Meeting of the Parliament 29 October 2024
It will certainly be welcome to see those details from the Government, and to hear how they apply to its broader policy agenda.
I mentioned earlier that public service reform is seen by the Scottish Government as being a key element of fiscal sustainability. However, in the latest update to the committee on its reform programme, the Government recognised that public services are under considerable financial pressure now and that, if nothing changes, public services will become unsustainable in the longer term. It went on to confirm that there is a pressing requirement for reform to ensure fiscal sustainability. Any update that we can have on progress on public service reforms would also be welcome.
In September, we heard from David Bell, who is a professor of economics at the University of Stirling, who said that we
“should not waste a crisis”.—[Official Report, Finance and Public Administration Committee, 10 September 2024, c 25.]
Looking ahead 50 years can be challenging when there are immediate pressures to deal with, but it is vital that we find within our politics the ability to have an honest debate about how we will put Scotland’s finances and public services on a more sustainable footing in the longer term. That is essential. If Scotland is to meet the fiscal challenges that are projected by the SFC, it is essential that we break out of a cycle of emergency budgets and fiscal chaos.
I look forward to the contributions from across the chamber in what is a very important debate.
I move amendment S6M-15408.1, to leave out from “, and agrees” to end, and insert:
“; notes the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s Fiscal Sustainability Report and the specific challenges that Scotland will face in the next 50 years, including those posed by an ageing population, and required health spending forecast to increase from 35% to 50% of devolved spending, and calls on the Scottish Government to set out an approach to deal with the long-term fiscal challenges presented by demographic, climate and technological change.”