City Region Deals

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 27 March 2018.

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Photo of James Kelly James Kelly Labour

We absolutely need clarity. I have been a consistent supporter of the link. It was a matter of deep regret that the Scottish National Party Government ditched it in 2009. As well as being the wrong decision economically, it resulted in £30 million of public money being poured down the drain.

In the press, there is talk of delays. Mr Simpson is absolutely right: we do not have clarity or transparency on why those delays are being reported. We urgently need a decision; in my view, we need a decision that moves the project forward. There is no doubt that a rail link to Glasgow airport would be of tremendous economic benefit to Glasgow and the west of Scotland.

The report makes some valid points about transparency and other issues. It focuses on process, but I think that there needs to be a wider discussion about economic strategy. I note that the cabinet secretary said that he did not think that it was necessary to review the Government’s economic strategy at this point in time, but we are all concerned about the fact that economic growth has not been and is not forecast to be as strong as we would like it to be. Labour believes that progressive taxation should lie at the heart of any economic policy. By putting money into public services—I am thinking, in particular, of education—we provide sound investment in economic growth.

We also need a strong industrial strategy that highlights proper working practices, that pays people well and that ensures that people do not have to go on exploitative zero-hours contracts. Procurement is a big issue that ties in with city deals. Given that such vast amounts of public money are involved in the awarding of contracts, we should ensure that they are awarded to firms that sign up to the Scottish Government’s business pledge; that should be a priority, at any rate. In addition, more powers should be given to councils on issues such as a tourist tax and a land value tax. [

Interruption

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I welcome the report, but it must tie in with a wider economic strategy for the Scottish Government if we are to address the issues of sluggish economic growth and to ensure fairness in all our communities.