Scottish Secretary Moore says new tax-raising powers for Scotland will only be the first step

In a speech to the Scottish Lib Dem conference yesterday, Moore said that once the new powers to raise more tax were introduced next year "we will begin to look at what is appropriate for the next stage". He added: "The road doesn't end, the thinking doesn't stop because we've got Calman."

The Calman reforms, recommended by the panel chaired by Sir Kenneth Calman, will mean that MSPs will get new powers to vary income tax in Scotland.

Moore's comments reflect the fact that the Lib Dems want to use their status as coalition partners to press for "Calman Plus", under which almost all tax decisions would be taken by Holyrood, not Westminster.

The Calman plans are due to be enacted over the coming year, and Moore said yesterday that the public should not underestimate "the scale of what we are taking on".

"Giving Scotland's parliament accountability for half the basic rate of income tax is a massive step. It's going to be a major responsibility for the politicians who are elected to the Scottish Parliament," he said.

Moore was speaking as it was confirmed he had been placed in the UK government's "star chamber" which decides on departmental cutbacks, to be unveiled next week.

Earlier, Scottish Lib Dem leader Tavish Scott dismissed claims that the Tory-Lib Dem coalition would scupper the party's electoral hopes in May.

He said: "I know the conventional wisdom. I've read the papers. I've listened to the chattering classes. The next election will be hard, very hard, too hard for us. That's nonsense."

Scott said he wanted every school in Scotland to offer Mandarin to pupils, in recognition of China's growing dominance as a superpower.

A total of 1.1 billion people speak Mandarin, more than the 1 billion who speak English. Scott said that if China saw Scotland acknowledging its growing importance by teaching Mandarin in all schools, it would be better placed to develop growing business and cultural links.

The conference also heard from Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, who announced plans for a pilot programme to cut the price of fuel in remote parts of Britain, including the Outer Hebrides, Shetland and Orkney.

Under the scheme, drivers there would see a 5p cut in each litre of fuel, to offset the extra costs they already pay. Alexander said he would now be pressing EU nations to allow the reform to go through permanently.

Andy Kerr, Labour's finance spokesman, said: "The Scottish Lib Dems seem to be forgetting that they are in bed with the Tories at Westminster who are determined to cut support for some of the most vulnerable and least well off in our society."