Meeting of the Parliament 02 November 2016
I thank Audit Scotland for its far-reaching and detailed report and for the crucial recommendations that it has made.
The report rightly criticises the Government for the lack of detail that it has provided on major service reforms. David Hogg, a GP based on Arran, told the Health and Sport Committee yesterday that we cannot talk about realistic medicine without presenting realistic plans for service delivery. I am glad that the Government’s amendment establishes a timeframe for delivering the cohesive framework that Audit Scotland has asked for, and I want the framework to be delivered by the end of the year, as promised. Audit Scotland’s call for three-year financial frameworks for health boards is a sensible one, and I hope that that sensible move forward will be included in the Government’s plans.
At this point, it is worth asking what recommendations Audit Scotland would have made to this Parliament. I do not think that it would have advised us to keep retreading the same debate that we seem to be continually having.
The report makes it perfectly clear that even with real-terms increases to the overall health budget, spending is not matching increased public demand. Shortcomings in funding and service delivery are not acceptable, but we need to pair criticism with proposals for action. Once again, a wholly critical motion has been presented by a party that consistently resists any move towards more progressive taxation and refuses to take a realistic approach to funding high-quality public services. I do not know how the Conservative Party thinks that we are going to develop more sustainable health services without fairer public spending and taxation.