Scottish budget: Kate Forbes needs to increase council funds, kickstart the economy and provide a fair deal for carers – Ian Murray MP

We know the SNP doesn’t care much about bringing local communities together.

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes prepares her speech ahead of delivering the Scottish Budget to MSPs (Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)

That much is clear given the nationalists’ obsession with finding new ways to divide people with its relentless pursuit of another independence referendum and a new 11-point plan launched at the weekend to hold it this year.

But I still want to issue a plea to Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes ahead of the budget.

Don’t sacrifice our local services.

If we’re truly to get through this traumatic pandemic, the councils which deliver services in communities are crucial to the recovery.

They deliver the social work, education and housing that so many people rely upon. And they can’t deliver that vital support without the necessary cash.

For years, the SNP has taken an axe to council budgets.

In a report on Scotland’s council finances published this week, the Accounts Commission revealed the scale of the SNP’s cuts to our local services.

Over the last six years, local government revenue funding from the Scottish government fell by 4.7 per cent, but Scottish government revenue funding fell by only 0.8 per cent.

The Scottish government have cut harder and deeper than even the Tories.

Let that be the final nail in the coffin for any claims the SNP is a progressive political party.

The cuts left a funding gap of 3.9 per cent last year, and that was even before coronavirus decimated council budgets.

At the very least, Ms Forbes needs to stop the cuts when she stands up to deliver her budget in Holyrood.

But she should also increase revenue for councils.

If she wants to see an example of how to do this, she can look to Wales, where the Labour government has said funding for councils will go up by 3.8 per cent.

The Welsh government, not distracted by endless division, has the right priorities.

The Scottish budget must also go much further than just supporting local councils.

It needs to kickstart our economy, remobilise our NHS and deliver a fair deal for NHS and social care workers.

Too many businesses are at risk of going to the wall, yet time and again the SNP has not provided or passed on the necessary support for those fighting for their livelihoods.

Protecting and creating jobs must be at the heart of the budget.

My MSP colleague Anas Sarwar has announced proposals for a Business Restart Fund for small businesses and sectors shut down during the pandemic, and a National Recovery Training Fund offering everyone on Universal Credit access to training and advice on reskilling for jobs in growing sectors.

These are the kind of innovative ideas that are required for Covid recovery, rather than devoting time to working out its ‘Plan B’ for another referendum. How about an 11-point plan for Covid recovery?

The Scottish government has made the right noises about recognising the role of our amazing NHS and social care workforce during the pandemic.

Applause is not enough, and there should be a £15 an-hour rate for social care workers and better pay for our NHS workforce.

I am hopeful that Kate Forbes will deliver this in her budget.

The years ahead will be challenging, so we need a fair recovery for all that leaves nobody behind.

Ian Murray is Scottish Labour MP for Edinburgh South

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