►
Description
Ministerial Statement: Scottish Budget Update
A
A
Thank
you
very
much.
Now
no
members
indicated
they
wish
to
speak
in
the
motion.
The
question
therefore,
is
that
motion
double
2871
be
agreed
are
well
agreed.
We
are
agreed.
Thank
you.
The
next
item
is
consideration
of
business
motion.
Double
two,
eight
four
one,
also
in
the
name
of
graeme
d,
after
the
bureau-
and
this
is
about
committee
meeting
times,
could
I
call
on
graham
day
to
move
this
motion.
A
C
And
presiding
officer
er.
Thank
you.
This
is
a
welcome
opportunity
to
provide
an
update
link
to
a
publication
of
the
autumn
budget
revision,
which
was
laid
on
thursday,
the
24th
of
september
and
related
budget
matters.
It
continues
my
commitment
to
engage
parliament
on
the
budget
process
and
on
the
funding
provided
to
support
the
covert
19
response.
I'd
also
take
the
opportunity
to
offer
some
thoughts
in
response
to
the
chancellor's
statement
last
week
and
his
decision
to
scrap
the
autumn.
A
budget
from
the
uk
government.
C
The
autumn
budget
revision
is
the
second
of
three
formal
in-year
amendments
planned
to
the
scottish
budget
for
2020-21,
reflecting
the
scottish
government's
financial
response
to
coven
19..
It
remains
a
snapshot
of
a
dynamic
funding
position,
but
brings
the
total
scottish
government
financial
response
to
covert
19
to
over
6.5
billion
pounds.
That
was
around
4
billion
pounds
at
the
summer
budget
revision
and
2.5
billion
pounds
here
with
final
allocations
planned
to
be
set
out
in
february.
In
the
spring
budget
revision,
the
abr
allocates
2.55
billion
pounds
of
covert
19
and
other
funding
changes.
C
It's
been
funded
through
deploying
2.4
billion
pounds
of
barnet
consequentials,
142
million
pounds
of
reprioritization
of
existing
expenditure
and
30
million
pounds
of
scotland
reserve
drawdowns
for
capital
expenditure.
The
largest
element,
1.84
billion
pounds
of
barnet
consequentials,
is
allocated
to
health
and
social
care,
bringing
total
health
funding
to
uncovered
19
to
over
2.4
billion
pounds
and
reflecting
that
this
crisis
is
first
and
foremost
a
health
crisis.
C
222
million
pounds
of
resource
consequences
are
allocated
to
transport,
190
million
pounds
is
for
business,
employment
and
cultural
support
and
119
million
pounds
is
for
education
and
skills.
The
abr
also
allocates
the
majority
of
capital
expenditure
from
the
230
million
pounds
economic
stimulus
package
announced
in
june.
That
leaves
just
over
500
million
pounds
of
coven
19
resource
consequences
formally
unallocated,
but
I
can
remind
the
opposition
members
who
appear
to
be
confused
about
the
nature
of
a
budget
revision
that
this
funding
is
fully
committed
to
the
covet
response.
C
It
will
be
formally
allocated
through
the
spring
budget
revision.
A
budget
revision
is
a
retrospective
budget
process.
The
residual
scotland
reserve
position
is
currently
220
million
pounds
in
total,
although
not
formally
allocated
here.
The
remaining
consequentials
are
already
being
redeployed
against
existing
high
priority
commitments
and
there
is
no
available
headroom.
For
example,
our
commitment
to
provide
funding
for
those
on
lower
incomes
who
are
required
to
self-isolate
and
essential
support
we
know,
is
required
in
sustaining
our
transport
networks.
C
C
Just
last
week
we
published
the
draft
infrastructure
investment
plan,
as
well
as
the
capital
spending
review
framework
document.
Together
those
publications
provide
detail
of
future
capital
spending
plans
which
will
aid
our
response
to
the
economic
fallout
from
the
covert
19
pandemic
and
give
much
needed
confidence
to
key
sectors
of
the
scottish
economy.
The
draft
infrastructure
investment
plan
sets
out
a
clear
vision
to
support
and
to
enable
an
inclusive
net
zero
emissions
economy.
C
It
includes
the
details
of
around
24
billion
pounds
of
major
projects
and
national
programs
that
we
can
confirm
now
with
more
to
be
added
in
future
years.
