Scotland Bill

My right hon. Friend and my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall (Kate Hoey), who I understand has reached a memorable birthday, spoke to new clauses on the Barnett formula, and the hon. Member for Milton Keynes South and others pertinently said that there is no easy solution. [Interruption.] I am pleased to see that my right hon. Friend has returned to his seat. In the financial year 2009-10, however, the average per capita expenditure in Scotland was £9,940, while in London the figure was £10,182. Indeed, it has been stated that the move to a needs-based system in countries such as Australia has resulted in the same amount of debate about what is required. Barnett should not be confused with devolution. Devolution allows the Scottish Government to make their own decisions on a range of issues, such as prescription charges, which do not apply in England, but it is separate from Barnett formula issues. The Barnett formula is relatively simple and objective, and as the Calman commission stated, any changes to it would be difficult to determine and ““a highly political process””. On the new clauses on corporation tax, for the record, the hon. Member for Dundee East (Stewart Hosie) spoke about fiscal autonomy for 42 minutes, not 14. However, we are not necessarily any clearer about what impact his proposals would have on the electorate in Scotland. The Calman report specifically rejected the devolution of corporation tax. Paragraph 3.113 of the final report says that"““we therefore reject the devolution of corporation tax. Nor, especially in view of its volatility…from one year to another, do we see it as a candidate for tax assignment.””" This matter was raised in an interesting report on Scottish economic growth issued this week by the Centre for Public Policy for Regions, which states:"““The research findings on the issue of the relationship between fiscal autonomy (or decentralisation) are neither consistent nor robust. Overall, the most important finding is that there is no simple and robust relationship between fiscal decentralisation and economic growth.””" It also states:"““The traditional drivers of economic growth tend to concentrate on microeconomic factors (such as innovation, R&D, entrepreneurship, and knowledge-based assets in general) as the key determinants of productivity…To a large extent, the policy levers available in this area have been within the control of the devolved Scottish Government since 2000.””" Instead of giving us an ill-defined list of extra powers, it would be helpful if SNP Members and their colleagues in the Scottish Government could specify how they wish to use their existing powers to increase Scotland's economic growth and productivity.