Holyrood

The SNP has seized on remarks by Labour’s Andy Kerr in today’s Daily Mail today (Wednesday) where he criticises the Finance Secretary John Swinney' "decision to postpone reductions" in spending this year. This would already be on top of the £500 million cuts already imposed by the previous UK Labour Government on the Scottish Government’s budget in 2010/11.

SNP Treasury spokesman Stewart Hosie MP today (Wednesday) called for the “transfer of fiscal powers” to Scotland to mean the transfer of full fiscal responsibilities - rather than the half baked proposals contained in the Calman Commission. The coalition UK Government is expected to outline proposals in the Queen’s Speech next week.

The SNP has called for an explanation from the Home Office of events over the last week and an end to all child detention as soon as possible following a statement that children of asylum seekers will no longer be detained in Scotland at the Dungavel detention centre, but instead moved immediately to the Yarls Wood detention centre in England.

The SNP has today called for immediate action from the Lib Dem / Conservative Government to end the detention of children at Dungavel.

Responding to the latest Scottish Retail Statistics, Linda Fabiani MSP has echoed warnings by Scottish Ministers that the lack of a fiscal stimulus programme risks tipping the Scottish and UK economies back into recession.

Alex Salmond has only now received a reply from Tory leader David Cameron to a letter asking about funding which has no commitment to seeking the consent of the Scottish Government before introducing a change to the funding arrangements for the Scottish Budget.

Joe Fitzpatrick MSP has today (Tuesday) welcomed the start of work on the first new council houses to be built in Dundee for twenty years. The building programme was opened today by Scottish Government Housing Minister Alex Neil.

Commenting on the report in today's Herald newspaper which reveals that Labour has rejected calls for a lucrative bonus scheme for hospital consultants to be scrapped, SNP MSP Dr Ian McKee, said the response exposed Labour's hypocrisy.

A written answer to Christina McKelvie MSP discloses 5 per cent of Scotland's local authority education budgets are draining down Labour's PFI plughole. The figure equates to £244 million, an increase of £62 million on 2007-08.

Tricia Marwick MSP has welcomed today's landmark vote by the Scottish Parliament in favour of replacing the first past the post voting system for Westminster elections with the much fairer single transferable vote (STV).