Fiscal Framework Review (Amendment 3)
S6M-11546.3: As an amendment to motion S6M-11546 in the name of Shona Robison (Fiscal Framework Review), leave out from ", while" to end and insert "the deal was agreed to by both governments as part of the devolution settlement that has evolved significantly since 1998; regrets the lack of public scrutiny afforded by a rushed final agreement that saw the simultaneous publication of the Independent Report along with the political agreement, thereby preventing full parliamentary discussion and the input of expert bodies; believes that Scotland has been held back by the Scottish National Party administration and the UK Conservative administration, which have built a low-growth, low-wage economy and, as a result, the UK Autumn Statement was delivered in the context of a stagnating economy and the highest overall tax burden since the Second World War; notes the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s modelling of a £1.9 billion revenue gap by 2027-28 between the Scottish Government’s committed spending and projected available revenues; further notes that this analysis was undertaken prior to the First Minister’s further sizeable spending commitments made at the Scottish National Party conference in October 2023, and calls on both of Scotland’s governments to prioritise economic growth, to put wages into the pockets of hard-pressed people in Scotland, and to generate the taxes to pay for vital public services, which are currently undermined by the financial and economic incompetence of ministers in Edinburgh and London."

Original motion(S6M-11546):
That the Parliament recognises the limited improvements to the Scottish Fiscal Framework, following a joint review with the UK Government; welcomes the outcome of the review, which provides an increase in the Scottish Government’s borrowing and reserve capacity, and also confirms the Indexed Per Capita methodology as the permanent basis for calculating Block Grant Adjustments for devolved tax and security spend; notes that, while the limited progress is welcome, the Framework cannot protect Scotland from the UK Government’s austerity-driven budget decisions; understands that the Autumn Statement saw real-terms cuts to frontline spending in NHS England and on justice, and that these cuts have impacts on the finances that are consequently available to Scotland; calls for the UK Government spending plans for 2024-25 to be urgently revisited to invest in services and provide the funding necessary to meet the costs of public sector pay deals, not least in the NHS, and believes that the Scottish Parliament should have all the fiscal levers to prevent Scotland being subject to the austerity policies that harm efforts to reduce poverty, develop a growing wellbeing economy, tackle climate change and invest in public services.