§ Mr. DavidsonTo ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library the sources and calculation behind his statement in January on the extra amount that a Scottish Parliament could cost the average Scot. [14917]
§ The Prime MinisterI have no intention of introducing a Scottish Parliament which would undermine the integrity of the Union and make Scotland the highest taxed part of the United Kingdom. As I said in January, a tax-raising Scottish Parliament able to raise income tax by 3p in the pound could cost the average family on Scottish male average earnings £6 per week. I am arranging for the basis for this calculation to be placed in the House library. Moreover, if identifiable public expenditure in Scotland were to be reduced after the establishment of a Scottish Parliament to the same level per head as the United Kingdom average, the shortfall to be made up by Scottish taxpayers would be equivalent to at least an extra 19p in the pound on income tax. The basis for this calculation is also being placed in House Library.
The proponents of a Scottish Parliament should have calculated the cost to taxpayers in Scotland before they committed themselves to its introduction.