Official Report 1004KB pdf
Deputy First Minister Responsibilities, Economy and Gaelic
Good afternoon. The first item of business is portfolio question time, and the first portfolio is Deputy First Minister responsibilities, economy and Gaelic.
Sheriffhall Roundabout (Funding)
To ask the Scottish Government what resources are being allocated from the city and regional growth deals to fund the A720 Sheriffhall roundabout. (S6O-04089)
The Scottish Government’s £300 million commitment to the Edinburgh and south-east Scotland city region deal includes up to £120 million specifically for the grade separation of the A720 Sheriffhall roundabout.
The proposed upgrade of the roundabout was included for delivery as part of the Edinburgh and south-east Scotland city region deal, which was signed back in 2018. As the Deputy First Minister said, £120 million of funding was allocated to that. We are now halfway through the 15-year period of the deal, but we have still not seen any movement towards delivery of the project. Given the delays in progressing it, what are the estimated delivery costs of the upgrade now? Does the cabinet secretary believe that permission for that much-needed piece of infrastructure for my Lothian region will be granted before the end of the current parliamentary session?
The Edinburgh and south-east Scotland city region deal has delivered quite a number of its commitments over the past six years. On that specific project, as with all trunk road projects, a public local inquiry is the appropriate forum for consideration of outstanding objections. I am sure that the member will appreciate that it is only right that the Scottish Government takes the time to consider all objections that are received.
The financial risk for any cost over and above the £120 million commitment to deliver the Sheriffhall roundabout project sits with Scottish ministers. As and when that materialises, the Scottish Government will make Parliament aware in the normal manner.
“Developing Scotland’s Economy: Increasing The Role Of Inclusive And Democratic Business Models”
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it will provide a full written response to the report, “Developing Scotland’s Economy: Increasing The Role Of Inclusive And Democratic Business Models”. (S6O-04090)
The Scottish Government will respond to the report this month. I am grateful to the independent review group who produced the report. The review was an action that was included in the national strategy for economic transformation.
A key part of creating fair work opportunities is the encouragement of new businesses, and businesses and enterprises that are guided by commercial success and societal impact have a huge role to play. The report will influence how community wealth building is taken forward in Scotland. We will introduce legislation to Parliament to advance community wealth building in the current parliamentary year.
Co-operatives, social enterprises and other democratic business models are effective tools for economic transformation and wellbeing and they give people a genuine stake in the economy. Does the minister agree that we should aim for significant growth in that sector as a priority? Will the Scottish Government accept in full the 17 recommendations in the report, and particularly the recommendation on creating an economic democracy group?
The Government will set out its position when we publish the response and I do not want to pre-empt that. However, as I stated when I attended the event on publication of the report, the Government is very much aligned with the ethos and intent behind it.
I entirely agree with the member on the absolute importance of inclusive and democratic business models. We need to grow not just the total number of businesses that use the model, but their share of our economy, because they play an incredibly important role in tackling inequality for individuals and regions. I look forward to engaging with the member and others once the Government’s response to the report has been published.
Many social enterprises in Scotland have warned that they have nowhere left to cut as a result of the United Kingdom Government’s national insurance hike, which has jeopardised the operation of inclusive and democratic business models and organisations across the third sector. What assessment has the Scottish Government made of the impact of those changes on IDMBs? Do you agree that the Chancellor of the Exchequer must not balance the budget on the back of the third sector?
I remind members to always speak through the chair.
I beg your pardon, Deputy Presiding Officer.
The Scottish Government is deeply concerned about the additional pressure that the UK Government’s changes to national insurance will exert on social enterprises and other third sector organisations. Social Enterprise UK warns that the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s decision will particularly impact on social enterprises that create jobs, often for those who are furthest from the labour market, and deliver vital public services.
I am happy to confirm to the member that I will ensure that consideration of the recommendations in the independent review group’s report will factor in the impact of those changes. I will continue to call on the chancellor to fully fund the impact of the employers national insurance hikes on Scottish organisations.
Worker co-operative and employee-owned businesses have been shown to be more productive and resilient than those that operate under traditional business models. However, the report on inclusive and democratic business models finds that they are poorly integrated into Scotland’s wider economic strategy. Does the minister agree that co-operatives and employee-owned businesses should be treated as key to our economy? Will he consider directing national bodies to take further action to support their growth, as recommended in the report?
