Chamber and committees

When we see a reconciliation of £817 million, we would think that something is going wrong somewhere.

Thank you.

Stephen Boyle, you said in your submission:

“structural reform in the public sector can take time to achieve and generate short-term costs.”

The Government is looking at the public sector pay bill, with a desire to keep it at a constant level. Do you see any urgency on the part of the Scottish Government to bring forward proposals? The longer the Government leaves it, the more cuts it will have to make, I imagine. Have there been discussions with the Government about when proposals will come forward?

It is an honour to speak today. Last week, I listened to the First Minister describe the first time that she caught a glimpse of the Queen. I must admit that the earliest memory that I have of seeing the Queen was in very similar circumstances. I was just five years old when she was touring the country as part of her silver jubilee celebrations in 1977. We stayed across from Woodhill house in Aberdeen, and the Queen was set to visit and officially open the home of the then Grampian Regional Council. I was allowed to go and watch the Queen come out of the building and drive off in her big car.

I was young and I did not understand much at that age, but I understood that this was special, and that the Queen was special. As a five-year-old, I took days like that for granted, but thinking back, I was lucky. Most people would never see the Queen, but as a wee five-year-old, I had seen her, and would go on to see her on a number of other occasions—the opening of the new rooftop garden at Aberdeen royal infirmary and the opening ceremony of the sixth session of this Parliament, among others. Each time, I was a little bit older, but Her Majesty seemed to be a constant—always smiling, always speaking to people, always showing compassion, always waving and always serving. It is that public service that is so remarkable. She spent 70 years as Queen, but she gave a lifetime of service that we should all respect.

As we have heard, the Queen spent much time at Balmoral and it was clear that she had a deep admiration for Scotland. I was so proud to see the crowds give Her Majesty one last send-off as she was driven from Balmoral, through the north-east of Scotland and down to Edinburgh.

Like millions of others, I was glued to the television yesterday as the nation said one final farewell to Her Majesty. One part of the ceremony struck me like no other. It was at St George’s chapel, when the imperial crown, orb and sceptre were removed from the Queen for the last time in her 70-year reign. For me, that was special because my grandfather, Thomas Shaw, was on ceremonial duties when the Queen was crowned and given those items for the first time. We watched as they were taken from her one last time.

Queen Elizabeth’s reign was a link to many people whom we have loved and lost through the years. She was the Queen not only for the 67 million population that we have in the UK at present and the many millions more across the Commonwealth, but for the millions of loved ones who have come and gone before us. She was my Queen—a constant and a servant to our United Kingdom. That connection has now gone, but the memories will remain.

Long live the King.

Can the Deputy First Minister confirm that no budget has been taken from this year’s allocation to the just transition fund for the north-east and Moray, and that every penny of the £20 million from this year’s budget will be allocated this year?

To ask the Scottish Government what further support it will provide to local authorities for the provision of accommodation for refugees in Scotland, in light of reports that suitable housing has been significantly reduced as a result of its supersponsor scheme. (S6O-01328)

I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, but it is clear that the houses are not there. Aberdeen City Council’s previous administration launched the city’s largest council house building programme in decades. Last month, with the Scottish National Party leader citing budget pressures, the new SNP-Lib Dem administration froze four big developments that would have delivered more than 500 new council homes in the city. Will the SNP-Green devolved Government get its act together, give Aberdeen a fair share of funding and allow Aberdeen to build the required new council homes that could be used to welcome people to the granite city?

I have another question. There is a huge difference between the population in Scotland and that in the rest of the UK. Has there always been a big difference historically, or is that a new thing that has been coming through in the past few years?

I go back to the projection of a 16 per cent fall in Scotland’s population compared with a fall of only 2 per cent in the rest of the UK—I think that that is what you said, Professor Roy. You also mentioned the analysis that you have done on how that could impact the economy, but I guess that that is done based on the powers we have at present. The committee is considering additional taxes, powers and devolved finance—as Ross Greer mentioned. Has any analysis been done that could inform the committee, as it considers those additional powers, on what that demographic change will mean to the Scottish economy in future?

In the past, we have discussed how things such as air passenger duty, fuel duty, VAT and—potentially—pensions could be devolved. I imagine that there would be a huge impact on the Scottish economy if there were a demographic change that meant that our working population was much smaller and we had a larger number of elderly people. Do you know of any data that could help us as we make decisions?

You mentioned the issue of when people retire. Is there a big difference in that between Scotland and the rest of the UK?