Infrastructure
has
a
vital
role
to
play
in
supporting
jobs
and
in
helping
businesses
and
communities
to
adapt
and
to
recover
from
the
impact
of
coven
19..
C
Moreover,
the
package
of
investments
set
out
in
the
draft
response
to
scotland's
economic,
social
and
environmental
needs,
and
it
supports
sustainable
and
inclusive
growth
for
all
the
framework
gives
the
basis
for
publishing
a
full
capital
spending
review
later
this
year,
which
will
provide
multi-year
capital
budget
allocations
for
the
scottish
government
and
other
public
sector
bodies.
We
have
done
this
despite
continuing
uncertainty
about
the
uk
government's
own
forward
spending
plans
and
coming
on
to
that,
the
chancellor's
decision
to
scrap
this
autumn's
uk
budget
is
extremely
concerning
news.
C
The
scottish
budget
envelope
still
depends
heavily
on
the
block
grant
set
by
the
uk
budget
and
on
uk
tax
policy.
Without
that
tax
policy
and
the
other
announcements
of
a
uk
budget.
The
scottish
budget
for
next
year,
on
which
vital
public
services
depend,
will
be
based
on
provisional
and
partial
figures
and
therefore
subject
to
unnecessary
uncertainty
and
risk.
That
is
no
way
to
set
a
multi-billion
pound
budget
on
which
the
communities
and
the
businesses
of
this
country
rely.
C
We
faced
a
similar
situation
this
year
when
the
uk
budget
was
not
set
until
march
and
members
across
the
chamber,
no
matter
how
much
they
might
defend.
The
uk
government
today
know
full
well
that
last
year's
delay
was
deeply
problematic
for
our
budget
setting
and
scrutiny
processes.
The
situation
we
now
face
is
far
far
worse,
compounded
by
the
financial
challenges
of
colvid19
the
potential
for
the
uk
government
to
make
substantial
changes
to
tax
and
spending
and
the
uncertainty
surrounding
brexit.
C
This
again
underlines
the
real
need
for
us
to
have
full
financial
powers
to
ensure
that
we're
not
adversely
affected
by
uk
budgetary
decisions,
or
indeed,
non-decisions,
whether
it's
brexit
uncertainty,
the
lack
of
clarity
and
covert
funding
or
scrapping
the
autumn's
uk
budget.
Our
whole
budget
process
is
at
the
mercy
of
the
dysfunction
of
westminster
and
the
chancellor's
winter
economy
statement
provided
helpful
clarity
on
his
next
steps.
I
welcome
the
extension
of
support
for
some
individuals
and
businesses,
but
it
was
clear
weeks
ago
to
nearly
everybody
else.
C
Business
leaders,
manufacturers,
trade
unions
and
political
parties
across
this
chamber
that
either
an
extension
of
the
existing
measures
or
successor
arrangements
were
essential
to
prevent
unnecessary
economic
damage
and
protect
livelihoods,
and,
while
the
chancellor
has
dithered,
many
businesses
have
already
issued
redundancy
notices.
The
job
support
scheme
is
a
poor
and
a
narrow
substitute
for
the
job
retention
scheme.
C
A
lot
of
these
workers
who
are
not
working
at
all
are
likely
now
to
lose
their
jobs,
and
the
scottish
tourism
alliance
has
also
stated
that
employers
cannot
afford
to
pay
staff
when
there
is
no
work,
so
we
can
still
expect
to
see
mass
redundancies,
and
so
I
am
under
no
illusions.
Despite
these
announcements,
jobs
will
be
lost,
the
economy
will
be
more
fragile
and
the
recovery
is
going
to
be
challenging
and
so
presiding
officer,
as
I
conclude
I'll
continue
to
seek
to
engage
parliament
at
every
step
of
our
fiscal
response
to
covet
19.
C
the
autumn
budget
revision
and
the
draft
infrastructure
investment
plan
is
part
of
that
transparent
process.
However,
I
believe
the
chancellor's
statement
on
thursday
was
a
missed
opportunity,
and
I
also
believe
that
we
need
the
clarity
that
an
autumn
budget
would
provide
the
measures
so
far.
Don't
allow
us
to
tailor
our
response
to
covid's
impact
on
the
economy.