On the Government’s response to specific recommendations in the report, as I said in earlier answers, we will set out our position when we publish our response to the report imminently.
On the central thrust of the member’s question about recognising the importance of those models, I agree with him 100 per cent. Co-operatives, social enterprises, employee-owned businesses and a range of other inclusive and democratic business models have a central role to play in driving forward inclusive economic growth. They are not the soft, fluffy side of economic development. We want to see them mainstreamed as a key part of driving forward a more prosperous Scotland.
Question 3 has been withdrawn.
Economic Productivity
To ask the Scottish Government how it will boost productivity in the Scottish economy. (S6O-04092)
Since 2007, gross domestic product per person in Scotland has grown by 11 per cent, compared with 6 per cent in the United Kingdom, and productivity has grown at an average rate more than double that of the UK.
The budget delivers major investments in high-value net zero opportunities, housing, transport, digital connectivity and critical infrastructure, which contribute to a stronger economy. The additional £15 million enterprise package supports women-led businesses, cluster growth activity and highly innovative high-growth businesses. City and regional growth deals stimulate growth across the country, and investment in skills, research, employability and town centre regeneration recognises the importance of a growing and talented active labour market, all of which contributes to boosting productivity.
I thank the cabinet secretary for that detailed response. Partnerships between higher education institutions and industry advance research, upskill the workforce and help to develop technologies that are critical for the provision of well-paid employment while increasing competitiveness and productivity in key sectors of the Scottish economy. The University of Strathclyde’s world-leading centre for continuous manufacturing and advanced crystallisation is a first-class example of that.
How can the Scottish Government support such collaborations to ensure that Scotland remains a leader in innovation and productivity, particularly in sectors that are vital to economic growth?
The member is right that partnership and collaboration are critical across the economy to drive growth and productivity. As is set out in our national innovation strategy, which was published just last year, we want to support the development of business clusters in priority areas—such as energy transition, health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and data and digital—where we already have a competitive advantage and the educational, industrial and natural assets that are necessary to be truly world class. That advantage is frequently recognised by external stakeholders who identify those areas as presenting the biggest opportunity for Scotland to become more productive and drive economic prosperity.
The cabinet secretary is aware of the high level of economic inactivity among young people. Will she spell out to the Parliament what the Government sees as the top priorities to address that?
The member is absolutely right. I have been engaging on that issue with a number of stakeholders and I would love to engage on it with colleagues across the Parliament.
While we are exploring the issue, I caution that economic inactivity among young people is often to do with them engaging in further or higher education, and we need to recognise the value of that for them in later life. However, we are taking forward a number of initiatives. First, we are maintaining support for employability schemes, and particularly the no one left behind scheme, which tries to get those who are furthest from the labour market closer to it. Secondly, once people are in jobs, we need to support employers to make sure that they retain them. All sorts of barriers can cause people to drop out of the labour market, not least transport links and childcare. The third area is about upskilling people who are in the workforce and are staying in it. That is where our skills offer, which is collaboratively delivered with employers, really matters.
Those are just three different stages, but it is a national challenge that requires us all to put our minds together and ensure that we have a solution. At a time when our borders do not allow freedom of movement, the biggest source of labour, as it were, is people who are in the United Kingdom and who are not currently working.
Productivity is vital, but the cabinet secretary must recognise that we need to take a broader set of measures and time slices. Although she correctly quotes the figures for GDP per head since 2007, she must know that, on the same measure since 2016, Scotland has grown more slowly than the rest of the United Kingdom, at 2.6 per cent versus 4.4 per cent for the UK. Also, on a regional basis, only eight regions in Scotland have exceeded the national mean whereas, in the north-west of England, growth in GDP per head has doubled since 2007. She might not want to acknowledge my particular data points, but does she accept that she needs to use a broader set of measures than the ones that she set out in her original answer?
I do, actually, because getting underneath the surface of those figures requires us to understand what is really going on. The fact that we highlight labour productivity alongside GDP growth is important, because it measures the amount of economic output in terms of gross value added that is produced on average by each unit of labour input. That is an important indicator of economic performance, and it is an area where, UK-wide, we have lagged behind comparable countries.
