LAST week I had the rare treat of being able to watch an entire Budget speech uninterrupted, thanks to Philip Hammond holding it on a Monday.
There were a raft of announcements but one that really stood out for me was extra help to cut the business rates of small firms. This measure, if replicated in Scotland, could be a real boost for our struggling High Streets. I have written about our town centre before. If business rates were cut here it would be a genuine boost to some of the operators there. I hope that when Finance Secretary Derek Mackay outlines his draft budget in December it will include help for our High Streets.
Planning is a subject that can get people very worked up. Most people see it as something that is done TO communities, rather than WITH them. Parliament is currently dealing with a Planning Bill, which ought to change that.
The Parliament’s Local Government and Communities committee, which I sit on, is wading through more than 300 amendments to the Bill, which I have generously described as a turkey. I have been keen to ensure that people are involved throughout the process and that they don’t feel downtrodden.
The Bill did not contain any measures for councils to be able to capture the increase in value of land which comes from them granting planning permission. I tabled an amendment which would allow for that and, luckily, it was backed by the committee. The Scottish Conservatives manifesto said that communities and public authorities should benefit from the increase in value of land achieved through gaining planning permission. My amendment provides a powerful tool for local authorities to build new communities. My amendment ensures where a planning authority establishes a Masterplan consent area, it may include provision for compulsory purchase. We could deliver more houses and more affordable houses.
This is genuinely exciting – but is not a new proposal. Land value capture helped build the post-war New Towns, including East Kilbride. The New Towns programme ultimately led to the establishment of 32 communities for 2.8 million people. By supporting my amendment, Scotland is now at the forefront of a radical public policy shift and will help to deliver more affordable homes. This change is needed because the SNP is failing to deliver enough affordable homes.
I welcome the news in the budget, which saw the Scottish Government provided with £950 million of extra funding. This means that from 2015 to 2020 (this spending period), the Scottish Government block grant will have increased in real terms. This is great news for Scotland. This Budget delivers for Scotland - with nearly £1bn in Barnett money, a freeze on whisky tax, stability for oil and gas, a new fishing technology fund, a fuel duty freeze and new funding for our cities.