Official Report: search what was said in Parliament
The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
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Displaying 3675 contributions
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Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]
Budget Scrutiny 2026-27
Meeting date: 9 December 2025
John Mason
I want to follow up on some of the things the convener has been asking about. The word “transparency” has come up quite a lot. I wonder whether you are being a bit unfair on the Government, because the Government can produce any amount of information and you or somebody else can audit it, so it is all checked. However, if the public and, frankly, MSPs do not engage in trying to find out about it, that is not really the Government’s fault, is it? It has been said that MSPs on the whole are not fiscally or financially literate—we are hoping to build that into future Parliaments. Do you not think that it is partly the public and everybody else who is at fault?
Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]
Budget Scrutiny 2026-27
Meeting date: 9 December 2025
John Mason
I accept that point, yes.
Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]
Budget Scrutiny 2026-27
Meeting date: 9 December 2025
John Mason
I understand all of that, but let us take the £851 million that is mentioned for 2027-28. One strategy would be to say, “Right—let’s severely cut spending this year and next year to build up a reserve so that we’re ready for that £851 million.” However, in the meantime, the criticism of the Government for not spending its money would be horrendous—because there would be all the national health service waiting lists and all the rest of it—and then maybe the negative reconciliation of £851 million would not happen. The Government is in a no-win position, is it not?
Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]
Budget Scrutiny 2026-27
Meeting date: 9 December 2025
John Mason
I tend to share the convener’s view that more people perhaps do not realise that they do not understand the tax system, and that the Scottish people are probably being a bit more honest about their lack of understanding than the people who were surveyed in England. That is just my opinion.
Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]
Budget Scrutiny 2026-27
Meeting date: 9 December 2025
John Mason
Paragraph 32 says that
“the growth in the tax base in Scotland has been relatively slower than in the rest of the UK”
and lists four factors that explain that. I accept that the Scottish Government is largely in control of behavioural responses from taxpayers to policy changes, because it controls its policy changes. However, we cannot really do anything about the other factors, which include
“differences in the sectoral make-up of the economy”
and
“Different distribution of incomes in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK”.
Similarly, the report goes on to talk about how financial services in the rest of the UK are different from those in Scotland, and the fact that there are many more high earners in that industry outside of Scotland. As I said, a lot of that is outwith our control, is it not?
Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]
Budget Scrutiny 2026-27
Meeting date: 9 December 2025
John Mason
Exhibit 8, which is about pressures on the Scottish budget, lists factors that are specific to Scotland. The second one is:
“Scotland’s population is, on average, older and sicker when compared to the rest of the UK”.
With the best will in the world, that cannot be turned around quickly. Am I right in saying that the fiscal framework does not account for need—that it does not consider that needs might be greater in Wales, Scotland or anywhere else?
Education, Children and Young People Committee [Draft]
Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Meeting date: 3 December 2025
John Mason
It is sometimes said that people go to university and end up with degrees that do not get them applicable jobs. Is the member looking at that issue, too, in his amendment?
Education, Children and Young People Committee [Draft]
Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Meeting date: 3 December 2025
John Mason
Will the member give way?
Education, Children and Young People Committee [Draft]
Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Meeting date: 3 December 2025
John Mason
Mr Briggs says that his amendment is similar to Pam Duncan-Glancy’s, but he is talking about a—that is, one—trade union representative, which I assume would cover universities, colleges and apprenticeships. Does he not agree that there would need to be a representative for each of those sectors, because they are quite different from each other? Even the unions representing college staff tend to be different unions from those representing university staff, and I think that there have been quite large differences between them in the past. How would Mr Briggs respond to that?
Education, Children and Young People Committee [Draft]
Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Meeting date: 3 December 2025
John Mason
Is it not a fundamental principle of devolution that when we get money from Westminster, we can use it as we see fit? There would be no point in devolution if we just copied exactly what England did all the time.