There are a number of solutions. One is to try to stimulate greater levels of private and public investment. Secondly, it is about innovation and ensuring that we invest in technology. The third solution is about skills and ensuring that people are in the right jobs for their skill sets and that they have opportunities to upskill. I recognise that there are a number of challenges, and we take them very seriously.
Autumn Budget 2024 (Impact on Small Businesses)
To ask the Scottish Government when it last engaged with the United Kingdom Government regarding the potential impact of the UK Government’s autumn budget on small businesses in Scotland, including environmental horticulture businesses. (S6O-04093)
I engage regularly with the UK Government and have done so on its autumn budget and the impact of that on Scotland. I have also been engaging directly with businesses, business representative organisations and sector bodies on the impact of the budget on them, and those discussions informed the decision making for the Scottish budget. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government has written three times to the UK Government—on the impact of national insurance increases, on funding arrangements for agriculture and on the impact of changes to inheritance tax agricultural property relief.
Independent garden centres and nurseries make a significant contribution to the Scottish economy, but they also make a significant contribution to our wellbeing and recovery, Scotland’s biodiversity strategy and climate change mitigation. As progressive employers, many embrace the living wage increase. However, the increase in national insurance contributions and changes to business property relief will have a huge impact on the sector’s future viability, which is compounded by challenging cross-border plant trade rules, a challenging year of weather and weak consumer confidence.
Given the Prime Minister’s request that the public judge him on five things—one being economic growth, which now seems rather dubious—what action is the Scottish Government taking to support small businesses that operate in the environmental horticulture sector?
Our support for small businesses has been consistent across budgets, particularly through the more generous small business bonus scheme, and that is alongside our decision in the current budget to freeze the basic property rate and to maintain the small business bonus scheme to ensure that we reduce overheads. I appreciate that those businesses face huge challenges, some of which have been identified by Audrey Nicoll. Our overall package of reliefs is supplemented by additional efforts to tackle retail crime, which will affect some garden centres in particular, as well as our support for increased footfall through a specific fund of £2 million, on which we are working with VisitScotland, to encourage visitors to visit lesser-known destinations around the country.
Skilled Manufacturing Businesses
To ask the Scottish Government how it supports skilled manufacturing businesses to expand and thrive. (S6O-04094)
In recent years, we have invested significantly to support Scottish manufacturing, including through our £75 million investment in the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland. It works with companies of all sizes to unlock productivity gains, develop new products and processes and transform workforce skills through its manufacturing skills academy. Our programme for government confirmed our goal to support promising deep-tech businesses with prototypes and manufacturing.
MJM Frames, based in Maryhill, manufactures bespoke, high-quality hardwood frames for domestic and commercial furnishings, as well as sofas for temporary furnished properties. MJM employs nine people and it has ambitious plans to relocate locally to secure a long-term future for its workforce, support expansion, increase competitiveness and potentially double its workforce. How does the Scottish Government support businesses such as MJM Frames in my constituency, and will the minister accept my invitation to visit MJM Frames in the new year?
I am pleased to hear about MJM Frames and its ambitious plans to relocate locally and increase its workforce significantly. In the light of Bob Doris’s invitation, I would be more than happy to consider a visit to the company, if he wants to follow up in writing with further detail.
In the meantime, we will continue to work with the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland to support small manufacturers to expand and upscale their workforce. I would also draw the company’s attention to the Built Environment-Smarter Transformation innovation centre—BE-ST—which sounds very relevant for a company that is involved in the construction of hardwood frames.
As the Deputy First Minister outlined a few moments ago, there are also a number of support measures in the draft budget.
Independent Businesses (Rural and Small Communities)
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to independent businesses in rural and small communities. (S6O-04095)
I am very committed to building a vibrant, sustainable and inclusive rural economy that meets the goals of this generation and future generations. Our enterprise agencies, particularly Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise, help businesses to start and scale, be more productive, access finance, attract investment, develop new products and services, enter new markets and positively impact on their communities. We have allocated more than £313 million to the enterprise agencies in 2025-26 to support their work.
Office for National Statistics data has revealed that retail insolvencies in Scotland have increased at a faster rate than in other parts of the United Kingdom. What discussions has the cabinet secretary had with the retail sector to identify the support that it needs?
