Chamber and committees

Will the member take an intervention?

Earlier this year, the Scottish Government released its national transport strategy and, as my colleague Liam Kerr identified, the document failed to mention the notorious Toll of Birness junction. Upgrading that junction and the wider A90 will not only make a huge difference to the lives of those people who live and work in the north-east, and serve as a catalyst for economic growth, but come with the potential of dramatically reducing the number of horrific accidents and saving lives. Traffic assessments that were done nearly five years ago show that the junction will be almost unusable in the future. With that in mind, will the minister commit to upgrading the junction and bring much needed safety to commuters in Aberdeenshire?

Will the member take an intervention?

I will come on to the waste that this Government makes all over the place.

If there was more transparency around the budget process, that question might be easier to answer. We had things in the budget for this year such as a line with £620 million for things that we might see coming in, including ScotWind. Now, that has been taken out of this year’s budget and put into next year’s budget, and suddenly the £620 million has miraculously just reappeared.

Prevention is much better than trying to tackle the outcomes of such austere measures. Our sports and libraries aid health and wellbeing and prevent long-term illness. Our schools and youth clubs cut down crime. Good roads cut down accidents. New schools increase attainment and opportunities for all.

I have taken enough interventions.

Cutting investment in our local government is short-sighted and will lead to greater costs down the track.

The SNP is also cutting off investment from key sectors such as oil and gas, which will have massive implications for the north-east and Scottish economies. At the breakfast meeting with the SFC that SPICe held this morning, we heard that one of the reasons that our economy is falling behind the rest of the UK is the decline in the energy sector and the income tax take from it. It is clear that the SNP Government does not back the oil and gas industry and is driving investment away. While we still have a demand for hydrocarbons, it is better for the environment and better for jobs in the north-east that the energy industry in this country is protected and supported. This devolved Government’s outright hostility to the industry is directly related to the cuts that it is having to make to public services. The Government needs to change its tune before it is too late.

Much has been said today about the cost of living crisis. Time will not allow me to go into detail here, but the UK Government has now provided over £37 billion of support to families. However, families in Scotland will have to pay more income tax than families in the rest of the UK—a point that Liz Smith covered earlier. That is the Scottish Government’s contribution to the cost of living crisis: higher taxes.

And what is this devolved Government doing with our taxes? It has spent £250 million on ferries that do not sail, £40 million on the doomed, malicious prosecution of Rangers and £50 million on loans to BiFab, and now £20 million is being allocated for an independence referendum next year. That is £4 million more than it has allocated as an increase in the education budget. Colleagues, that is an absolute disgrace. This Government holds its obsession with having a referendum above the education of our children.

The spending review has so many areas of concern that we can only skim over today. We will have more sessions in committee—maybe—to go over it in detail. However, the SNP-Green coalition will need to put the needs of the people of Scotland at the heart of its policies—

—to an independence referendum dropped, with the money going towards education.

The member spoke about independence and about currency. Can he confirm what the currency would be in an independent Scotland?

The member talked about growth figures for specific sectors, but why does he not look at the growth figures overall? Scotland’s growth figure is almost half that of the rest of the UK.

We are in Scotland. At least there is a bit of clarity from the UK Government. All that we get from the cabinet secretary is smoke and mirrors. She gives no answers about where the jobs will be cut. She needs to come clean with our public sector workers and let them know where the planned cuts to the workforce will take place.

I want to focus on the impact of the proposed savage cuts to local government in the spending review and on the impact of the wider economic situation on our vital public services. I have spoken before in the chamber about the importance of prevention in all our public services and the need for investment in preventive services that stops greater expenditure further down the line. I would like to focus on that, which I thought was a view that many members from all parties shared.

The spending review has shown us that this SNP devolved Government is planning to cut local government’s budget by 8 per cent in real terms by 2027. The Government suggests that local government should make savings by reducing real estate, increasing digitisation and having more shared services. That advice is an insult. That is teaching your granny how to suck eggs—local government has been doing that for the past five years to balance its budget in the face of SNP austerity.

For many local authorities, the low-hanging fruit has gone and efficiencies through digitisation have been achieved. The headcount reduction, in conjunction with unions, has been done. This deal means that jobs will be lost. Bins will be collected less often. Care packages will be cut. New schools will not be built. Roads will not be repaired. Sports facilities and libraries will close. All of that is happening on this Government’s watch, and it is a disgrace.

—and not its obsession with independence. We need more spending on our local authorities so that they can deliver our vital services. We need this false nod—