Budget

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 1 February 2018.

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Photo of Ruth Davidson Ruth Davidson Conservative

I am not the one who just lost a third of my seats at the last election. If the First Minister wants to talk about the Scottish Fiscal Commission, let us do so because, since the budget debate began, we have learned that Scottish growth for the year to September was just 0.6 per cent and, according to the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s projections, Scotland is heading for the longest period of low growth in 60 years. The budget should be trying to address that, and it simply fails to do so.

The Federation of Small Businesses has said:

“The next stage of the Scottish Government Budget is a key opportunity for Ministers to put Scotland’s economy first. The economy should be the top priority for every department—not just the finance and business briefs.”

The FSB said that two weeks ago, so why did the First Minister not take its advice?