Meeting of the Parliament 26 October 2022
I thank Mr Johnson and, indeed, Mr Griffin for bringing the motion to Parliament. It is a very timely motion about exactly the issue that our constituents would expect us to be debating—the cost of living crisis that is exacerbated by the continuing fallout from Brexit and by the recent chaos that the UK Government has unleashed on our economy, people, communities and businesses, which means that they are facing soaring inflation, rising costs and spiralling energy bills. The severe economic shock that everyone is facing is leading to cases of hardship and poverty.
The Scottish budget is not immune to the rising costs and budget pressures. As the Deputy First Minister has set out, our budget is now worth around £1.7 billion less than when it was set in December because of increasing inflation. We know that the Welsh Government is in the same position. We recently saw the Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford point that out to the Tory Prime Minister, when he indicated that the Welsh Government’s budget is—as I understand it—now worth up to £4 billion less in real terms than it was when the three-year funding settlement was set last year.
The reality is that the decisions facing us are stark. Every additional pound that we spend in one area means a pound less has to be spent in another area. We have already taken action with the £500 million of savings that we announced last month, and which we have been clear were just the beginning of the hard choices that will be required to ensure that we can balance our budget while also supporting those in greatest need and providing fair and affordable public sector pay awards.