Meeting of the Parliament 10 September 2025
I apologise to Mr Macpherson.
Thirdly, we need proper public service reform to see where savings can be made. Mr McKee promises that he can find £1 billion-worth of backroom savings in Government departments, although we have yet to see a detailed plan for that, and private correspondence that was released following freedom of information requests suggests that his ideas have been met with something other than enthusiasm by his cabinet secretary. However, doing that would be, at least, a start, and we encourage Mr McKee to do that good work on our behalf.
Finally, and perhaps most significantly, we need a proper focus on productivity and economic growth to broaden Scotland’s tax base. Only by allowing private sector businesses to thrive, thereby expanding the economy, will we see more better-paid jobs created and greater tax revenues generated to fund the public services that we all need.
In conclusion, it is clear that the SNP is clueless about how to address the enormous financial black hole that it has created. Only the Scottish Conservatives have the ideas to tackle the issue. That is the point that is made in our motion today, which I am pleased to move.
I move,
That the Parliament notes with deep concern the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s forecast of a £4.7 billion funding gap in 2029-30; recognises that without the Union dividend of £2,578 per person there would be a substantial deficit, with Scotland’s 2024-25 net fiscal balancing standing at -£26.5 billion (-11.7% of GDP); regrets that the Scottish Government continues to dismiss these realities and prioritise constitutional campaigning over sound financial management; calls for urgent measures to restore credibility to Scotland’s finances, including a full multi-year spending review to identify priorities, savings, and reform needs, a strategy to cap welfare spending growth, which is currently consuming a significant amount of resource growth, and create jobs by moving more people into work through reskilling and apprenticeships, a focus on productivity and economic growth to broaden Scotland’s tax base by allowing businesses to thrive, and a robust public service reform and stronger Audit Scotland oversight to deliver better value; believes that the Parliament must focus on NHS waiting times, education standards, and community safety rather than fiscal denialism, and resolves that Scotland’s future depends on fiscal discipline, growth, and accountable government within the United Kingdom.
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