Chamber and committees

Yesterday, I visited an Aberdeen police station to talk to some of the officers. They spoke about the huge backlog in the courts system. Does the minister accept that that backlog adds a lot of stress to the victims of crime and that the more we can do to remove it, the better for the victims?

No. The money should come from the national care service.

The Deputy First Minister was quoted as saying:

“we are providing councils with a real terms budget increase of 1.3% next year”.

That has now been revised upwards to 3 per cent—which sounds great until we look at the details. Most of the extra cash is for the pay settlement, and £105 million is for the devolution of empty property business rates relief—not new money but an accounting exercise that has moved it from a central Government spend to a local government spend. There is other cash for Scottish Government political priorities, after which, COSLA believes,

“Local Government will see an uplift of only £71m once policy commitments are taken into account.”

That £71 million is far below what is required to ensure that services continue at their current levels. I do not see that changing after the Deputy First Minister’s intervention today.

It is not so much about people with care experience. Obviously, changes are needed, but at this point the Government cannot even tell us what the service is and how much it is going to cost. We have had a financial memorandum; it came to the Finance and Public Administration Committee, but it was completely inadequate and had to be thrown out. We are calling for clarity on what the national care service is actually going to be.

This feels a bit like groundhog day although, in the film, Phil predicted six more weeks of winter and in Scotland we face three years more of doom and gloom under the SNP-Green devolved Government. There is extra money for local government at the last minute, from the Derek Mackay sofa—once again, groundhog day. Higher taxes, reduced local government spending, a lack of support for business and a lack of focus on economic growth paint a dismal and bleak picture for the economic prosperity of Scotland over the next couple of years, regardless of who the new leader is.

Today, I will concentrate on the crisis that is faced by our colleagues in local government. Regardless of what the Deputy First Minister says today, it is a crisis. I have been in local government and, now, the Scottish Parliament for six years, and budget time is always one of the most depressing of times. The Scottish Government tells us how great the local government settlement is; local government sets the record straight; then there is some last-minute cash, just as we have seen today. That is hardly a case of partnership working—and this year is no different.

Members say, “Oh!”, but I feel that I led a council of ambition, unlike the SNP-Lib Dem coalition that is in place just now.

Members should forget the nonsense of a real-terms budget increase. The budget is a cut to local government funding when those extra commitments are factored in.

COSLA has made a series of statements over the past few months with dire warnings over the future of services in our local communities. It has described the budget settlement as having

“a detrimental impact on vital local services”.

Over the past week, we have heard a lot about legacy. That is some legacy—cuts to local services, to the detriment of our communities. We know that many local authorities are planning for significant job losses as a result of the cut to their budget. According to a COSLA report, up to 7,000 jobs will be lost should the budget be passed today. Many of those will be in education, which we know to be in crisis.

However, the Scottish Government has now come in with threats and intimidation. Rather than funding councils properly, it is threatening to withhold funding for any that do not toe the line. One can imagine the outcry if the UK Government imposed as many conditions as this Government is imposing on the local government budget. That is shocking behaviour from this Government. Instead of valuing and working with our local government friends, it threatens and intimidates. Instead of the Government meeting COSLA leaders to discuss a way forward, they have been faced with a blank wall. Ministers are refusing to meet with leaders and are turning their backs on local government.

I welcome the U-turn today on Creative Scotland funding; I hope that the Government now recognises the value in culture. However, I did not hear anything about men’s sheds. SNP members have signed the Deputy Presiding Officer’s letter condemning cuts to the men’s shed budget, and yet they will vote today to cut that funding.

We always get warm words from SNP colleagues but, when push comes to shove, they will fall in line and vote for these appalling measures.

This budget does not plan for growth—it plans for decline. That means decline in our public services; in our councils; in our communities, towns and villages; and in the amount of money in the pockets of hard-working Scots.

Nonetheless, the Government continues to pursue policies that everyone thinks are a bad idea. The national care service is a prime example; I can only hope that the new First Minister swiftly puts a stop to that policy and diverts the money to local authorities. I welcome Ash Regan’s comments in the press today that she would pause the roll-out so we can have a proper co-design process.

Trade unions can see it, and even the SNP back benchers see it: the national care service is a disaster waiting to happen, and it will be the Scottish taxpayer who will have to pick up the tab. Delaying that vanity project until we have a new First Minister would surely be the most sensible approach.

In closing, I once again appeal to the Deputy First Minister to reconsider, even at this late stage. He should meet council leaders to discuss their concerns and listen at first hand to what the impact of the appalling cut to their finances will mean for the essential services in our communities: the impact on early intervention and prevention, social care, education, school building programmes, refuse collection, community funding, men’s sheds and music tuition in schools. He should reallocate the money that is set aside for the national care service, and he should plan for growth, reinstate the cuts to men’s sheds and give local authorities the money that they need to continue to deliver the vital services on which we all rely.

The delay to the A9 project will have a knock-on effect on other road projects. The A96 was meant to be fully dualled by 2030. Will that commitment be met?

The response also does not give a timetable, which I think was what the committee was looking for.

Do you agree that all those things are vital in trying to maintain the public sector pay bill at a level close to where it is now?

We look forward to seeing that.

Last time you were here, Deputy First Minister, you mentioned flexibilities and moving capital to resource spend. Is there any update on whether the UK Government has given you the flexibility to do that?

Do you have a plan B if that flexibility is not granted?