The retail industry leadership group drives and supports the delivery of the actions that are set out in the retail strategy, particularly on improving fair work across the sector, and it provides an on-going forum for constructive engagement with retailers. It is co-chaired by Tom Arthur, who is the Minister for Employment and Investment, and Polly Jones of Asda, and it comprises senior business representatives and industry groups. It provides a regular opportunity to discuss the investments that are being made by the sector and any concerns that the Government can help the sector to tackle.
Public Information and Public Messaging (Hindi Provision)
To ask the Scottish Government what public information and public messaging campaigns that it has commissioned or funded are currently available in Hindi. (S6O-04096)
The current Scottish Government marketing information available in Hindi includes the national health service dentistry campaign, the Road Safety Scotland drive on the left campaign and the renters’ rights campaign. There is no set translation list that is used by the Government. The list is informed by policy and stakeholder input, along with the Public Health Scotland languages and accessible formats guidance.
In addition to Scottish Government marketing activity, health information is available on NHS Inform and can be found by searching “Hindi” on the NHS Inform website.
The 2022 census disclosed that Indians are the second largest immigrant group in Scotland. Hindi, the official language of India, is the third most widely spoken language in the world, with the number of Hindi speakers in Scotland equalling approximately the population of Perth. However, I have noticed that across NHS health boards and other public bodies, public information and messaging is available in a range of languages but not in Hindi.
I have raised the issue before in the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee and recently with Food Standards Scotland, which was campaigning on vitamin D, including to reach that population, yet the information was in other languages but not in Hindi. Will the Deputy First Minister commit to ensuring that, where information and messaging are available in alternative languages, Hindi is always one of them?
I will certainly give that some thought. As Sandesh Gulhane said, Hindi speakers make an enormous contribution to Scotland, and it is very important that they feel that all Government material is accessible to them in their own language.
I am sympathetic to the member’s point about ensuring that we have a multilingual approach to Government information and marketing. I would be happy to look at that further and perhaps take that one step further by looking carefully at any specific translation issues that Sandesh Gulhane wants to raise over the coming weeks and months.
That concludes portfolio questions on Deputy First Minister responsibilities, economy and Gaelic. There will be a short pause before we move to the next portfolio, to allow front-bench teams to change positions, should they wish to do so.
Finance and Local Government
Question 1 has not been lodged.
Housing Association Aids and Adaptations Targets
To ask the Scottish Government how much it will allocate in its budget to housing associations, including to support them to meet their aids and adaptations targets. (S6O-04098)
In my Scottish budget statement last Wednesday, I confirmed that the registered social landlords adaptations programme budget for 2025-26 is £20.9 million. That significant increase from the £8.245 million budget for 2024-25 reflects our commitment to support social landlords to deliver necessary adaptations; will help to tackle delayed discharge, as tenants will return home quicker from hospital; and will ensure that disabled people can live independently at home for as long as possible.
The budget bill is still subject to the parliamentary process and is likely to conclude by the end of February 2025.
Having previously raised questions about the significant cut in the budget for aids and adaptations, I welcome the fact that the Government has increased the budget to just under £21 million. However, that is still way short of what housing associations want. Can clear advice be given on whether money can be used to fund supported modular living accommodation that can be lifted and dropped into position and moved again? Current guidance appears to be a grey area. Recent significant improvements in technology, such as modular, movable and bespoke accommodation, could go a long way towards ensuring that the bed-blocking crisis that the national health service faces in Scottish hospitals is addressed and could lead to improved outcomes for many patients.
I welcome Finlay Carson’s welcome for the increase in the budget. The figure was arrived at after discussion with registered social landlords, and we keep these discussions open.
I or one of my colleagues will write to Finlay Carson on the ask in relation to supported modular accommodation, because that is quite specific. I will certainly look at the matter.
The increase in funding for adaptations is really welcome. Can the cabinet secretary outline how the Scottish Government’s response to the housing emergency in some parts of Scotland is addressing not just the number of affordable homes that are provided but the quality and accessibility of those homes so that everybody in Scotland can have a warm, safe place to live that meets their needs?
