Engagements

First Minister's Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at 12:00 pm on 28 January 2010.

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Photo of Iain Gray Iain Gray Labour 12:00, 28 January 2010

To ask the First Minister what engagements he has planned for the rest of the day. (S3F-2164)

Photo of Alex Salmond Alex Salmond First Minister of Scotland, Leader, Scottish National Party

I have a range of engagements to take forward the Government's programme for Scotland.

With the Presiding Officer's permission, I am sure that the whole chamber will want to congratulate Andy Murray on reaching the Australian open final. [Applause.]

Photo of Iain Gray Iain Gray Labour

Good news, indeed, which is certainly welcomed across the chamber. There is still difficult news for Scotland on the economy, however. There is hope that we are moving from recession to recovery, but our unemployment rate is still too high. This year, more than any year, the Scottish budget has to be about jobs and the economy. The capital budget is crucial; thousands of jobs depend on it. Will the First Minister publish the full details of current spending plans on capital projects?

Photo of Alex Salmond Alex Salmond First Minister of Scotland, Leader, Scottish National Party

The capital projects spending plans are published as part of the budget. We have an extensive capital programme. The difficulty as we look forward is that, when we look at what has been published at Westminster, we see a projected decline in capital spending on public projects of up to 50 per cent. I hope that those are not really the plans of the Labour Government at Westminster. I hope that Iain Gray has made submissions and representations to his colleagues and ex-boss at Westminster and that those have more success than the submission that he made in favour of accelerated capital spending.

Photo of Iain Gray Iain Gray Labour

On page 38 of the published infrastructure investment plan is the Glasgow airport rail link. The First Minister has torn 1,300 jobs out of the programme by cancelling GARL. Why will he not show us those figures? Andy Kerr has written twice to John Swinney asking for them, the Finance Committee has asked for them, and we have waited four months for answers to parliamentary questions and have had to resort to making freedom of information requests.

This week, a joint letter was sent by all Opposition parties asking for the figures. Even the Tory budget buddies, who always support the SNP budget, think that it should be a requirement that current capital budget plans be shared. Why the secrecy? Why will the First Minister not show us the figures?

Photo of Alex Salmond Alex Salmond First Minister of Scotland, Leader, Scottish National Party

Iain Gray's memory seems to have deserted him. Does he not remember that he ended up supporting the budget for this year and that he was one of our budget buddies? Of course, it took him two attempts to get over the hurdle, but we were delighted to have his support for the budget that we put forward for this year to fight Labour's recession. "Better one sinner that repenteth," is what I say to Iain Gray.

John Swinney will reply in detail to the submission from the other parties. [Interruption.]

Photo of Alex Salmond Alex Salmond First Minister of Scotland, Leader, Scottish National Party

Let us not try to release the Labour Party from its obligation to have a look at the budget plans and the infrastructure plans and, above all, to come to the realisation that its Westminster colleagues are planning to slash capital spending by 50 per cent over the coming years.

Photo of Iain Gray Iain Gray Labour

We are desperate to look at the capital project plans, but the First Minister will not give them to us because his capital spending programme is a shambles. The Scottish Futures Trust was supposed to fix all that.

The SNP manifesto said that it would build schools, hospitals and bridges with patriotic bonds. Now, even the First Minister's favourite economists, Jim and Margaret Cuthbert, are telling him that the SFT is a disaster. It has not raised a penny; it has not laid a brick. We are paying that Futures Trust £28 million to have meetings about selling off Scottish Water, while building firms are paying off Scottish workers. Will the First Minister just admit that time is up for his Futures Trust?

Photo of Alex Salmond Alex Salmond First Minister of Scotland, Leader, Scottish National Party

I agree with Iain Gray—he is desperate, and he gets more desperate every single week.

As far as Scottish Water is concerned, it is our declared intention to have the water industry in the public sector in Scotland. Iain Gray confuses us with an Administration in London that seems content for the public sector not to be involved in the water industry, resulting in higher bills for consumers in England.

Iain Gray mentions the Scottish Futures Trust. Let us take a look at its involvement in the schools programme, the hub partnership, innovations in tax increment financing, Borders rail, the Forth replacement crossing and the non-profit distribution initiative that resulted in my being able to open the new Cults academy in Aberdeen earlier this week.

Jim and Margaret Cuthbert's criticism is that we have not moved far enough away from Labour's disastrous private finance initiative. I rather liked the comment from Ron Hewitt, the chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, who—if I remember correctly—has been quoted by Iain Gray on several occasions in these exchanges. Ron Hewitt said:

"The SFT has ... a good team of experienced people. It ... is absolutely the right thing to do. It will save public money."

As we know, Labour is interested in cutting Scotland's finance, but rejects proposals to save public money.

Photo of Iain Gray Iain Gray Labour

If the First Minister has no intention of selling off Scottish Water, why is he spending £1 million on wages for 21 people in the Scottish Futures Trust to discuss it? It is even more of a waste of money than we thought.

As for the First Minister's schools, I have a list of them here: two thirds of the schools were under construction before he was ever First Minister. If I look at my own constituency to see which schools he is claiming, I find that Dunbar primary school was completed in 2008. My constituents will be a bit surprised at that: the last time I looked, there was an access road, and building that school had not even started. It was planned under Labour, and the SNP has failed to build it.

The truth is that we cannot get details of the First Minister's capital budget because it is a mess. Low Moss prison, the Aberdeen bypass and the Southern general hospital have all been delayed for two years. Scottish companies have been frozen out of the contracts, 1,300 jobs on GARL have been cancelled and 28,000 construction jobs have been destroyed by the Scottish Futures Trust.

Will the First Minister get a grip and take the Scottish Futures Trust out of the budget and put GARL back in?

Photo of Alex Salmond Alex Salmond First Minister of Scotland, Leader, Scottish National Party

Iain Gray's question wandered over so many subjects, which gives me so much opportunity for correction. In the interests of time, I will deal with three of them.

Iain Gray argues, despite my previous answer—perhaps he did not adapt his question—that there is a water privatisation agenda. I will quote from the Scottish Futures Trust business plan, which was published in May 2009. On page 18, it states that

"In collaboration with other interested parties" we will

"work-up, and assess options to increase the efficiency of funding for Scottish Water, whilst retaining public ownership, that could be considered by Scottish Ministers".

What is the point of Iain Gray asking for more information on our capital plan when he will not even read the information that is already openly available to him?

I know that it causes Iain Gray great angst that 251 schools have now opened under this SNP Government. We are heading towards 300, and—[Interruption.]

Photo of Alex Fergusson Alex Fergusson None

Order. That is enough noise.

Photo of Alex Salmond Alex Salmond First Minister of Scotland, Leader, Scottish National Party

I know that Mary Mulligan forecast that no more schools would be built in West Lothian and opened by SNP ministers, and that Iain Gray was once concerned that Ellon academy would not be rebuilt. Those are in the new plan, as are schools the length and breadth of Scotland. Facts are chiels that winna ding—and 251 schools is more than Labour achieved in any term of office during the past 10 years.