Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament am 3:42 pm ar 13 Mehefin 2024.
Not at this point, Mr Whittle; I am sorry.
I am not suggesting that no action has been taken by the Government to address the fiscal sustainability challenge. Government ministers are absolutely right to highlight the additional £1.5 billion that we have available to spend each year on public services because of the progressive changes to income tax that have been made since 2017. That is the result of changes that were tabled, from opposition and from within government, by the Scottish Greens.
I ask those who have opposed those measures throughout the past six years to compare the doomsday predictions that they have made with the reality. Overall tax take in Scotland from income tax is up, and inward migration from the rest of the UK to Scotland is also up.
I think that that is because higher-quality public services are a pull factor. On the point of debate that I raised with Liz Smith a few minutes ago, I have just checked the numbers. Only 9 per cent of people in Scotland want lower taxes and less spending; 43 per cent are prepared to pay more to fund public services. The most recent British social attitudes survey shows very similar UK-wide figures.