Scottish Parliament – Jan. 28, 2025 – 2

S6M-16237.3: As an amendment to motion S6M-16237 in the name of Neil Gray (Investing in Public Services Through the Scottish Budget), leave out from “calls” to end and insert “understands that the additional investment in Scotland’s public services has been made possible by the UK Government’s Autumn Budget, which delivered record funding for the Scottish Government and provided an additional £5.2 billion;

believes that the future of Scotland’s public services can only be guaranteed through measures to improve fiscal sustainability through public service reform and regrets the lack of progress being made by the Scottish Government in this area;

recognises the role that workers in Scotland’s public sector play in delivering vital services and regrets that the workforce and public are being failed by years of Scottish National Party mismanagement, which has created major challenges across the public sector in Scotland and left one in six people in Scotland on NHS waiting lists, and calls for the Scottish Government to take meaningful action to reform public services so that they work for users and staff across Scotland.”

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.