Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Debate: Using the Upcoming Scottish Budget to Support Economic Growth

Craig Hoy S6M-15061 That the Parliament believes that the Scottish Government has failed to deliver sustained levels of economic growth in Scotland; notes that this failure has cost Scotland’s public services £624 million in 2022-23 alone; recognises that the Scottish Ministers have increased income tax on people in Scotland by over £1.4 billion since 2016 and have created a damaging tax differential with the rest of the UK; acknowledges that, despite increased taxes and higher spending on devolved public services, this has failed to deliver better outcomes for the taxpayers who fund these services, and calls on the Scottish Government to examine the potential positive impact on jobs and economic growth of beginning to lower tax in the upcoming Scottish Budget. Ivan McKee S6M-15061.2 As an amendment to motion S6M-15061 in the name of Craig Hoy (Using the Upcoming Scottish Budget to Support Economic Growth), leave out from “believes” to end and insert “condemns the impact of the former UK Conservative administration’s austerity and Brexit on the public finances and the wider economy; recognises that progressive taxation in Scotland has ensured that funding has been available to deliver actions to tackle poverty, like the Scottish Child Payment; notes that the latest available evidence shows that Scotland had positive net inward migration of taxpayers from the rest of the UK and was positive for every tax band; further notes that the process to develop the Scottish Budget for 2025-26 is underway; challenges those who would propose reducing tax rates to identify the public services that they would then cut to deliver the required balanced budget; deplores the call from the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party to introduce an illness tax in the form of prescription charges, and believes that the Baby Box, free prescriptions, free personal care, free eye examinations and free university tuition should be protected and sustained for the future.” Mark Griffin S6M-15061.1 As an amendment to motion S6M-15061 in the name of Craig Hoy (Using the Upcoming Scottish Budget to Support Economic Growth), leave out from "the Scottish Ministers" to end and insert "while taxpayers in Scotland are paying more than their counterparts in the rest of the UK, almost one in six people in Scotland are on NHS waiting lists, the latest PISA statistics show that Scotland’s education system is falling further behind other countries, and local government services are under severe financial pressure; believes that people are not seeing the necessary improvements to their public services; regrets that the incompetence of the Scottish National Party administration has led to chaos in the public finances, with emergency in-year budgets for three consecutive years, and calls on the Scottish Government to end 17 years of waste and incompetence in the management of Scotland’s finances."