Setting Scotland’s Budget

There can be no doubt that one of the most important points in the annual parliamentary calendar is when the Scottish Government’s budget is set. More than at any other time, it demonstrates just how reliant the Scottish Government is on securing the support of other parties when the SNP wish to pass legislation. As a minority government with no overall majority and just one seat more than the next biggest party, getting a budget passed is an extremely challenging process.

In 2007 when the SNP took office, many commentators predicted that our first budget would prove to be an insurmountable obstacle and the Government would fall. Yet we now find ourselves approaching the end of our first four year term and setting our last budget of this parliament.

That budget is undoubtedly more challenging than any other since devolution began. Without control over our own finances, Scotland has been handed a £1.3 billion cut to our budget and that will inevitably have a real impact. The challenge before us is to ensure that the reduction is managed wisely and money is allocated in the most effective way possible.

The SNP has recognised that there is a social contract which exists between people and Government and that when times are tough, ordinary people should not pay the price through massive tax rises or savage cuts to the services they rely on.

That is why the Scottish Government has made clear its determination to fund the council tax freeze, which has already saved substantial sums for people the length and breadth of Scotland. To protect the National Health Service, which will actually see its funding increase despite the financial pressures we face, because of the extraordinarily important work that it does. And to maintain the 1,000 additional police officers that have been recruited under the current Scottish Government and who have helped bring levels of crime in Scotland to a 32 year low.

I believe that the Scottish Government has made the right choices in its budget, particularly for the North East given that it contains funding for the AWPR and recently announced upgrades to the A90. I believe that it makes the right choices for Scotland in these difficult times and that opposition parties should give it their backing. More than anything else, however, they should resist the temptation of uncosted spending demands and blind opposition that has all too often characterised their approach in the past.

Repairing our roads

The severe winter conditions we have experienced in recent weeks have been difficult for many people. Yet with the snows having cleared, at least for now, one of the big challenges the conditions have left behind is the state that many roads have been left in.

Potholes are an inevitable consequence of freezing conditions and it is a regular battle to repair them as quickly as possible. Having seen some of the worst conditions in living memory, the Scottish Government has taken the welcome decision to provide an additional £15 million towards road maintenance. Although it is local councils who are responsible for maintaining local roads, the extraordinary circumstances we have faced make this the right decision.

Aberdeenshire will receive an additional £1,336,000 as part of this funding, a welcome recognition that the area faces one of the biggest challenges to maintain roads at this time of year. Although the amount of repairs and maintenance necessary will take time to complete, I know that there are a large number of people working hard to deliver and that this extra funding will undoubtedly help.