Scottish Parliament – Jan. 28, 2025 – 1

S6M-16237.2: As an amendment to motion S6M-16237 in the name of Neil Gray (Investing in Public Services Through the Scottish Budget), leave out from “welcomes” to end and insert “notes that the performance of public services has declined despite significant funding increases and the hard work of those on the frontline;

believes that this decline is due to a failure of leadership from the Scottish National Party administration;

is concerned by the significant rise in senior-level civil servants and the failure to deliver meaningful public sector reform;

acknowledges that, despite the decline in public services’ performance, rises in Scottish income tax will see the public pay £1.7 billion more in taxation in 2025-26, and calls on the Scottish Government to start delivering value for money for taxpayers by cutting income tax to 19% for those earning up to £43,662, providing full non-domestic rates relief for pubs and businesses across Scotland and increasing the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax zero-rate threshold to £250,000, to reduce the cost of buying a home.”

Original motion(S6M-16237): That the Parliament welcomes the investment in Scotland’s public services through the draft Scottish Budget 2025-26;

notes that £21.7 billion for health and social care investment and over £15 billion in funding for local authorities is being provided;

calls on the UK Government to fully fund the additional cost of its increase in employer national insurance contributions, noting the significant impacts on public services, including social care, if it does not fund it in full;

notes the importance of the public service reform programme to drive future financial sustainability, and celebrates the key role that the Scottish public service workforce plays in delivering these services across Scotland.