Scottish Government Debate: Investing in Public Services Through the Scottish Budget

Neil Gray S6M-16237 That the Parliament welcomes the investment in Scotland’s public services through the draft Scottish Budget 2025-26; notes that £21.7 billion for health and social care investment and over £15 billion in funding for local authorities is being provided; calls on the UK Government to fully fund the additional cost of its increase in employer national insurance contributions, noting the significant impacts on public services, including social care, if it does not fund it in full; notes the importance of the public service reform programme to drive future financial sustainability, and celebrates the key role that the Scottish public service workforce plays in delivering these services across Scotland. Craig Hoy S6M-16237.2 As an amendment to motion S6M-16237 in the name of Neil Gray (Investing in Public Services Through the Scottish Budget), leave out from “welcomes” to end and insert “notes that the performance of public services has declined despite significant funding increases and the hard work of those on the frontline; believes that this decline is due to a failure of leadership from the Scottish National Party administration; is concerned by the significant rise in senior-level civil servants and the failure to deliver meaningful public sector reform; acknowledges that, despite the decline in public services’ performance, rises in Scottish income tax will see the public pay £1.7 billion more in taxation in 2025-26, and calls on the Scottish Government to start delivering value for money for taxpayers by cutting income tax to 19% for those earning up to £43,662, providing full non-domestic rates relief for pubs and businesses across Scotland and increasing the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax zero-rate threshold to £250,000, to reduce the cost of buying a home.” Michael Marra S6M-16237.3 As an amendment to motion S6M-16237 in the name of Neil Gray (Investing in Public Services Through the Scottish Budget), leave out from “calls” to end and insert “understands that the additional investment in Scotland’s public services has been made possible by the UK Government’s Autumn Budget, which delivered record funding for the Scottish Government and provided an additional £5.2 billion; believes that the future of Scotland’s public services can only be guaranteed through measures to improve fiscal sustainability through public service reform and regrets the lack of progress being made by the Scottish Government in this area; recognises the role that workers in Scotland’s public sector play in delivering vital services and regrets that the workforce and public are being failed by years of Scottish National Party mismanagement, which has created major challenges across the public sector in Scotland and left one in six people in Scotland on NHS waiting lists, and calls for the Scottish Government to take meaningful action to reform public services so that they work for users and staff across Scotland.” Gillian Mackay S6M-16237.4 As an amendment to motion S6M-16237 in the name of Neil Gray (Investing in Public Services Through the Scottish Budget), leave out from "notes the importance" to "sustainability" and insert "further calls on the UK Government to fully fund the increase in employer national insurance contributions in commissioned services and arm's-length external organisations; notes the importance of the public service reform programme to drive future financial sustainability; further notes the success of the four-day week pilot trialled by South of Scotland Enterprise, and calls on the Scottish Government to expand the four-day working week within the public sector workforce". Alex Cole-Hamilton S6M-16237.1 As an amendment to motion S6M-16237 in the name of Neil Gray (Investing in Public Services Through the Scottish Budget), insert at end “; notes that Scottish Liberal Democrat priorities have been reflected in the first draft of the Budget through the inclusion of the reinstatement of a winter heating payment for pensioners, extra funding for social care, additional funding for local healthcare to make it easier to see a GP or NHS dentist, funding for new specialist support across the country for people with long COVID, chronic fatigue syndrome and other similar conditions, the right for family carers to earn more without having support withdrawn, business rates relief for the hospitality sector, funding to build more affordable homes, enhanced support for local authorities operating ferry services, and the resumption of the work required to replace the Belford Hospital in NHS Highland and the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in NHS Lothian; calls for further investment in drug and neonatal services, hospices, support for the young people with complex and additional needs attending Corseford College, and colleges, so that they can deliver the skills that the economy and public services need, and further calls for local authorities to receive a fair share of the money for additional employer national insurance contributions when it is received by the Scottish Government.