Scottish Government 'willing to work' with Tories and Labour on Scotland’s finances, Shona Robison claims

The Scottish Government is willing to work with both the Tories and the Labour party on Scotland’s finances, Shona Robison has said.

The finance secretary will deliver the Scottish Budget in December, and after a row with the Scottish Greens could struggle for support in Holyrood.

Finance Secretary Shona Robison ahead of making a Scottish Government Pre-Budget Fiscal Update in the Scottish Parliament

Appearing on the BBC’s The Sunday Show, Ms Robison also insisted the National Care Service Bill was not dead, despite Scottish Greens members overwhelmingly voting to withdraw support for the legislation in its existing form at the party’s conference on Sunday morning.

Asked if she was willing to work with the Tories and Labour on the Scottish Budget, Ms Robison said: “I've entered into discussions with all parties in good faith, so I’m not going to exclude anyone from that process. What’s important though is what we have at our disposal to be able to support the Budget.

“That, of course, will by and large be set next Wednesday when we hear what the Chancellor has to say. We need to see investment in public services, an end to austerity, investment in infrastructure and I know these are things that are important across the political divide in the Scottish Parliament.”

Ms Robison said one round of talks had already taken place and admitted the SNP had no choice but to engage with rival parties.

She said: “We are going to have another round of discussions where we've asked all the parties to come back to us with specific proposals. Now, clearly we'll also have to have dialogue with all the parties about how those proposals will be funded. So we are entering into these discussions in good faith as [Scottish Greens co-leader] Lorna Slater called for and that will be my intention going forward.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver the Budget on Wednesday | Getty Images

The Dundee City East MP also insisted there was still a way through for the National Care Service Bill, despite Greens members voting to withdraw support for the legislation at the party conference in Greenock.

Scottish Green health spokesperson Gillian Mackay said following the vote: “The National Care Service Bill is not fit for purpose and has lost the support of trade unions and other key stakeholder ... the Government must radically rethink and reduce the scope of this Bill.

“That means focusing on increasing support and rights to those providing care, including unpaid carers. Without that fundamental change and shift in focus we cannot support it.”

Ms Robison said: “I thought it was interesting Lorna Slater talked about listening to voices, and one of the voices that really hasn't been heard as much as it perhaps should have been is the voices of disabled people and carers and those who are service users, who rely on social care services, who are very clear they want to see a National Care Service.

“And as someone who used to work in care services, I understand very well the importance of having things like standards of quality, national standards of quality that apply across the board.

“We will have to look at the compromises that can be made, we want to move forward with the plan. Clearly we will have to get support for that, so clearly there will have to be compromise.”

Ms Robison also revealed the Scottish Government’s priority was affordable housing, ahead of the Chancellor’s UK Budget on Wednesday.

She said: “Affordable housing will be one of our top priorities for investment of capital funding. But we also need to see revenue funding in order to make sure our public services can be sustained and that we can meet the pay deals that are important to keep our public services going.

“We need to make sure in that regard that the employers and NI [National Insurance] employers contribution increase is fully met for Scotland, with our higher level of public services, and indeed our higher levels of pay.”

It comes as a Labour minister acknowledged frustrations over the Government’s refusal to spell out who will be hit by greater levies ahead of the Budget.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson repeated warnings that Wednesday’s financial statement will include “tough choices”, but she insisted it is a choice between investment or decline for the UK.

However, the Cabinet minister refused to say whether a small business owner earning £13,000 a year is a “working person” who should be protected from tax rises in Rachel Reeves’ first budget.

Facing broadcasters on Sunday morning, Ms Phillipson was repeatedly pressed to define the Labour Government’s use of the term “working people” – who it has promised to protect from tax hikes in the Budget.

She told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “You are inviting me to speculate about the nature of the question that you’re asking.

“What I’m saying is that when people look at their payslips, they will not see higher taxes.”

Speculation has mounted that people who make money from assets such as property could face greater levies in the Budget after Sir Keir Starmer said they do not fall within his definition of “working people”.

Labour had pledged in its manifesto not to hike taxes on what it described as “working people”, explicitly ruling out increases to VAT, national insurance, and income tax.

But the Chancellor is expected to raise employers’ national insurance contributions by at least one percentage point in the Budget, which could hit small businesses particularly hard.

Shadow science secretary Andrew Griffith claimed Labour “essentially lies to the British people” in terms of its plans, and he compared the party’s behaviour to the “worst form of dodgy car hire firm”.

“Already after 110 days, I think people are seeing that this Government came in on a false prospectus that things would be easy,” he said.

“They essentially lie to the British people in terms of their plans not to increase national insurance… not to change the fiscal rules.”

Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, has warned that some public services could continue to feel squeezed despite “one of the biggest tax-raising budgets ever”.

He told Sky News: “Justice, local government, social care, police, prisons, they’re all really struggling at the moment.

“So again we’re in this really tough position where we could have the biggest tax-raising budget, or one of the biggest tax-raising budgets, ever and yet a lot of public services still feeling squeezed.”