Humza Yousaf's many problems could push the NHS down his list of priorities – Scotsman comment

After what will probably not have felt like a holiday, Humza Yousaf will return to the Scottish Parliament next week following the Easter recess with many pressing issues running through his mind.

One particularly urgent matter is the deposit return scheme for bottles and cans, which the Scottish Government says is due to begin operation in August even though the UK Government has still not granted a necessary exemption from the Internal Market Act. Thérèse Coffey, the Conservative Environment Secretary, yesterday rebuffed the Scottish Government’s request for one, on the grounds that a review of the scheme is being carried out and Humza Yousaf’s comments during the SNP leadership contest in which he suggested small businesses could be given an exemption. “These factors are pertinent to the UK Government’s consideration of your exclusion request,” Coffey wrote.

Whether or not she is making politically motivated mischief, the Scottish Government has to be alive to that possibility when seeking to introduce policies that will have a significant impact on the real world, as deposit return will do. Some businesses have already spent considerable amounts of money in preparation for its introduction, so if there is to be a delay, it should be announced as soon as possible to minimise the costs.

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Yousaf will also doubtless need to oversee the preparation for the Scottish Government’s legal action over the UK Government’s decision to prevent the Gender Recognition Reform Bill from becoming law. In particular, he should be seeking to make sure the costs do not spiral out of hand, with estimates the final bill could be about £500,000.

And, as SNP leader, he must urgently put the party’s finances in order. It could lose more than £1 million of public funding – used to pay staff wages – if it does not find a new auditor by the end of next month. Given the previous auditors resigned in September, it's starting to look more than a little worrying. Without a new firm to sign off its accounts, the party also faces a fine for filing late.

These are all complicated issues that could well take up a considerable amount of our new First Minister’s time. And we haven’t even mentioned the state of the economy, the cost-of-living crisis, and the need to fix our ailing NHS.

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