A fiscal firestorm of the SNP Government’s own creation, says Cole-Hamilton

By Bill Heaney

The SNP is raiding climate budgets and selling out our future to continue handouts of public cash to big business, says the Scottish Greens finance spokesperson, Ross Greer MSP.

And finance spokespersons for the Liberals and Labour responded swiftly to the axe swung mercilessly by the SNP Government Finance Secretary Shona Robison.

Mr Greer’s comments followed a financial update that included the return of peak rail fares, which had previously been removed by the Scottish Greens, as well as cuts to the Nature Restoration Fund established by Green MSPs.

The £460 million budget for walking, wheeling and cycling which Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie had increased to record levels is also being raided from the one-off income from Scotwind offshore wind energy projects.

Mr Greer said: “This is a disaster for our climate. The SNP have chosen to slash spending on climate action and increase costs for commuters.

Greens Ross Greer, Labour’s Michael Marra, LibDems Alex Cole Hamilton and Shona Robison.

“Other options were available, but they’ve decided to cut the budgets for nature restoration and walking, wheeling and cycling, bring back peak rail fares and raid ScotWind funds originally intended for investment in our country’s future, especially in the green economy.

“With global temperatures rising, Scotland must be a climate leader but the SNP is taking us backwards.

“Contrast that with over £700 million of business tax breaks which remain untouched. Almost £250 million has been poured into the SBBS, a scheme which the government’s own independent review could find no evidence of positive business outcomes from and which – despite its name – throws public money at large at extremely profitable companies and even at the shooting estates owned by wealthy elites.

“As even Labour frontbenchers have admitted, all roads lead back to Westminster when it comes to public spending. Their refusal to reverse 14 years of Tory austerity is a key cause of these cuts.

“However, that doesn’t change the reality that the SNP could have chosen to place the burden on big business, instead of on the planet and commuters.

“The SNP is paying lip service to the climate emergency, slashing critical spending whilst funding handouts to big business.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton hit out at what he described as “a fiscal firestorm” of SNP cuts.

On top of the cuts announced in a statement to the Scottish Parliament today, Finance Secretary Shona Robison has confirmed a series of further cuts in a letter to the Finance committee including:

• A £19m cut to mental health.
• £11m removed from improvements for GP practices.
• £8m from scaling back training schemes for NHS staff.

Responding to the cuts, Mr Cole-Hamilton said: “Rather than stand up and be honest that she was taking an axe to NHS services, the Finance Secretary has chosen to sneak these cuts out in a letter.

“The Finance Secretary should crawl over broken glass to protect essential NHS services, people are already waiting far too long for mental health care and to see their GP.

“This is a fiscal firestorm of the SNP Government’s own creation.

“People feel like they are working harder but falling further behind. They just don’t trust the SNP Government with their child’s education, with their granny’s care, or with their money anymore.

“One-off income from selling off Scotland’s prize seabed on the cheap will soon be gone. With that in mind I fear that the Finance Secretary will return with further cuts to our NHS next year.”

Labour Finance spokesperson Michael Marra said “This statement is a threadbare, shameless attempt to once again pass the buck.  After 17 years in power, the SNP is still insisting ‘it wasn’t us’.  It’s the same script again and again.

“All of the independent experts – the Fraser of Allander Institute, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Audit Scotland, the Scottish Fiscal Commission – are absolutely clear that these SNP cuts stem from their incompetence.

“This incompetent and wasteful SNP government has lost its way and is mismanaging public money.

“This culture of always blaming someone else comes with a cost meted out in jobs and service cuts – when we have the longest NHS waiting lists in history and attainment is dropping in our schools.

“Scots are left paying more and getting less and today’s statement guarantees that this cycle of short-term sticking plaster politics will run and run.

“The Finance Secretary must come clean and publish the full details of her cuts.”

The Fraser of Allander Institute is urging the secretive SNP to be more ‘transparent’ about budget cuts.