Chamber and committees

I think that we have said in the tax strategy that the rates will be frozen for the duration of this parliamentary term. Is that right, Lorraine?

If we were to do the same with above-inflation increases to the lower rates, that would impact on the intermediate rate in a positive way.

If that is what I said, that should be the case. I can feel that there is a “but” coming, though, so let us have the “but”.

I will come back to you on that, unless one of my officials has the answer now. I want to be correct, so I will come back with the detail on it.

I was not, beyond what I have just outlined. The BANS series is coming to an end, and there is going to be a publication thereafter.

Is there a line in the budget or an intention to do something new in that space? There is nothing in the budget that would indicate that, beyond the spend on civil service time in Angus Robertson’s team, as I have already mentioned. That is how it has been for quite some time.

We are investing in wealth-creating areas, as we can see from our very strong performance. I will correct this if I am wrong, but I think that, according to a survey, business confidence was up by about 13 per cent. There is a strong underlying base in the Scottish economy. Are there issues? Yes, there certainly are. We need to ensure that the skills gap is addressed and that our skills match the needs of our economy, but some very strong performance underlies some of that.

On college budgets, the budget delivers an uplift in the resource funding that is available to the college and university sectors. I think that there is a £13 million uplift for further education and that the budget for higher education is also increasing by £13 million. Therefore, there is an uplift in the resource budget for colleges.

The decrease in college capital—if you take the two together, that is where the figure is coming from—reflects the profile of spend on significant campus investments that are coming to an end, such as the Dunfermline campus. College capital has peaked, but there is a more than £13 million—2.1 per cent—uplift in the resource budget.

I absolutely agree that there is a need to better join up the work of Skills Development Scotland and colleges and to ensure that the offer from colleges and the SDS meets the needs of the economy and employers. The Withers review was very much in that space, regarding the need for the sector to be far more joined up and more sharply focused, which is the Government’s ambition. I am happy to provide further information about some of the on-going work in that space if that would be helpful to the committee.

What period are you talking about when you refer to the uplift in inflation?

The only general point that I would make is that, before the reset of budgets, the public sector per se, including our institutions and universities, was constrained by the fact that the Scottish Government’s budgets were constrained and were not keeping pace with inflation. The point of the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s budget reset was to recognise that. If we include in that figure the lack of ability to keep pace with inflation, we could say that about a range of services, because the money was simply not there. Our budgets were not keeping pace with inflation, which is why the reset has been so important—and welcome, I have to say.

However, if your question is whether universities are getting a fair share of the reset, I will come back to the committee on that point. I am absolutely happy to answer that question.

We absolutely must ensure that all the component parts that make up university funding and are the bedrock of the sustainability of the HE sector are looked at. The tuition fee issue is one of those, but the issues of international students, research and other costs have, unfortunately, all come along at the same time and they are putting pressure on the university sector. We will continue to work with the sector. The universities are not all in the same position, and some have more resilience than others, as some current issues have shown to be the case.

You make a fair point, but there are other major issues impacting on the university sector.

I am sorry that you feel that about the response. It is very important to try to create some level of cross-party agreement on principles—it may not be on the detail—because doing nothing is not an option. Katie Hagmann from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has been leading on that and, as I understand it, she has had cross-party meetings on behalf of COSLA that will help to scope out where there may be a landing space for agreement.

I am keen to set out between now and the beginning of next year, in advance of the 2026 election, where there may be cross-party agreement in order to allow whatever Administration there is after May next year to take action on more fundamental reform of council tax. That may be more difficult in the run-up to an election, but I think that we all agree that there is inherent unfairness in council tax and that it is very limited in its scope. If we were to agree some principles, it might pave the way for more detailed discussions about reforms that could command a majority in Parliament. There is no point in going down an avenue that will never command a majority in Parliament—that would be a waste of everyone’s time—but I think that there will be principles that we can agree on.

Katie Hagmann has been leading on that, and she has the Government’s support. I am keen to engage directly with her after the budget has been concluded to build on the discussions that have taken place and the work that she has done.