The
uk
government's
continued
failure
to
provide
proportionate
fiscal
flexibility,
such
as
borrowing
powers
prevents
this
government,
and
indeed
this
parliament
from
acting
in
a
way
to
deliver
the
support
that
we
all
believe
is
necessary.
C
Our
ambition
remains
to
eliminate
covert
19
in
scotland
and
for
the
scottish
economy
to
return
to
delivering
prosperity
and
growth
and,
unfortunately,
under
the
current
arrangements
imposed
on
our
budget
approach
and
timetable.
Our
response
to
this
crisis
is
overly
dependent
on
that
of
the
uk
government.
So
the
lack
of
an
autumn
uk
budget
increases
the
funding
uncertainty
for
our
decision
making
at
a
time
when
taxpayers,
communities
and
our
public
services
most
need.
C
Clarity,
like
all
governments,
were
facing
pressure
to
act
now
to
go
further
to
provide
additional
support,
but
we
don't
have
the
tools
that
allow
us
to
do
that.
We
don't
have
the
clarity
we
need
on
uk
tax
and
spending
to
support
our
budget
planning
into
next
year,
and
it
does
not
seem
credible
to
me
that
the
uk
government
refuses
to
accept
the
case
for
these
routine
basic
fiscal
powers.
Given
these
exceptional
times
powers
that
this
parliament
has
overwhelmingly
supported
in
the.
D
Thank
you,
presiding
officer.
Can
I
thank
the
cabinet
secretary
for
advanced
site
of
her
statement,
although
it
is
disappointing
that
she
has
now
fully
adopted
the
grievance
agenda
of
all
her
cabinet
colleagues,
the
finance
secretary
complains,
the
uk
budget
is
being
delayed,
seemingly
oblivious
to
the
fact
that
we
have
a
global,
healthy
health
emergency
wreaking
havoc
with
economies
and
public
finances
across
the
world.
And
of
course
the
scottish
government
were
able
to
set
a
budget
in
similar
circumstances
just
earlier
this
year.
D
So
is
there
any
reason
to
believe
that
the
current
finance
secretary
will
prove
less
capable
in
this
regard
than
her
predecessor
in
office?
But
can
I
ask
two
questions
of
the
cabinet
secretary
in
relation
to
the
detail
of
her
statement.
She
referred
to
the
unprecedented
6.5
billion
guarantee
of
additional
spending
from
the
uk
government
and
she
said
that
500
million
pounds
of
that
was
formally
unallocated.
D
C
And
if
you
look
at
just
one
basic
example
when
it
comes
to
non-domestic
rates,
the
the
tories
will
know
that,
in
terms
of
our
interventions
on
non-domestic
rates
this
year
to
provide
support
to
businesses
that
was
reliant
on
consequentials
that
came
now
to
set
a
budget
before
we
know
what
the
uk
government
is
going
to
do
on
tax.
It
makes
it
very
difficult
for
us
to
go
further
because
we
are
not
allowed
to
overspend
our
budget.
That
is
not
a
point
of
grievance.
That
is
a
point
of
fact,
which
I
would
hope
all
members
recognize.
C
C
But
the
examples
I
would
give
are
the
continued
support
for
transport
systems,
continued
support
for
things
like
self-isolation
payments,
but
every
single
penny
of
that
is
has
been
committed
and
will
be
formally
allocated
in
the
spring
budget
revision
in
the
same
way
as
we
did
not
formally
allocate
everything
in
the
summer
budget
revision.
But
I
have
now
provided
an
update.
The
same
will
apply
to
the
spring
budget
revision
in
terms
of
re-prioritization.
We
have
re-prioritised
142
million
pounds.
E
If
the
cabinet
secretary
is
telling
us
that
there
is
no
head
room,
all
the
money
is
deployed
all
has
been
allocated,
then
she
should
be
telling
us
now
where
that
money
is
going
to.
And
specifically
can
she
tell
me
how
much
will
be
given
to
local
government,
who
only
last
week
reported
a
budget
gap
of
some
350
million
pounds,
much
of
which
is
covered
related.
C
We
are
currently
in
engagement,
engaging
with
cosla
to
finalize
the
details
of
the
lost
income
scheme,
which
is
worth
up
to
an
estimated
90
million
pounds
and
that
sits
alongside
49
million
pounds,
which
has
been
agreed
to
be
passed
on
to
local
authorities,
and
that
is
part
of
the
the
lost
income
scheme.