Increasing affordable housing supply is important because it is about delivering the right homes in the right places and ensuring that those homes are of a high quality and accessible. New build homes that are delivered through the affordable housing supply programme must, as a minimum, meet the housing for varying needs standards. Where possible, new build homes must also meet a number of additional quality standards, including in relation to having space for home working and study and private or communal outdoor space and being digitally enabled. We want everyone in Scotland to have a warm, safe place to call home.
Is the cabinet secretary able to say when housing associations will receive notification of the amount of their individual allocations? Housing associations received that figure for this year’s budget only fairly recently, which meant that some tenders for work were no longer valid. Therefore, the timing of that information is crucial.
I appreciate the point that Mark Griffin makes. We want to ensure that registered social landlords receive the information as quickly as possible. I will make sure that that is relayed.
Planning Hub
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress towards creating a planning hub. (S6O-04099)
The housing planning hub that I outlined in my statement to the chamber in November is currently being established. We are working with stakeholders to identify, initially, stalled housing sites and the reasons for the delays. That will allow us to prioritise actions for the hub to co-ordinate, including brokerage support and providing access to expertise. A short-life working group has been established to drive that forward.
In addition, the hydrogen planning hub, which I launched in September of this year, is being led by the national planning improvement champion. It is now actively supporting planning authorities on technical and other issues to do with planning relating to hydrogen. I met the national planning improvement champion this morning to discuss the issue.
This morning, the minister and I received a copy of a letter from a house builder who eloquently described the current state of our planning system and the decisions taken by the Government that have made it incredibly challenging for small and medium-sized house builders.
The last time that the Scottish Government undertook a review of the planning system, it resulted in the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 and national planning framework 4. Since both of those have been in place, there has been a decline in house-building delivery, a loss of house builders, a decline in the number of construction companies and the declaration of a housing emergency. Scotland is now a hostile environment for anyone in the housing industry.
What role will the planning hub have in looking at those particular issues, which are really important to our housing sector? How much will the Government invest overall in the hub to prevent such issues from recurring and the hub itself from becoming a talking shop?
I am absolutely determined, as is the Government, to make the planning system as responsive and effective as possible to enable Scotland to be the most attractive part of the United Kingdom for investment in housing and energy infrastructure. We are taking that work forward at pace, and the actions that I outlined in my statement to the chamber last month will ensure that that happens.
The member should recognise that NPF4 and the passing, by the Parliament, of the 2019 act were important steps forward in providing a plan-led system, which is hugely important in ensuring that all the competing asks of the planning system are properly balanced.
The hub is a response to asks from the sector, which we are keen to respond to at pace, so we are working very closely with the sector to accelerate the establishment of the hub. As I indicated in my previous answer, the initial work on the hub involves identifying stalled sites and the generic systemic issues that are causing sites to be stalled and then taking forward solutions.
We recognise that more than 160,000 housing units in Scotland already have planning permission but are not being built by the industry. We want there to be consistent planning annually, with more housing units being approved than are currently being built by the industry. There is a combination of factors; the problem is not all down to planning. Planning will play its part, but an awful lot of housing units already have planning permission but have not been built.
Budget 2025-26 (Public Services Support)
To ask the Scottish Government how its 2025-26 budget will support public services. (S6O-04100)
The Scottish budget sets out the Government’s proposals for renewing our public services and delivering hope for Scotland’s future. That includes protecting and improving our national health service, allowing councils to deliver the services that people rely on, ensuring that staff in early learning and childcare are paid at least the real living wage from April, and continuing policies that have led to levels of crime falling by 40 per cent since we came to office. As I said last week, if we want that support for our public services, the Parliament has to vote for the budget.
Stirling is a large constituency with urban and rural communities, which often have different challenges. How will the investment in public services benefit the wide and varied needs of the communities across my constituency?
The allocation to Stirling Council will be made in due course as councils get notification of their allocations. However, I believe that the allocation, including a real-terms increase in the general revenue grant—that is discretionary spend—will help the many differing communities in urban and rural settings in Evelyn Tweed’s constituency, which she narrated. The budget will help to ensure the resilience of our public services for such a variety of communities.
It is telling that SNP back benchers think that the question even needs to be asked, but it is little wonder, with Scotland’s NHS in crisis. Hospitals have already declared critical incidents, and there is real fear about what might happen when winter deepens. However, nothing in the budget takes our public services in a new and better direction. In their reactions to the budget, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Fraser of Allander Institute are clear that the Government has failed to seize the opportunity for reform.
