SNP conference: Nicola Sturgeon rules out U-turn on pledge of free prescriptions

• The SNP will still introduce free prescriptions

The health secretary will underline her commitment to the controversial policy, despite the widespread assumption that it would have to be ditched to balance the books as the UK faces the most draconian cuts seen for generations.

The pledge to keep the 57 million policy led to her opponents accusing her of indulging in "head-in-the-sand economics" and claims that SNP ministers were failing to grasp the severity of the economic crisis.

Today's pledge will be made when Ms Sturgeon addresses delegates at the SNP's conference in Perth and comes just after the party promised to freeze council tax for a further two years.

Ms Sturgeon will introduce free prescriptions for all, despite a report commissioned by the Scottish Government suggesting that millions of pounds could be saved by phasing out the policy.

Crawford Beveridge's Independent Budget Review identified free prescriptions as one of several policies that could be cut to prepare for the 1.1 billion spending cuts that are coming to Scotland next year and the 4.3bn expected over the next four years.

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Already, the SNP has indicated that free care for the elderly and free bus travel for the over-sixties, regardless of the wealth of the OAP benefiting, will be spared the axe. Their approach has raised questions over which services will actually be cut.

At Perth's Concert Hall today, Ms Sturgeon will say: "Under Labour, (prescription] charges went up to nearly 7. Under the SNP they have come down to 3. Some have argued that in this financial climate, we should not go ahead with our plan to abolish prescription charges.

"Well times are tight, but I believe - this government believes - that the last people that should be paying the price of Labour's economic mess are the sick.

"So delegates, I can confirm today that the government has decided that in April next year that - as promised - prescription charges will be abolished."

Last night, Ms Sturgeon's proposal was attacked by her opponents, who argued that the cash required to implement the policy would be better spent elsewhere.

The Conservatives have long argued that money would be saved by making people, who can afford their own prescriptions, pay for them.Conservative deputy leader Murdo Fraser said: "The extraordinary thing is that all the SNP seem to be doing is committing to additional public spending or maintaining existing commitments. It is head-in-the-sand economics.

"You really have to question the credibility of the SNP ministerial team. They are committing to all these giveaways without giving any indication at all of how they are going to balance the books at the end of the day. The SNP have yet to tell us what they are going to cut."

Jackie Baillie, Labour's health spokeswoman, said: "At a time when Nicola Sturgeon is cutting 4,000 health workers in Scotland including 1,500 nurses, we need to seriously consider if this is the right priority at this time."

Ms Sturgeon will also renew the SNP's commitment to pass on increases in health spending south of the Border directly to the Scottish health budget.

Under the Barnett formula, the mechanism that determines the size of the Scottish budget, that is likely to result in a 180m increase to the 10bn health budget.

She will say: "We have made a clear commitment to pass on the Barnett consequentials of any rise in NHS spending south of the Border to the NHS in Scotland at a time when our revenue budget overall is facing significant cash cuts. There will be no revenue cash cuts in the budget for our NHS."

That pledge will further strain relations with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), which has argued that protecting the NHS will squeeze the cash councils need to provide services for the vulnerable and elderly.

More cracks in the relationship between the SNP government and local authorities emerged last night.

A leaked letter from the Cosla president Pat Watters to finance secretary John Swinney revealed his fury over the SNP's handling of the council tax freeze.

In the letter, Mr Watters expressed his "considerable anger and disappointment" that discussions on the issue that he had understood to be confidential had appeared in the media.

Mr Watters said he could not "overstate how personally aggrieved" he felt about the discussions being made public.

At the conference, finance secretary John Swinney defended the SNP's economic record contrasting his "responsible stewardship" of the Scottish budget with the "reckless course" being steered by the Chancellor George Osborne. To back up his case, the finance secretary announced that the Scottish Government had saved almost 1.5bn in efficiency savings - 400m beyond the SNP administration's target.

Mr Swinney blamed the "tired and broken Westminster system" for the country's financial troubles.He also told delegates that the "stark truth" was that "we can no longer afford the Union".

He made his claim despite the UK Treasury having bailed out the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Bank of Scotland to the tune of 450bn two years ago,

"Over the summer the latest statistics on government expenditure and revenue in Scotland showed that for the fourth year in a row, Scotland has been in surplus," Mr Swinney said.

He added: "In fact, at a time when the UK is cutting our budget, Scotland was in surplus to the tune of well over 1bn, compared to a UK deficit of almost 50bn."

To further delay the deficit reduction plan as the SNP appears to favour would be to prolong the uncertainty and risk higher interest rates. Page 32