Wendy Alexander’s speech in Chamber on Scottish economy, 12th November

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab):

I do not share Alex Neil’s view. It is a damning indictment of his Government that it did not bring forward an opportunity for the issues to be debated in the chamber. I note that today is the first time in the 50 days since Lehman Brothers collapsed that we have had an opportunity to debate the impact of the credit crunch on the wider economy in Scotland, including its impact on construction, housing and manufacturing.

For most of those 50 days, the First Minister has been telling us that he is straining every sinew for Scottish jobs. He has certainly been straining every sinew in some places, but is he straining every sinew in Government? Why has the Government had nothing to say to Scotland’s Parliament? Why are we the only country in the western world—I believe—that has not found time in the past 50 days to debate the wider impact of the credit crunch?

The Government’s formal response to the credit crunch was to publish a six-point plan. I use the word “publish” advisedly, because in the face of the biggest financial crisis in decades, the Government has offered us a mere one-page press release, which was published on 14 October. The problem is not just that there has been no debate and no document, but that there have been very few details. I say to the Minister for Environment that it is unworthy of the Government for it not to have published to the Parliament a document dealing with the biggest financial crisis for half a century.

Four weeks after the six-point plan was published, the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee quite reasonably made an effort to discover how much money is involved. After 5pm on Monday, the official answer came back from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth. He said, “I can’t say what the budget lines are.” Consider this: a rescue package for Scotland was announced in October, but four weeks later the Government cannot say whether it involves different spending that had not already been announced. Imagine if Gordon Brown had said, “I can’t say what my bank rescue plan will cost,” or if David Cameron had said yesterday, “I can’t tell you what our tax relief to employers will cost.”

However, much more worrying is the response that we heard a few minutes ago from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth. He did not say, “I can’t say how much the six-point plan will cost.” What I heard him say was, “Actually, not one penny of the £35 billion in the Scottish budget requires to be reallocated as a result of the credit crunch because we anticipated it and we got it all right.” That is the problem with having no document. The country deserves an answer. What resources does the Government need to reallocate?

John Swinney: If Wendy Alexander had listened to what I said, she would have heard me say that the Government took steps to reallocate expenditure in the summer, when we realised that the economic situation was going to deteriorate. If she is looking for a published document to cover that, she should read the Scottish Government’s budget, which takes full account of the capital changes that have been made in affordable housing.

Ms Alexander: The people of Scotland will be unimpressed that they have a Government that says that, as a result of the biggest financial crisis that has unfolded in the past 50 years, it does not need to reallocate one ha’penny of spending. [Interruption.]

The Deputy Presiding Officer: Order.

Ms Alexander: I move on to the six-point plan. Point one is “reshaping capital expenditure”. That is a great idea, but what infrastructure will be brought forward? The Government cannot say. Four weeks on, the Government cannot name a single project that has been accelerated. Point two is intensifying activity to boost tourism. What is happening to Scottish tourism’s budget? It will be cut by 4.8 per cent in real terms next year and by a further 2.8 per cent the following year.
Point three is to ensure that all Government economic activity, including planning, supports economic development, so let us talk about planning. The Parliament passed the Planning etc (Scotland) Bill two years ago, but most of its provisions have not been implemented. The Government has just taken its timetable off its website because it has not met its own implementation timetable for any of the provisions. Every single deadline has slipped from the timetable that the Scottish National Party set last year.

The fourth point of the six-point plan for Scottish recovery is “intensifying our work around energy efficiency”.

Remember that the six-point plan has no published budget, so let us look at what will happen to energy next year. The draft budget indicates that the budget for energy and telecoms, which includes funding for providing energy advice to householders, is being cut by 4.2 per cent in real terms next year and by 2.8 per cent in real terms the year after.

The Deputy Presiding Officer: The member should conclude.

Ms Alexander: The Government can run, but it cannot hide. On the one occasion on which it has let this Parliament debate HBOS, I made it clear that, when it comes to a crisis, political statesmen act and political spivs run for cover

The Deputy Presiding Officer: The member’s time is up.

Ms Alexander: When will this Parliament, this country and the people get more than a press release to describe the planned recovery programme, and a budget to match? That is the least that they can expect of their Government.