1. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the fiscal framework. (S6O-02560)

I am pleased to say that the first review of the Scottish fiscal framework concluded on 2 August, with a joint agreement reached between the Scottish and United Kingdom Governments on changes to the 2016 agreement.

That review has yielded a fair and pragmatic set of changes, providing a sensible and proportionate set of improvements to the fiscal framework. That furnishes the Scottish Government with more effective levers with which to manage the Scottish budget. I welcome the opportunity for a full debate in the chamber in the coming months, in addition to a dedicated committee evidence session.

In her letter of 2 August to the Finance and Public Administration Committee, the cabinet secretary made it clear, as she has done in her answer just now, that she was signing up to the new deal because the arrangements work in Scotland’s favour and the changes that have been made are—as she just said—

“fair and pragmatic and will strengthen the financial management levers available to the Scottish Government”.

Does the cabinet secretary agree that that is exactly the sort of joint working between the Westminster and Holyrood Administrations that the public both wants and deserves, rather than the endless constitutional bickering that so often characterises our politics?

John Glen, who is the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, is a bit of an anomaly in the Westminster Tory UK Government, as he actually sits down in a sensible, pragmatic and co-operative way. However, he is the exception to the rule. It is because of that arrangement that we have managed to secure those pragmatic changes to the fiscal framework. Again, I had a very co-operative meeting with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury just last week. It is a shame that the rest of the UK Government does not operate in that manner.

There was some concern under the previous fiscal framework that we were competing with London and the south-east of England, which puts us in a difficult position. Does the cabinet secretary have any concerns that that will continue to be the case?

I am confident that we are well placed to build our fairer, greener economy. Per person, our economy has outperformed the UK’s economy since 2018. The latest data shows that our income tax performance per capita is improving, and is outperforming the rest of the UK in 2022-23.

However, it is clear that the UK economic model is disproportionately weighted towards London, which has an impact on Scotland. I am sure that John Mason would agree that, with the full powers of independence, we would be able to tailor our economic approach to Scotland’s needs and emulate the success of our near European neighbours, who all perform more strongly economically than the UK.