What does the cabinet secretary have to say to the general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, who said that the budget
“fails to tackle the big, transformative challenges Scotland faces and dodged the critical decisions we needed to see”?
What I would say to the STUC and others is that this is a budget that invests in our public services. It is record investment in our NHS and in local government. It provides resources that will help to ensure that our investment in public sector workers can be sustained, which will mean that we have a larger and better paid public sector. I am sure that the STUC would welcome that.
The question for Michael Marra and his colleagues is whether they will vote for or against that investment in public services. It is a very simple question.
The imminent additional costs to Scotland’s critical public services from UK Labour’s brutal hike to employer national insurance contributions will have an acute impact of £191 million on our Scottish NHS, £5 million on our Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and £25 million on Police Scotland, which is the equivalent of more than 800 new police salaries. Does the Government agree that resource-abundant Scotland cannot continue to thrive by merely mitigating damaging UK policy and that we must chart our own path through to independence?
Of course, we on these benches believe absolutely that the best constitutional future for our country is independence. I agree with Ash Regan’s point about employer national insurance contributions. The cost for the core public sector in Scotland is estimated to be around £550 million, and that would leave a £250 million shortfall because the UK Labour Government does not recognise the larger size of our public sector and the fact that we have invested in public sector pay. That is before we take into account the other services that are an integral part of our public sector, such as general practitioner services, social care-commissioned services and third sector organisations that provide vital support to our public services.
This matter has a long way to go. We will ensure that we press the Treasury to give a fair settlement for Scotland’s employer national insurance contributions.
Local Government Services (Satisfaction Levels)
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to address the reported decrease in levels of satisfaction with local government services. (S6O-04101)
Despite the on-going fiscal challenges, I was pleased to set out a strong and fair settlement for local government in the Parliament last week. The 2025-26 local government finance settlement provides record funding of more than £15 billion, which is an increase of just over £1 billion compared with the 2024-25 settlement.
Local authorities are essential partners in the design and delivery of public services. There is more for all of us to do to get across to people the great job that councils and Government do in meeting the needs and interests of people and communities. I think that the budget will help to do that.
I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, but she cannot escape the fact that public satisfaction with public services in Scotland has fallen from 65 per cent in 2010 to 40 per cent in 2022.
The impact of the underfunding of council services year on year is clear. The First Minister’s own local council, Scottish National Party-led Perth and Kinross Council, has already provisionally agreed a double-digit council tax rise in April. Councils such as SNP-run Falkirk Council in my region are contemplating big tax hikes and big rises in charges to plug a long-standing financial hole.
Meanwhile, across the country, libraries close, educational provision is diminished and social care services are run down. After 17 years in office, is this what a budget for progress looks like under the SNP?
The first thing to say is that not putting £1 billion of additional money into local government will not help with any of those things. That £1 billion of extra money will go into local government only if the budget is passed.
My second point is that I do not recall any of the discussions with Labour having involved demands being made for more than £1 billion of extra money for local government. If that is Labour’s central ask, I am willing to hear that, but I do not recall that ever having been mentioned.
We will continue to put resources into local government, which I believe will help to ensure that council tax rises are kept to a minimum. That includes the provision of £289 million of discretionary funding through the general revenue grant. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has welcomed that funding in the budget, which has not always been the case in other years.
It is welcome that the 2025-26 budget provides local government in Scotland with a £1 billion uplift and record funding. Will the cabinet secretary further outline how that additional investment will address key local priorities and deliver the public services that people need and deserve?
To reiterate what I said earlier, the budget provides record funding of more than £15 billion, which is an increase of just over £1 billion compared with the 2024-25 settlement. Importantly, it includes £289 million of discretionary funding through the general revenue grant. It also removes £500 million of ring-fenced money into the baseline and includes additional capital funding, including £40 million of ScotWind money, all of which has been welcomed by COSLA. If the organisation that represents local government can welcome the budget for local government in the Scottish budget, perhaps members across the chamber can do likewise.
