The UK Budget – Scotland’s Priorities (Amendment 2)
S6M-14614.2: As an amendment to motion S6M-14614 in the name of Shona Robison (The UK Budget &ndash; Scotland&rsquo;s Priorities), leave out from &ldquo;supports&rdquo; to end and insert &ldquo;acknowledges the crucial role of the previous UK Conservative administrations in securing the largest ever block grants for Scotland, in curtailing inflation, guiding the country through and out of the COVID-19 pandemic, protecting businesses through the furlough scheme, and in providing non-domestic rates relief, which the Scottish National Party (SNP) administration chose not to pass on to businesses in Scotland;&nbsp;credits the Conservative administration for ensuring consistent economic growth for the UK, frequently outpacing the rest of the G7, and protecting UK pensions; notes that the current UK Labour administration, despite this legacy, has created a budget deficit by paying above-inflation pay awards to the public sector; condemns the UK Labour administration for scrapping the Winter Fuel Payment, thereby putting 900,000 Scottish pensioners in Scotland at risk this winter, and acknowledges the legacy of 17 years of economic mismanagement by the SNP administration in Scotland, which has resulted in stagnant growth, high taxes, underinvestment, spending cuts, and difficulties in attracting skilled workers to Scotland.&rdquo;

Original motion(S6M-14614):
That the Parliament&nbsp;recognises the importance of the UK Budget on 30 October 2024 to Scotland&rsquo;s budget; supports the call from prominent economists, including Professor Mariana Mazzucato, Professor Anton Muscatelli, Lord Gus O&rsquo;Donnell and Professor Simon Wren-Lewis, for the UK Government to use the forthcoming UK Budget to halt &ldquo;the under-investment that has resulted in a vicious circle of stagnation and decline, whereby low investment leads to both a weaker economy and greater social and environmental problems&rdquo;; calls on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to replace the current austerity fiscal rules that the UK Government is operating under, in order to allow for greater investment to renew and enhance public infrastructure and deliver projects that support the transition to net zero; believes that the UK Government should reverse its cut to the Winter Fuel Payment, as this cut will impact many of the most vulnerable older people in society, and urges the UK Government to use its first Budget to remove the two-child limit on benefits and deliver greater investment to tackle child poverty, and deliver a sizeable increase in investment in the NHS and schools, which would deliver consequentials for application in these vital public services in Scotland.