And
she
will
also
know
that.
C
A
F
Thank
you
presiding
officer,
and
I
also
thank
the
governor
secretary
for
the
advance
statement,
which
mentions
the
replacement
of
the
the
job
support
scheme
in
place
of
the
job
retention
scheme
and
the
likelihood
that
that
will
lead
to
increased
unemployment.
It's
also
likely
to
lead
to
increased
poverty,
because
those
at
the
bottom
end
of
the
wage
scale
will
be
losing
income.
They
can
ill
afford
to
lose.
What
impact
will
that
have
on
the
scottish
finances,
either
through
devolved
tax
take
or
through
uptake
and
demand
for
devolved,
social
security
and
other
services?
C
Well,
patrick
harvey
makes
a
good
point
in
terms
of
the
impact
on
our
tax
receipts,
as
well
as
the
increased
need
for
welfare
support.
He
will
know
that
when
it
comes
to
setting
our
budget,
one
of
the
reasons
why
the
timetable
is
so
important
is
that
the
fiscal
commission
needs
enough
time
in
order
to
and
provide
their
own
forecasts,
which
will
include
the
likely
impact
on
a
tax
and
on
welfare
support.
But
we
know
that
there
will
be
a
substantial
impact
on
all
the
devolved
taxes
this
year,
which
is
something
that
we're
monitoring
very
carefully.
C
Although
he'll
know
that
the
income
tax
impact
will
only
materialize
in
the
coming
years
in
terms
of
welfare
support,
it's
one
of
the
reasons
that
very
quickly
in
march,
we
provided
additional
support
to
local
authorities
to
be
able
to
provide
and
further
support,
for
example
through
through
welfare,
and
he
will
see
in
the
autumn
budget
revision
and
I'm
sure
we
can
get
into
the
detail
of
this
in
committee
next
week
that
there
is
a
transfers
related
to
the
scottish
welfare
fund.
In
this
particular
autumn
budget
revision.
G
Crawford,
thank
you
very
much,
presiding
officer.
My
question
is
in
two
parts:
can
I
press
the
finance
secretary
as
to
whether
an
estimate
has
been
made
for
the
amount
given
directly
to
the
treasury
from
the
treasury
to
people
and
businesses
in
scotland
under
furlough
and
business
support?
That
estimate
was
requested
on
the
23rd
of
june
and,
secondly,
the
scottish
fiscal
commission's
estimates
for
scottish
tax
receipts
have
led
to
hundreds
of
millions
of
pounds
of
negative
reconciliations.
G
C
G
C
Those
are
treasury
figures
and
they're
publicly
available,
so
my
understanding
is
that
treasury
provides
and
fit
those
figures.
We
know
that
217
000
people
in
scotland
are
still
on
furlough,
it's
about
15
of
the
workforce
so
and
clearly,
and
there
are
still
a
number
of
people
that
are
dependent
on
that
furlough
support,
which
will
run
out
at
the
end
of
october
and
clearly,
the
replacement
scheme
does
not
incentivize
the
the
the
resumption
of
those
jobs
if
there
is
no
work
in
terms
of
the
negative
reconciliations
and
the
the
estimates.
C
Yes
at
the
very
early
stages
of
the
the
definition
of
income
tax
clearly
and
all
parties
where
improving
the
process
of
forecasting
and
estimates,
I
think
that's
it
widely
accepted.
The
other
point,
of
course,
though,
is
that
it
is
worrying
that
next
year
there
will
be
these
negative
reconciliations,
which
will
have
a
significant
impact
on
the
scottish
budget,
which
could
be
relieved
in
part
if
the
borrowing
powers
reflected
the
the
need
to
cover
the
reconciliations.
C
I
am
relieved
that
309
million
pounds
is
significantly
lower
than
previous
estimates,
and
300
million
of
that
could
be
covered
by
the
borrowing
powers
which
were
provided
for
the
express
purpose
of
covering
negative
reconciliations,
which
are
to
be
expected
in
the
early
years
of
devolving.
A
new
tax.
H
You
president
obama,
sir.
