Economy and Recovery

As an amendment to motion S4M-02084 in the name of John Swinney (Economy and Recovery), leave out from "UK recovery" to end and insert "calls on the Scottish Government to acknowledge that its approach has resulted in very little difference to economic outcomes in Scotland compared with that of the UK; notes that despite claims that the Scottish Government’s budgets are designed to boost economic growth, the evidence suggests otherwise, with Scottish GDP growth stagnating at the same rate as the UK's and with joblessness in Scotland now at an even higher rate than in the rest of the UK; believes that the Scottish Government must, as a matter of urgency, ensure that its public spending boosts the Scottish economy and put reducing unemployment and increasing employment at the heart of public policy, and calls on the Scottish Government to bring forward a sustainable procurement bill as soon as possible.