It is no wonder that levels of satisfaction have decreased when budgets have continually been squeezed by the SNP, with councils having to do more with less year on year. How can the cabinet secretary allege that local government is getting a fair deal when councils the length and breadth of Scotland are having to decimate services, close facilities and raise taxes?
I gently point out to Alexander Stewart that we are about to have a Tory-led debate in which the Tories will call for £1 billion of tax cuts. The Tories cannot call for £1 billion of tax cuts and come to the chamber to demand more money for local government. The £1 billion of tax cuts would take away the £1 billion increase for local government. The Tories cannot have both, so they must decide whether they want their £1 billion of tax cuts or whether they want £1 billion for local government. The Tories really need to get their lines straight here.
Inverclyde Council (Funding)
To ask the Scottish Government what the total funding allocation is for Inverclyde Council for 2025-26. (S6O-04102)
The local government finance settlement will provide record funding of £15 billion in 2025-26, which is a real-terms increase of 4.7 per cent. Provisional local authority allocations will be published in the local government finance consultation circular on 12 December. That is when Inverclyde Council will know what the total funding allocation is for the coming year.
Year after year, we have heard Labour councillors in Inverclyde calling for more money to be given to Inverclyde Council without highlighting which budget the additional resources should come from as it is “not their job” to make that suggestion. It was interesting to read that the new member of Parliament for Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West now agrees with the Scottish National Party and the Scottish Government as he provided the exact same rebuttal to the Tories in one of his recent columns.
Will the finance secretary comment on discussions with the United Kingdom Government regarding the funding allocated to the Scottish Government for 2025-26 and on whether, at this stage, the Scottish Parliament has been given clear indication of every penny of funding that Scotland is to receive?
We are on record as having welcomed the reset—that is essentially how the Chancellor of the Exchequer described it—of the United Kingdom Government’s budget for 2024-25, because there have been years of budgets not keeping pace with inflation. The reset was very welcome.
The 1 per cent increase in 2025-26 is also welcome, but I make the point to Stuart McMillan and others that we need sustained investment. The spending review, which is coming next year for both resource and capital, will be absolutely fundamental, because a one-year budget does not fix 14 years of Tory austerity.
It remains to be seen whether there will be a trajectory of continued investment in public services. We will continue to raise that and press the UK Government on it.
Paul O’Kane joins the meeting online.
Medium-term Financial Strategy
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish the next medium-term financial strategy. (S6O-04103)
The publication of the 2024 medium-term financial strategy was delayed, first, by the Parliament needing to appoint a new First Minister, and then by the United Kingdom pre-election period.
I am actively considering the timeframe for fiscal events and publications in 2025, and I will update the Finance and Public Administration Committee early in the new year. I intend to return to the usual schedule for the medium-term financial strategy as I recognise the important role that it will play in pre-budget scrutiny for the 2026-27 Scottish budget.
The Fraser of Allander Institute has stated that it was “near-impossible” for it to calculate the funding position ahead of the 2025-26 budget due to
“the lack of a medium-term financial strategy”.
I have heard what the cabinet secretary has said by way of excuse for that medium-term financial strategy not coming to the chamber, but the failure to produce it in 2024 was deeply disappointing. It is important that we do not get excuses for failure to produce it next year—indeed, the Auditor General has called for the strategy to be published at the earliest opportunity. Does the cabinet secretary accept the comments of the Fraser of Allander Institute that failure to publish the strategy has hindered transparency of the public finances, and can she be any more specific on the date in 2025 on which she will publish it?
We published some medium-term financial information, but the budgets were substantially reset when the new UK Government came into office. The point is that when the UK Government changes and spending positions change significantly, it is challenging to then base a medium-term financial outlook on old information from an old Government.
The multiyear spending review next year will be critical in relation to the outlook for resource and capital. I want to get us back into a regular routine of a medium-term financial outlook, but we must recognise that the major changes in the spending outlook and the political changes that we have seen impact on the financial information that we can put out. I will update the Finance and Public Administration Committee in the new year on the schedule for that publication.
I cannot call question 8, because the member was not present at the beginning of questions on this portfolio, as is expected—indeed, she came in more than 13 minutes after they had started. I therefore thank the cabinet secretary
That concludes portfolio questions on finance and local government. There will be a short pause before we move to the next item of business.
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Budget 2025-26