Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 21 September 2021
I have given detail in my statement about the additional staff that we are recruiting. On the one hand, the Opposition is telling me that we should have taken action many months ago but, on the other hand, it is castigating us for taking that action months and months ago.
We have taken that action and we have invested an additional £20 million, which, of course, will see an additional number of staff recruited to our Ambulance Service. I am delighted that we have those additional recruits. In my statement, I have just noted the additional actions that we will take, which are backed by £20 million of investment.
Among Dr Gulhane’s other asks, he mentioned efficiencies. Let me be absolutely clear that there has not been and will not be a single penny cut from the Scottish Ambulance Service budget. The opposite is true. A moment ago, I told members that this year’s budget has increased by £44 million, which is almost 16 per cent. We will continue to invest in the Scottish Ambulance Service.
Of course, when efficiencies are made, such as by introducing electric vehicles, saving money on petrol and diesel, the savings are retained by the health board—in this case, by the Scottish Ambulance Service. Dr Gulhane will forgive me if I do not take any lectures on public spending from a Conservative Party that is responsible for a decade of austerity in Scotland that has hit the poorest in our society the hardest.
On whether I would consider publishing more data and statistics, I will give that call some consideration and return to the member on that. A recovery plan is already under way, backed by £1 billion of investment. However, as I mentioned in my statement, we will bring forward a winter plan imminently.