Anas Sarwar has been urged to back the Scottish Government’s Budget as he warned the proposals could “squander” £5.2 billion of extra funding from Westminster.
The Scottish Government laid out its tax and spending plans on Wednesday, with Finance Secretary Shona Robison announcing an increase in funding for the NHS along with a target of ensuring waits of more than a year for elective procedures are wiped by March 2026 – just before the next Holyrood election.
Scottish Labour leader Mr Sarwar raised stark warnings from Audit Scotland and the Institute for Fiscal Studies about the NHS and its need for reform in recent weeks, saying there is “no clear plan for reform” and accusing Scottish ministers of “squandering the opportunity” of £5.2 billion from the UK Treasury in this financial year and the next.
Responding during First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, John Swinney said: “Mr Sarwar asks about squandering the opportunity, well the only squandering of the opportunity that will go on is if the Government is unable to put the practical in the Budget into practice on April 1.
“That means this Parliament has got to pass the Government’s Budget.
“Now we are open, very open to constructive discussion with political parties about the contents of the Budget, but Mr Sarwar will, in his own words, squander the possibility of strengthening our public services if he does not vote for the Government’s Budget.”
Mr Sarwar also warned against the “usual sticking plaster approach, all about inputs and not about outcomes”.
He added: “It’s not just about how much you spend, it’s about the quality of care that patients receive and the health of our nation.”
He also stressed the importance of outcomes in education and for businesses.
“John Swinney and the SNP have failed, just hoping they can spend more money in the same way and get a different result,” Mr Sarwar said.
“But isn’t it clear that this is a Government with no clear plan, no leadership and no vision for Scotland?”
The SNP Government has no plan, no leadership and no vision for Scotland. pic.twitter.com/XYeHvbynYT
— Anas Sarwar (@AnasSarwar) December 5, 2024
Mr Swinney then mocked his Labour rival who “cannot change his script”, stressing: “It is not good enough for Mr Sarwar if he cannot even step up to be a decent leader of an opposition party, to aspire to do something else.
“If Mr Sarwar is concerned about business, he should be concerned about the impact of employers’ national insurance contributions, because he only needs to look at his UK Government data on this.”
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay had earlier hit out at what he insisted was a “disastrous SNP Budget”.
Referring to the decision to keep the thresholds for the higher, advanced and top rates of tax the same – meaning salary rises will see more Scots paying these charges – he added that “of course the SNP have dragged more Scots into paying higher income tax”.
Mr Findlay said: “Every worker earning over £30,000 will be forced to pay more than those in the rest of the UK.
“How can the SNP boast about always taking more for public services that only ever get worse?
“The SNP proudly boast they will make Scottish workers pay £1.7 billion next year than if they lived elsewhere in the UK.
“The Finance Secretary even had the audacity to shout about reducing bills for lower earners. The SNP’s con-trick is worth at most £1 a month to people earning less than £30,000.
“What are they supposed to do with that, buy a selection box from Poundland?”
Mr Swinney suggested Mr Findlay “is going to have to practice his gags a little bit more” after that line.
The First Minister said: “On tax alone, more than 50% of taxpayers in Scotland are better off than in the rest of the United Kingdom as a consequence of the tax decisions we have made.
“When you take together tax and social security, 60% of taxpayers in Scotland are better off than if they lived in the rest of the United Kingdom. That is what I call delivering for Scotland.”
He went on to say the Scottish Government “is absolutely determined to improve the performance of our public services”.
He accepted there are “challenges” for public services as a result of the “disruptive effective of Covid”, but added: “This Government is 100% focused on ensuring the resources we have decided to allocate to our public services have the effect of meeting the needs of the people of Scotland.”
However he warned this will only happen “if this Parliament supports the Government’s Budget”.
Mr Findlay however told him: “People have had enough of taxes going up while public services decline.”
