this UK Government, and indeed the official Opposition, have looked only narrowly and in a limited fashion at oil and gas and...
Kate Forbes: I assume that the member is referring to the report that also states that the bank “is exactly the kind of big, ambitious policy experiment that Holyrood should be embarking on”. To date, within the first 18 months of its establishment, the bank has delivered investment commitments of more than £200 million to 16 projects across all three of its missions.
Kate Forbes: ...their spending. Liz Smith mentioned £3.5 billion. I suggest that she read the resource spending review and the medium-term financial strategy, because the figures that she quoted are well out of date; they go back to December 2021, and are based on forecasts. Before us today is a resource spending review that balances the budget that is available to us with our priorities. It is a budget...
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: ...to come. The noble Lord, Lord Campbell, talked of the F35 Lightning, which is the fifth-generation fighter aircraft that is providing our Armed Forces with enhanced combat air capabilities. To date, 27 of these F35s have been delivered and further tranches of delivery are to follow. The noble Baroness, Lady Smith, asked about the Ministry of Defence and the Procurement Bill. Delivering the...
Rachael Hamilton: ...and work and have their livelihoods protected on the islands. I want to touch on the islands’ lack of trust in the Scottish National Party’s ability to manage the ferries. I listened to Kate Forbes responding to Jamie Greene’s topical question, and it is almost as if it is an inconvenience that we keep talking about the issue, but it is really important to islanders. It is an...
Edward Mountain: ...connected to engines that were not actually there. There was Humza Yousaf, the transport minister who could not even explain why there was a delay to the ferries when we passed the construction date. There was Derek Mackay, who signed off the payment of £127 million for a £97 million contract to Ferguson Marine, only to end up with two rusting hulls. There was Michael Matheson, as...
Kate Forbes: ...with figures not being formally confirmed until supplementary estimates were published on 22 February—just over five weeks from the end of the financial year. During that time, I quite rightly updated the Finance and Public Administration Committee on the financial position so that Parliament could have all the facts and figures to scrutinise that, only for that position to become out of...
Kate Forbes: ...need the UK Government, which is fully responsible for all aspects of energy policy, regulation and taxation, to do what it can, and we certainly need it to do more than it has announced to date.
Kate Forbes: ...1 billion being invested in every gigawatt of energy that is produced. The strategy very specifically and methodically looks at how we might reap the benefits of that beyond what has been done to date, and at how we might develop the supply chain. I point Willie Rennie to three areas; the first is private sector funding. We have a world-renowned financial services sector that we need to...
Kate Forbes: ...National Investment Bank to Scotland’s economy. The reasons for the former chief executive’s resignation are a matter for her and for the bank’s board. The board has kept ministers up to date with all matters relating to the chief executive, and the executive team and board members will continue to provide strong leadership and direction for staff and bank clients.
Kate Forbes: ...the cost-of-living crisis has changed the position again, not by increasing the expected consequentials but by decreasing the funding. That means that the spring budget revision will need to be updated at the first available opportunity. Frustratingly, as I stand here at stage 3 of the Budget (Scotland) Bill, with about six weeks to go until the end of the financial year, the position is...
Kate Forbes: ...reputation of the business. Members will recall that both the former chair of Prestwick, Mr Andrew Miller, and the former chief executive, Mr Stewart Adams, postponed their planned retirement dates to support the completion of the most recent sale process. That process having now concluded, both have retired. I put on record my sincere thanks to them for their significant contributions to...
Kate Forbes: Ms Gosal has not contacted me to date, although I have obviously been engaging on the matter with the Conservatives’ spokesperson. All parties have made a lot of asks, but no party has told me which taxes to increase or what to cut.
Kate Forbes: ...broadband voucher scheme will ensure that anyone on Orkney can access superfast broadband. We recently announced a three-month extension to the interim voucher portion of the scheme—the closing date is now 31 March 2022—to ensure that everybody, particularly those in the north of Scotland and on our islands, can have more time to take advantage of that scheme.
Kate Forbes: ...with a £50 payment every year through our investment of around £21 million. Next year, we will launch the adult disability payment, which is our largest and most technically complex benefit to date. It will provide disabled people with a fundamentally different experience in applying for and receiving the support that they are entitled to.