Firstly,
I'm
glad
that
the
cabinet
psychiatrist
explained
the
reality
and
facts
about
the
budget
provisions,
the
opposition
of
either
fundamental
and
misunderstanding
of
the
financial
arrangements
in
place
of
the
deliberately
seeking
cheap
baseless
headlines,
but
in
regard
to
the
chancellor's
scrapping
of
the
budget
with
the
cabinet
secretary,
please
expand
and
what
this
could
mean
for
the
scottish
budget
and
vital
public
services,
particularly
we're
in
the
middle
of
a
pandemic
and
likely
to
crash
out
of
the
european
union
without
against
the
wishes
of
the
scottish
people.
This
is
unacceptable.
A
C
I'm
grateful
to
bruce
crawford
for
that,
as
he
knows,
full
well.
Budget
revisions
are
predominantly
retrospective
in
nature,
and
I
know
that
full
well
having
come
before
his
committee
regularly
to
explain
the
the
detail
in
the
budget
revisions
and
I
look
forward
to
further
scrutiny.
Well,
that's
maybe
too
strong
a
word.
I
look
forward
in
part
to
his
scrutiny
at
committee
next
week,
he's
right
to
point
out
the
huge
problems
that
a
delay
to
the
uk
budget
causes
not
only
to
the
parliament
but
actually
to
every
public
sector
body.
C
In
scotland
we
did
face
the
same
situation
this
year
when
the
uk
budget
was
not
set
to
march,
we
had
to
go
in
advance.
It
was
deeply
problematic
for
our
budget
setting.
All
members
know
that,
no
matter
what
side
of
the
chamber
that
they
sit
on,
it
was
difficult
for
scrutiny,
but
the
situation
that
we
now
face
is
further
compounded
by
the
financial
challenges.
C
The
financial
challenges
that
murder
fraser
himself
alluded
to
the
challenges
of
covert
the
the
uncertainty
surrounding
brexit,
the
threat
of
a
potential
no
deal
at
the
end
of
the
year
and,
ultimately,
we
need
tax
policy
and
we
need
understandings
of
uk
spending
decisions
in
order
to
know
what
our
budget
will
be
based
on.
I
cannot
base
a
budget
on
provisional
figures
when
the
people
of
this
country,
the
public
services
in
this
country
and
our
taxpayers
require
certainty.
I
C
Well,
last
year,
ironically,
we
were
continually
referred
to
the
conservative
party
manifesto
by
treasury
officials.
When
asking
for
any
certainty
about
our
budget
figures.
We
don't
even
have
the
luxury
of
a
december
election
when
facing
this
year's
budget.
So
not
only
are
we
resorting
to
to
guess
work
in
our
total
funding
envelope,
but
critically
how
much
funding
we
can
allocate
to
health
services
as
they
continue
to
respond
to
the
pandemic
and,
as
I've
said,
that's
no
way
of
setting
a
multi-billion
pound
budget.
J
Presiding
officer
does
the
current
secretary
agree
that,
as
well
as
a
fiscal
response
in
terms
of
tackling
the
economic
crisis,
as
a
result
it
covered,
we
need
a
policy
response
to
sit
alongside
that.
Scottish
labour
continues
to
support
the
government
in
making
the
case
for
additional
war
emperors
and
fiscal
flexibility
within
the
uk
government,
but
can
ask
what
is
the
purpose
of
getting
the
new
resources?
Where
are
the
jobs
coming
from?
C
It's
a
very
good
question
and
alzheimer's
right
to
talk
about
the
policy
response
that
needs
to
sit
alongside
that.
There
are
three
things
that
I
would
refer
to,
some
of
which
is
captured
in
the
autumn
budget
revision,
but
the
first
is
how
we
navigate
the
next
few
months
of
a
potentially
increased
localized
lockdowns
and
provide
support
to
businesses
that
find
themselves
unable
to
open
so
there's
a
position
there,
which
is
that
the
public
health
response
shouldn't
be
hampered
by
our
the
lack
of
economic
levers.
C
The
second
point
is
providing
a
support
for
employment
and
retraining,
which
is
actually
something
that
was
noticeably
absent
from
the
the
chancellor's
winter
update
last
week.
So
in
the
autumn
budget
revision,
he
will
see
90
million
pounds
of
resource
funding
for
employment,
support
and
training
costs
associated
with
covert
19.
