Chamber and committees

I imagine that, to balance it and pay off the £192 million deficit, the intake will have to increase.

The SFC is predicting a 17 per cent rise in revenue from non-domestic rates between 2022-23 and 2026-27. We have a revaluation next year. Given the changes to the retail and commercial sectors, for example, will that rise be achievable? A lot of businesses will be wondering where that money will come from.

It was mentioned earlier that the social security bill was going to rise from £3.7 billion to £5.2 billion, and that is without adding in some of the SNP manifesto pledges. Does that rate of increase in a relatively short space of time concern you?

Income tax revenue is projected to move from just under £12 billion in 2020-21 to £17.3 billion in 2026-27. However, at the same time, the 16 to 64-year-old workforce is set to decrease by, I think, 60,000. I am trying to work out how there could be such a big increase in revenue when the workforce will reduce.

Also in the report, nominal earnings are due to rise by 2.1 per cent and then 2.5 per cent, which does not match the increase in income tax. I wonder whether I am missing something here. Do you assume that income tax bands are going to change—that people are going to pay more tax per person?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. —[Inaudible.]—was not working, but I would have voted no.

I remind everyone that I am still a member of Aberdeen City Council as an elected councillor.

I refer members to my entry in the register of interests, which shows that I am still a member of Aberdeen City Council. From talking to other local councils, I know that there are still real pressures when it comes to funding in local government. I know that the minister will say that there is more money for local government, but most of it is coming in then going straight back out again for business support and ring-fenced initiatives. Will the minister commit to using some of the underspend to support local government, which is doing so much work in its local communities?

I welcome you to your new role, Presiding Officer, and I congratulate the cabinet secretary on her new role. As a former leader of Aberdeen City Council, I always felt that she and I had a fairly constructive relationship, despite ours being one of the lowest-funded councils in Scotland. I look forward to that relationship continuing.

I am truly honoured to be here representing North East Scotland, and I would like to thank the numerous people who helped me to get elected to the Scottish Parliament: my campaign team, who worked tirelessly throughout the election; my family, for their patience; and three Conservative stalwarts who are no longer with us. They are June Morrison, Jill Wisely and Bill Berry, all of whom encouraged and mentored me but who sadly passed away before seeing me in our Parliament.

It goes without saying that I want to thank the voters in North East Scotland for putting their faith in me, and I assure you and them that I will fight every day of the week to ensure that the voice of the north-east of Scotland is heard loud and clear in this Parliament. I will also fight every day against any attack on jobs in the north-east by an SNP-Green coalition.

We, in this Parliament, are answerable to our constituents, who now rely on us to create the conditions for sustainable economic recovery across Scotland. The decisions that we make will impact the lives of every citizen, every business and every community in Scotland, so it is important that we get our approach right and do not leave any citizen, business or community behind.

During the pandemic, at this critical time, we have a moral duty to work together across not only the Parliament, but the UK. We should work with the UK Government simply because it is in Scotland’s best interests to use the resources of our United Kingdom to create the conditions for a sustainable economic recovery that delivers for Scotland and its people.

I remember being asked during the run-up to the election why I wanted to be an MSP. The answer was easy: I want to make life better for every person living in Scotland; I want to see our economy thrive; I want to see meaningful employment; and I want to see improvements in education and healthcare. To that end, I believe in aspiration for the people of Scotland, and that we should all strive to make people’s lives better and give them the opportunities that they deserve—opportunities that my family have had.

I remember when my parents took up their opportunity to buy their council house and own something substantial for the first time in their lives. My parents worked long hours and gave me the opportunity to go to university—something that had not been done in our family before.

My daughter has just finished third year of medical school, and I want to make sure that she and all medical students can have the opportunity to help patients with their medical needs in a safe and properly funded NHS.

My son finished school this week, and I want to help to build an education system for all Scotland’s children and young people that is second to none, to ensure that everyone gets the best start in life and the opportunity to pursue their career dreams, whether through a vocational route or via college or university.

My niece and nephew are both deaf. One is at school and one is struggling to get a job, because many employers still do not understand that having a disability is not a barrier to work and that, given the right support and opportunities, people with disabilities make fantastic and dedicated employees. I owe it to them to knock down barriers that infringe on people with disabilities.

Every day since my arrival, I have heard politicians on the Labour benches telling us that they will work with anybody to deliver for the people of Scotland. I only hope that Anas Sarwar is as good as his word, because I come from Aberdeen and I still represent the UK council of the year for 2020. Aberdeen City Council is a coalition of Conservative and Labour members that has put the interests of its people first. I can honestly say that, following Covid-19, Aberdeen City Council has worked tirelessly on economic recovery for the city by working with its people, businesses and communities. I find it unbelievable that the Labour council leader in Aberdeen, Jenny Laing, is still suspended by the Labour Party despite winning local councillor of the year not once, but twice: in 2017 and 2020. Given Labour’s refusal to acknowledge its own talent—because those councillors dare to work with the Conservatives to deliver for the people in Aberdeen—it is no wonder that we Tories are ahead of Labour in all three Aberdeen constituencies.

Of course, we all want to work together to bring about real change to people’s lives, but we also have to reflect on and work within the tools that we currently have to ensure prosperity for all. We also need a reality check, because the Scottish Government excels at spin but fails miserably in reality. One example of what I mean is the headline in The Herald on Sunday at the weekend. Eleven years ago, SNP spin predicted 28,000 low-carbon jobs, but the miserable reality is that only 1,400 jobs have materialised.

The Conservatives are always happy to support cross-party collaboration to make Scotland better, and we will work with the Scottish Government to achieve those aims, but if Scotland is to create the conditions for a sustainable economic recovery, the Scottish Government requires to concentrate less on spin and more on reality.

took the oath.