UK Government Budget

That the Parliament is disappointed that the UK Budget is a missed opportunity to promote growth and deliver greater fairness; notes that the Treasury’s analysis shows that those on the lowest incomes have been hit disproportionately hard by the deficit reduction plans and that over 300,000 pensioners in Scotland will be adversely affected by the decision to abolish age-related income tax allowances in order to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy; welcomes the UK Government’s response to the Scottish Government’s calls for a package of measures to support the oil and gas sector, the provision of enhanced capital allowances for three of Scotland’s enterprise zones, funding for Edinburgh to become a super-connected city and the introduction of tax relief for the video games industry; disagrees however with the Chancellor’s decision not to provide funding for £300 million worth of shovel-ready capital projects, which could be taken forward immediately to support jobs, and notes that the Chancellor’s failure to deliver for Scotland demonstrates the importance of the Scottish Parliament having the full range of economic levers to deliver jobs, growth and fairness for the people of Scotland.