Chamber and committees

Are we to take it, from that clear commitment that Liz Smith has given, that the Conservatives support growth and are opposed to the social contract, that we will not hear any demands, either in her speech or from any of her colleagues on the Conservative side of the chamber, for any more spending on anything other than what is contained in the budget?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Members are supposed to address each other properly in the chamber. Jackie Baillie, who is a long-standing member of the Parliament, was failing in that. That is all that I am gesticulating about.

Will Mark Griffin give way?

This budget takes place at a time of enormous fiscal challenge for the Scottish Government in dealing with the cumulative impact of 14 years of austerity, the unwanted Brexit process, rampant inflation and increased borrowing costs. Some of those factors are a product of the problems on the international stage, especially the illegal invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in the middle east. However, most of them are a direct product of the deliberate policy and financial choices of the United Kingdom Conservative Government.

That context forces this Parliament to address some acute financial and policy issues, and the Scottish Government has been prepared to do that. The Government’s budget priorities of equality, opportunity and community deserve our support. On equality, tackling poverty and protecting people from harm is ably demonstrated by the commitment to the Scottish child payment, which is lifting children out of poverty. On opportunity, we are building a fair, sustainable and growing economy, with—crucially—Scotland’s wealth per head having increased by 10 per cent since 2007 in comparison with 6.4 per cent in the United Kingdom. On community, we are delivering efficient and effective public services, with greater investment in NHS recovery than would have been the case if Scotland had followed policy in the United Kingdom.

Despite the prevailing economic and fiscal conditions, the Scottish Government has taken decisions to expand the resources that are available to Parliament to spend. That has meant that Parliament is able to invest in the social contract that is so vital to people in Scotland. The existence of free access to higher education is an important part of that contract, as is access to 1,140 hours of early learning and childcare, which is more than double what was on offer when we came to office in 2007. The maintenance of free personal care for the elderly is a policy choice that has to be paid for, as is the availability of concessionary bus travel for over 60s, which has now been extended to young people under the age of 22.

In that respect, I met some pupils yesterday at Perth grammar school, who explained to me the significant increase in the opportunities that are available to them to participate in society as a result of the policy innovation that this Government has taken forward.

Those choices are available only because the Scottish Government is prepared to take the financial decisions needed to make them possible. Some of those have involved being prepared, over a number of years, to take a progressive approach to taxation. I commend the Government for doing that.

One of the acute challenges in the budget is the capital programme. The UK Government plans to reduce capital funding for Scotland by 10 per cent in real terms over the next five years. That is a very short-sighted policy approach that does not recognise the need for sustained investment to support long-term competitiveness. It also takes place at a time when the value of capital budgets has been eroded by soaring inflation. Private sector organisations tell me that in the past two years their construction costs have risen by 30 to 50 per cent. If that has happened in the private sector, why on earth does Parliament not believe that it is also happening in the public sector? To answer Jackie Baillie’s question about where the money has gone, the money for capital projects has been eroded and eaten up by inflation, which the Conservative UK Government has allowed to become rampant.

The Scottish Government has a commendable record on capital investment, with the successful completion of the Queensferry crossing, the Aberdeen western peripheral route, the M8, the M80, the M74, the Borders railway and the Airdrie to Bathgate line. I point out to Mr Griffin that, on average, the Scottish Government has built more social houses per annum than the previous Labour and Liberal Executive managed to do. I look forward to the budget continuing to support the dualling of the A9, a project on which the Government has already embarked and which it is committed to completing.

There will be capital projects that get into difficulty, such as the UK Government’s projects for frigates, aircraft carriers, and high speed 2, which are squandering money left, right and centre. The Tories do not have a leg to stand on as far as public finance management on capital projects is concerned.

That brings me neatly to where I intended to end on the Opposition. If the Conservatives’ plans were followed here, we would have to take £1.5 billion out of this budget. If Labour’s plans were followed, we would have to take £561 million out of the budget. I wish that I had some of the brass neck of the Conservatives, who come here and lecture us about public finances when every one of the members currently sitting on their front bench—Liz Smith, Murdo Fraser and Liam Kerr—told us to do what Liz Truss did, which resulted in wrecking the United Kingdom’s economy and public finances. I wish that I had a smidgen of the brass neck of that crowd.

In Scottish Labour’s tradition of making empty, vacuous speeches that are high on rhetoric and devoid of choices, Mr Marra has truly excelled himself today. His contribution perhaps competes only with the vacuous speech made by Jackie Baillie.

The budget is being undertaken in difficult circumstances, but, despite the gravity of that challenge, it will deliver formidable benefits to the people of Scotland. I urge Parliament to support the Government in its efforts to deliver equality, opportunity and community, in line with the values of the people of Scotland.

I understand the different and competing views that have been expressed about the Government’s proposals, but I will convey to the minister a word of advice from somebody who has been around the Parliament for a long time. Every time there is an attempt to reform regulation of the legal profession, it is vigorously resisted by the legal profession. The minister should retain her resolve in taking the steps that she is taking.

I take very seriously the point that Mr McArthur makes and the comments that the Lord Justice Clerk put on the record—and, indeed, what the Lord President has said. I will say something about that if the Presiding Officer calls me to speak in the debate. However, there has to be a responsibility on the leaders of the judiciary and the legal system to accept that, if there is public dissatisfaction about the system over which they preside, they must act to resolve some of those questions into the bargain.

Will the member give way?

I very much welcome the comment that Mr O’Kane has just made. Notwithstanding how people vote at 5 o’clock, there is a willingness to engage. As he has acknowledged, the debate has helpfully aired where members of the Scottish Parliament wish to get to. Nobody wants to undermine the independence of the judiciary and the legal system, but we need to strengthen the position of the consumer interest. I look forward to engaging with Mr O’Kane on that point.

I warmly congratulate the minister on the work that she is doing in relation to tackling the question of depopulation in parts of Scotland. That goes to the heart of being part of a Government that acts in the interests of the whole of the country.

Will the minister commit to work with colleagues with different responsibilities to ensure that we link the work on tackling depopulation to the work on economic opportunity, so that, in some of the more isolated and remote areas of Scotland, we are able to create a growing population based on good, strong economic opportunities?