Chamber and committees

The Government recognises the challenging financial circumstances that local authorities and, indeed, the entire public sector currently face. Those challenges were considered and reflected in the Scottish budget decisions, which will provide local authorities with nearly £13.5 billion in 2023-24, including more than £793 million of additional revenue funding. The Scottish Futures Trust continues to work with public authorities in Scotland to assist them in making savings and improving performance across PFI and PPP contracts.

There is a general issue in our society about the availability of skills in the post-Brexit environment. Some of the hard realities of the contraction in the working-age population in Scotland are now presenting themselves. Those things were the substance of worries 20 years ago, but they were alleviated by our participation in the European Union and the free movement of individuals. Today, they are an acute threat to our society, and we must recognise that.

In relation to the specific points that Gillian Martin has raised, we have put in place a number of measures to assist in the recruitment and retention of dental staff, such as fiscal incentives for newly qualified and trainee dentists. Despite the workforce challenges that we face, we remain in a positive position, with the relative strength of 57 dentists per 100,000 of the population providing NHS dental services in Scotland, compared with 43 dentists per 100,000 people in England.

Mr Mundell has raised an important issue. It is important that people have access to NHS dentistry services. Obviously, in some circumstances, people opt for private dental care. In other circumstances, we have to ensure that that care is provided.

In relation to the points that Mr Mundell has raised about his constituency, I know that NHS Dumfries and Galloway is focusing on improving registration levels through the work of the local dental task force. I understand that, since the new year, up to 4,000 additional NHS registrations have been made available in the board’s area. That is an encouraging first step, but I recognise the importance of ensuring that an effective NHS dentistry service is available in all parts of Scotland, including in Dumfries and Galloway.

If you will indulge me for a second, Presiding Officer, I want to make it clear that I will make my own choices about where I sit in this chamber in the foreseeable future. [Interruption.] I will certainly sit nowhere near Jackie Baillie, I can tell you that. [Interruption.] I am nothing but candid to Parliament—it is all part of my belief in parliamentary scrutiny and accountability, which I have championed all my days.

Jackie Baillie asks me to increase the funding. I wonder whether she was paying attention to the budget, because the budget increased the funding for the NHS by £1 billion, and that would not have happened if I had not taken the tough decision to increase tax—[Interruption.]

As always—this is a bit of parliamentary feedback—we again have a running commentary from Jackie Baillie, who speaks throughout the answers that Government ministers are giving carefully—

I am afraid that I do not have that information to hand, but I will write to Mr Sweeney about it.

I understand the disappointment in the Inverclyde area about the unsuccessful bid in the green freeport process, but I assure Mr McMillan that a rigorous and dispassionate process was undertaken by Scottish and United Kingdom Government ministers and officials.

A range of measures have been taken to support the Inverclyde economy. The Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise continues to engage with the Inverclyde socioeconomic task force, and the city region deal for Glasgow and the surrounding area delivers substantial investment in the Inverclyde area. Investment will be taken forward through the Clyde mission, which will have an effect on the Inverclyde area, into the bargain.

The Government will, of course, consider any further measures that are suggested by Inverclyde Council as we work to improve and strengthen the Inverclyde economy in the foreseeable future.

At this stage, I can confirm that Inverclyde Council will receive from the settlement £201.9 million to fund vital day-to-day services, which is an extra £5.3 million, or 2.7 per cent, compared with 2022-23. In addition, it will receive its fair share of the undistributed sum of £329.8 million, which includes the extra £223 million that was announced at stage 3 of the Budget (Scotland) (No 2) Bill.

All councils, including Inverclyde Council, will receive additional in-year funding from individual portfolios over and above the local government settlement, but it is too early to say how much that will be or how it will compare with the current year.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to say to Mr Kerr and the chamber that a local government settlement that gives local government £793 million more than it was expecting is undoubtedly a very good deal for it given the financial chaos inflicted on us by the Conservative Government.

I wonder whether Mr Kerr would care to complete the picture by recognising that there is a record number of young people from Scotland going to university, and a record number of young people from deprived backgrounds going to university as well.

Because I have secured a path to balance for this financial year and because of the late arrival of the supplementary estimates figure, I intend to carry that money forward into the next financial year. I am about to make funding allocations accordingly, as a consequence of receipt of that finance.

Given that I am confident about the financial position for 2022-23—the point that I have just made in reply to Mr Johnson’s question—I am now able to consider some additional financial commitments for next year.

I fully recognise the budget challenges that local government faces. In my budget statement in December, I outlined the Government’s commitment to working constructively with local government to create an effective partnership to assist in meeting that challenge. I use today’s debate to reiterate the Government’s willingness to engage in that process and to work with local government to undertake the reform that is necessary to achieve that aim.

Along with the commitment to working together effectively, I am committing to providing local government with an additional £100 million to support local authorities and their expenditure. That funding is designed to assist councils in making a meaningful 2023-24 pay offer to non-teaching staff, in recognition of the critical role that those staff play in delivering front-line services. I hope that that will enable a swift agreement in the Scottish joint council pay negotiations so that relevant staff receive a pay increase as early as possible in 2023-24.