C
That
very
point
about
helping
people
back
into
work
and
the
third
element
that
he'll
be
aware
of
which
sees
a
private
and
public
working
together
very
collaboratively,
is
the
jobs
guarantee
for
young
people
to
ensure
that
every
young
person
has
either
access
to
education,
training
or
a
job
and
considering
how
hard
hit
the
lives
and
the
employment
prospects
of
our
young
people
have
been
through
covert.
I
think
that
is
particularly
important.
K
Hey
thanks
very
much.
The
cabinets
actually
mentioned
in
the
new
job
support
scheme,
but
it
seems
to
me
it's
quite
a
blunt
instrument
and
maybe
she
could
clarify
for
us
if
a
particular
geographical
area
was
locked
down,
would
she
have
the
powers
to
help
them
or
if
a
sector
is
not
allowed
to
reopen,
would
she
have
the
powers
to
help
them
and
if,
if
not,
what
pers
would
you
like
to
do
that
kevin.
C
A
second,
this
is
very
much
the
powers
to
be
able
to
fund
those
interventions,
because
the
nature
of
having
a
fixed
budget
is
that
to
provide
additional
support
in
one
area.
It
has
to
be
cut
in
another
and
at
a
time
of
emergency
we
cannot.
I
cannot
in
good
faith
and
see
cuts
to
any
of
our
budget,
so
the
best
way
of
protecting
jobs
is
by
extending
the
furlough
scheme.
C
Now
I
take
the
point
that
doing
that,
perhaps
on
a
partial
basis
that
allows
us
to
tailor
it
to
particular
sectors
or
particular
areas
is
the
best
way
of
doing
it.
Certainly,
the
job
support
scheme
announced
by
the
chancellor
is
a
poor
substitute.
It
disincentivizes
employers
to
bring
people
back,
and
it
does
not
remove
the
risk
of
redundancy.
What
we
need.
L
C
I
have
not
read
those
particular
comments,
but
I
suppose,
if
you
do
want
to
connect
it
to
this
statement,
which
seems
quite
removed
from
this
statement,
is
the
fact
that,
very
simply,
in
extraordinary
times,
we
need
extra
ordinary
powers
to
ensure
that
we
support
every
business
and
we
support
every
employee.
That's
currently
facing
an
uncertain
future
and
what
we're
asking
for
is
mind-numbingly
basic
fiscal
powers
and
fiscal
flexibilities.
In
order
to
do
that,.
M
A
C
Well,
I
had
a
meeting
with
the
chief
secretary
to
the
treasury
last
week.
There's
been
no
progress
to
on
my
request
for
fiscal
flexibility
since
my
last
meeting
with
him
in
july,
I
don't
think
I've
had
a
response
to
my
letter,
setting
out
the
detail
of
the
flexibilities
that
I
have
requested
and
I'm
committed
to
continuing
engagement
with
treasury.
Alongside
my
devolved
government
counterpart,
we
are
all
united
in
pressing
the
uk
government
for
these
flexibilities,
most
of
which
don't
cost
the
treasury.
A
penny.
N
Thank
you,
presiding
officer.
Can
I
draw
members
attention
to
my
entry
in
the
register
of
interest
in
relation
to
my
former
employment
with
svh
cabinet
secretary?
How
can
you
justify
the
fact
that
the
capital
spending
review
includes
a
30
returns
reduction,
real
term
deduction
on
the
affordable
housing
supply
program,
with
a
huge
waiting
list
for
appropriate,
affordable
housing
and
homelessness?
So
don't
we
need
to
protect
jobs
in
the
construction
industry
and
support
the
scottish
economy
to
get
through
the
pandemic
cabinet
secretary?
Well,.
C
Of
course,
the
infrastructure
investment
plan
consultation
was
published
last
week,
so
I'm
sure
she'd
be
very
welcome
to
respond
to
that
consultation,
but
in
terms
of
the
capital
spending
and
it's
a
framework
just
now.
My
hope,
my
sincere
hope
is
that
we
have
the
promised
uk
government
a
comprehensive
spending
review
which
will
provide
additional
clarity
on
precisely
what
our
capital
allocations
will
be
for
the
next
five
years
and
that
will
allow
us,
alongside
the
budget
whenever
that
is
hopefully
soon
will
allow
us
to
publish
a
more
fulsome
capital
spending
review,
with
exact
figures.