Lib Dem response to independent budget review: Public needs to know Government's intentions (Aberdeen North Liberal Democrats)

Aberdeen North Liberal Democrats <anne.carmichael@btinternet.com>

Lib Dem response to independent budget review: Public needs to know Government's intentions

July 29, 2010 5:05 PM
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats

Commenting on the report of Scotland's Independent Budget Review panel, Liberal Democrat Finance spokesperson Jeremy Purvis said:

"I welcome the Panel's report, and its clear call that the Scottish Government now needs to take seriously the task of shaping the choices it will make to reduce the Scottish Budget.

"The report vindicates entirely our argument that £150 million is being locked away because of the Scottish Government's refusal to change the way Scottish Water is funded. We argued in the 2010 budget discussions that Scottish Water, while remaining in the public's hands, can be funded differently but John Swinney refused to listen. I hope he does now.

"I am also pleased that the Panel specifically asks for action on NHS Bonuses, the issue that the Liberal Democrats have raised repeatedly but there has been no action from the SNP Government. This is a £28 million bonus pot that simply should not be being paid when nurses are seeing their salaries frozen. I believe the Panel could and should have gone further on restraint for the highest paid. Research by the Liberal Democrats, confirmed by the Scottish Government, shows that the pay bill for those earning over £80,000 in the public sector is £651 million. This is not sustainable. It should be the priority to review this, rather than the free personal care that older people benefit hugely from.

"I support the move to reduce the spend on quangos and it is worth noting that we opposed the nearly £40 million set up and running costs of the two new SNP quangos of the Scottish Futures Trust and Skills Development Scotland. It is astonishing that the Panel has called on the Scottish Government 'to consider a central role for the Scottish Futures Trust in addressing the significant task of prioritising and maximising benefit from the capital investment programme' when for the last three years we have been told repeatedly by Scottish ministers that the SFT has been doing exactly that. What on earth has the millions of pounds of taxpayers' money been spent on, if the Panel has found no evidence of it doing this? Scottish Enterprise, SDS and SFT, plus VisitScotland, now need to be reviewed radically and urgently.

"John Swinney has today written to me to activate the Liberal Democrat proposal for the Cross Party Strategic Budget Group of himself and Opposition Spokespeople. I am replying indicating my support for this, but that the discussion needs to be informed by what the Scottish Government proposes as a detailed response to the recommendations by the panel. I am asking for the Conservatives and SNP to reverse the position they took on the 1st July in the Parliament when they blocked demands for the Government response to be published in September.

"I am today tabling a parliamentary motion demanding that the Scottish Government publishes its detailed policy intentions in response to each recommendation in the report of the Independent Budget Review Panel by the time Parliament returns after summer recess.

"The time for pointing to Westminster by the SNP has now gone, the time for them making their own choices within their own budget is here. The public need to know their intentions, and public sector managers need to know their instructions."