By Bill Heaney
The SNP’s Budget Bill will go through its first parliamentary vote today (Tuesday), with finance secretary Shona Robison emphasising the £21.7bn allocated for the “cherished” health and social care sectors.
The Budget legislation is expected to pass the stage one proceedings at the Scottish Parliament after opposition parties struck deals with the SNP.
The Scottish Greens and the Scottish Liberal Democrats have reached separate agreements to back the Budget while Alba MSP Ash Regan, right, has also confirmed she will vote for it.
There was speculation on TV last night that Regan could increase the number of Alba seats at Holyrood from just one to eight.
Scottish Labour, which on the same programme was forecast to to be relegated to third place in the election, has said it will abstain on the tax and spending plans, while the Conservatives are expected to oppose it.
The tax and spending plans will face a final vote in Holyrood later this month.
The finance secretary said the money will be used to bring down waiting times in the NHS.
“Scotland’s NHS is one of our most cherished institutions, which is why the Budget provides £21.7bn for health and social care, including £200m to reduce waiting times and help tackle delayed discharge.”
She added: “We know the NHS is still under considerable pressure due to lingering effects of the pandemic. Relieving this pressure is one of our main objectives.
“To that end, we have committed to a substantial increase in capacity to ensure no one waits more than a year for treatment by March 2026.
“The changes we propose will deliver more than 150,000 extra appointments and procedures in the coming year.”
The deals struck by the Greens and Lib Dems cost a total of £16.7 m.
The Lib Dems secured increased investment for drugs services and hospices, while the Greens were given a pledge for a regional scheme to cap bus fares at £2.
Ministers have also pledged to mitigate the effects of the two-child benefit cap, though opponents point out no money has been set aside for this in the 2025/26 spending plans.
Commenting ahead of Stage 1 the Scottish Budget Scottish Labour Finance spokesperson Michael Marra, left, said “The Labour government decisively ended the era of Tory austerity and delivered the largest budget settlement for Scotland in the history of devolution, boosting funding by £5.2 billion.
“This funding should be transformative, but in reality our public services will continue to be held back by SNP mismanagement.
“Right now almost one in six Scots are on an NHS waiting list, our schools are tumbling down the international league tables, and public services are stretched to breaking point.
“The SNP’s budget was always going to pass, but it will not deliver the change in direction Scotland really needs.
“The SNP has been passing budgets for almost 18 years, but is it incapable of delivering for the people of Scotland.
“This is a failing government with no plan for change and no vision for the future.
“So while we won’t stand in the way of Labour’s £5.2 billion reaching the frontline, we’ve seen nothing from the SNP that shows they’ll end a culture sticking plasters and wasteful mismanagement.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP, right, said: “This budget contains a wide range of Liberal Democrat priorities backed by millions of pounds worth of government investment; that’s why we will be voting for it.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats have secured more money for drugs and neonatal withdrawal services, for local healthcare, for family carers, for replacements to Edinburgh’s Eye Pavilion and the Belford Hospital in Fort William. Hospices, colleges, farmers, the hospitality sector, Long Covid sufferers, the young people attending Corseford College and so many more: they will all benefit from the improvements Liberal Democrats have made to this budget.
“We are using this budget to unpick years of damage wrought by the SNP. By backing the Liberal Democrats, you get strong local champions who will deliver on the issues that matter most.”