Labour leader Anas Sarwar and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
By Bill Heaney
“At the same time, Shell has announced profits of more than $19 billion, which equates to more than £27,000 profit every minute. That is why Labour proposed a windfall tax on the profits of energy companies to help to pay for measures that would save most households £200 and the most vulnerable households £600. It is reasonable for those who are profiting from the crisis to help to cover the costs of the families who are struggling most. Why did Scottish National Party MPs fail to vote for those measures in the House of Commons on Tuesday?”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon hit back: “I recognise the point that today’s Ofgem decision on the energy price cap means that the increase in energy costs will be just under £700. The Chancellor of the Exchequer was still on his feet when I came into the chamber, so I have not heard all the detail of what he said, but he has just announced what sounded like welcome steps to help to mitigate the increase. However, in my view, those steps do not go far enough. They seem to offer about £350 of help against energy bill increases of around £700.
“I also do not yet know what the position on consequentials will be, but I give the commitment, assuming that there are the consequentials that I expect, that every single penny will go towards helping people in Scotland to deal with the cost of living crisis.
“There is one issue that we will have to deal with in Scotland, because part of the chancellor’s announcement today was about council tax rebates. Of course, average council tax bills in Scotland are already significantly lower that they are in England. In band C council tax, people pay on average £525 less in Scotland than they would pay in England.
“Another difference is that, because of decisions that were made by the SNP Government, approximately 400,000 people in Scotland do not pay any council tax because we have, unlike the situation in England, a council tax reduction scheme than can deliver up to 100 per cent relief. We will have to consider how to help people who also have rising energy bills; we are determined that that help will be delivered.
“On the oil and gas levy, the SNP believes in fair and progressive taxation. Those who have the broadest shoulders should pay the most, which certainly includes companies, including oil and gas companies, that have rising profits. During the pandemic other companies fell into that category; Amazon’s profits are rising and supermarkets have had rising profits. We need to make sure that we take a fair approach.
“The Scottish Government does not have the power to do that; it is a decision for the UK Government. My only caveat is that we need to ensure that the burden of rightly providing households the length and breadth of the UK with as much help as possible does not fall only on people, jobs and investment in the north-east of Scotland, at a time when we are trying to make the transition from oil and gas to renewable energy in order to meet our net zero targets.
“For decades now, Westminster Governments have seen the north-east of Scotland as a cash cow, so let us make sure that, however the UK Government chooses to fund it, the help that I agree with Anas Sarwar must be provided is provided fairly, so that all the companies that have the broadest shoulders get the chance to contribute to it.”
Anas Sarwar replied: “A one-off windfall tax on one company in one year that has made $19 billion profit, which equates to £27,000 a minute, will not mean that the company will disappear. It is not going anywhere. It is also difficult to suggest that because a windfall tax would benefit people in Doncaster, we should not be acting to help people in Dundee. That just does not sound credible.
“We know that more than 200,000 pensioners already live in fuel poverty. That number will only increase because of the crisis. Back in September, we warned that Scotland was facing a cost of living crisis, and we outlined proposals for an increase to the winter fuel payment.
“The winter fuel payment is devolved to the Scottish Government, but rather than act, it handed it back to the Tory-run Department for Work and Pensions. In contrast, the Labour-run Welsh Government did act, by setting up funding to provide £100 to help families who are struggling with energy bills. It is now doubling that payment to £200. Will the First Minister now back our proposals and increase the winter fuel payment?”
Ms Sturgeon said: “Council tax bills in Scotland are already significantly lower: band C council tax is, on average, £525 lower than it is in England, and is £376 lower on average than it is in Wales. We have a council tax reduction scheme that gives 100 per cent relief to approximately 400,000 people in Scotland. That is not available in most parts of England.
“On payments during the pandemic, towards the end of last year approximately 500,000 households got a £130 support payment because of the pandemic. More recently, of course—which is more relevant to the issue we are talking about now—we have established the £41 million winter support fund, which is helping people to heat their homes—
“The fund is helping with rising food costs and will allow support to be given to those who most need it. We will continue to do everything that we can do, including passing on any and all consequentials that come from the chancellor’s announcements today.
Anas Sarwar said Nicola Sturgeon was missing the point – “ Things are getting worse right now and pressure is being put on people’s bills right now. Labour’s proposal predated the cost of living crisis. The First Minister says that we should look at such a tax across the board. On Tuesday, when the proposal was considered, Scottish National Party members of Parliament failed to vote for a tax on companies that are making profits of, for example, $19 billion in one year.
“The Scottish Government would rather play politics with the cost of living crisis than take action using the powers that it has. It is a Government that is lacking ambition and which is failing to use the Scottish Parliament. It is a Government that stands with energy companies that make £27,000 a minute, not with people who are struggling to pay their bills. It has refused to use the powers of the Parliament to top up winter fuel payments, it has refused to back Labour’s proposal for a windfall tax on energy companies, and it has refused to stop rises in rail fares and water charges. The SNP is siding with the Tories and big energy companies, while Labour is on the side of hard-pressed Scots.
“People are struggling right now. When will the First Minister stop commenting on the cost of living crisis and start doing something about it?”
Top picture: Families can no longer afford the cost of their weekly food shopping.