Meeting of the Parliament 11 January 2024
It is little wonder that, on 20 November 2023, the Deputy First Minister refused to confirm, when asked, whether SNP ministers always tell the truth.
Today, we are debating Scotland’s public service values. Let us start by considering the SNP’s catalogue of shame in respect of the public services of healthcare, education and procurement. We have lengthy accident and emergency waiting times, and targets have not been met. We have worsening cancer treatment waiting times, with a quarter of patients waiting two months to see a specialist, and today we have seen reports that Scotland has some of the worst cancer survival rates in the world. We have woeful workforce planning and a lack of ambition while vacancy rates for nurses are at record levels and the rates across many other NHS professions are at a four-year high. On public health, the SNP has by its own admission taken its eye off the ball. Drug and alcohol-related deaths are higher in Scotland than anywhere else in Europe. Some 1,300 babies have been born with drug dependency since 2017. That is disgraceful.
This SNP Government is all about soundbites and promises that it consistently fails to deliver on, telling us each time that lessons will be learned. Let us consider school-age children. The SNP has failed to address the educational attainment gap. That is another failed promise. Sixteen years of botched SNP reforms that blew £1 billion have ruined an education system that was once the envy of the world. According to a poll in The Scotsman just this week, the majority of Scots believe that the SNP is running public services poorly.
The SNP also sets a very low bar when it comes to setting an example to others in Scotland. There is a police investigation into the party’s finances, which is fuelling doubts about transparency and adherence to the rule of law. Of course, we are well accustomed to the SNP blaming its failures and incompetence on others. I am not talking about the Scottish Greens, although some in this chamber clearly blame them.
The SNP is also quick off the mark in making claims about others that do not stand up to scrutiny. For example, a misleading post on the Scottish Government’s official Twitter account claims that the autumn statement resulted in only an extra £10.8 million of funding for our NHS. However, that is just spin, because HM Treasury provided a record £43 billion to fund public services in Scotland, and the Scottish Government can spend the funding in any way that it wants. [Interruption.]