You get tory and I wIll be austerIty ahead and that Is what they argue and the OpposItIon PartIes here would say a lot of the problems are of the snps own makIng and they are In charge of thIs budget and they have decIded to make generous Pay Settlements to PublIc Sector workers, Pay Settlements at the ScottIsh FIscal CommIssIon would say were not planned for In perhaps the way they should have been. But the result of all thIs, where the blame lIes, that Is up where the blame lIes, that Is up for Argument And Everyone takes a dIfferent posItIon on that but the fact Is there Is a Black Hole and cuts on the Way And Shona RobInson Wall take topIcal questIons emInently behInd me and that Is slIghtly overrunnIng but we expect her to stand up emInently to gIve about a 15 MInute Statement on where she wants to move the money and where she sees the necessIty for cuts and what thIngs can be delayed and what money can be dIverted, but we are expectIng thIs to be a substantIal statement detaIlIng quIte a bIt of money and the newspapers at the weekend were reportIng a Black Hole and cuts of perhaps half 1 bIllIon and the FInance Secretary, shona robIson, says thIs wIll have a profound effect on the abIlIty to delIver publIc servIces In scotland and we heard that there wIll be a freeze on all but essentIal recruItment, thIngs lIke ambulances and fIre, Blue LIne servIces, they are protected and there wIll be are protected and there wIll be a reIntroductIon of normal fares because rIght now there has been a trIal of off Peak Fares for raIl but normal RaIl Fares for raIl but normal RaIl Fares wIll be comIng back and free Bus Travel for Asylum Seekers wIll be cuts but you look at these thIngs IndIvIdually and thInk that perhaps IndIvIdually you are not talkIng about huge amounts of money, so I thInk the statement wIll perhaps have quIte a lot of detaIl If she Is goIng to have to explaIn how she wIll get cuts of perhaps half 1 bIllIon. One way I have heard descrIbed Is that any fundIng that has not already been paId off Is beIng looked at very closely Indeed. The ScottIsh Government say they have no choIce because of Uk Government cuts whIch has had a Knock On Effect on the fundIng avaIlable to them and the chancellor, Rachel Reeves talked about a Black Hole and the ScottIsh Government would argue that has an effect on theIr Block Grant and It ScottIsh Government has argued that the uk Is enterIng a new hero of austerIty under the new Labour Government a new era. The ScottIsh LIberal Democrats say there Is less money to spend because of some bad decIsIons made by the snp government. We decIsIons made by the snp government. DecIsIons made by the snp covernment. ~.. government. We wIll go straIght to holyrood government. We wIll go straIght to holyrood to government. We wIll go straIght to holyrood to lIsten government. We wIll go straIght to holyrood to lIsten to government. We wIll go straIght to holyrood to lIsten to that to holyrood to lIsten to that statement now. Statement now. Thank you, PresIdIng Statement now. Thank you, PresIdIng Statement now. Thank you, statement now. Thank you, presIdIng offIcer. PresIdIng offIcer. Statement now. Thank you, presIdIng offIcer. ThIs statement now. Thank you, presIdIng offIcer. ThIs presIdIng offIcer. ThIs government has consIstently presIdIng offIcer. ThIs government has consIstently warned of the sIgnIfIcance of warned of the sIgnIfIcance of the fInancIal challenge a head. The fInancIal challenge a head. Prolonged westmInster prolonged WestmInster AusterIty, the economIc damage austerIty, the economIc damage of brexIt, a global pandemIc, of brexIt, a global pandemIc, the war In ukraIne and the cost the war In ukraIne and The Cost Of LIvIng crIsIs have all of lIvIng crIsIs have all alIke. Placed enormous and growIng placed enormous and growIng pressure on the publIc pressure on the publIc fInances. In the last four fInances. In the last four years alone, humIlIty of cpI years alone, humIlIty of CpI InflatIon has seen PrIces InflatIon has seen prIces Increase by 18. 9 , dImInIshIng Increase by 18. 9 , dImInIshIng how fat money wIll go for how fat money wIll go for households and governments households and governments alIke. CumulatIve CpI InflatIon. The ScottIsh Government has stepped In to support people and servIces In the face of these challenges where It has been needed most, so to health and publIc servIces and I set out that aId by 2024 to 2025 budget that we have delIvered Improvements to the nhs and tackled InequalIty by delIverIng more than 1 bIllIon In socIal servIces payments and IncreasIng the scottIsh ChIld Payments, helpIng the famIlIes of over 325,000 under 16s you currently receIve It, but we have done so wIthout Uk Government actIon and that repeated faIlure to properly revIew fundIng settlements. ThIs Issue has been acutely felt across the four natIons. Just last year, the welsh government had to Introduce Emergency SavIng Measures In order to balance Its budget, and In 2022 2023, the northern Ireland Secretary had to draw down from the uk reserve. The new uk Labour Government has sInce confIrmed to the faIlures of the past admInIstratIon, outlInIng the prevIous Uk Government, quotIng the Chancellor Rachel reeves, never fully reflected the Impact of InflatIon In departmental budgets, and the Treasury AudIt has estImated thIs years departmental SpendIng Budgets are at least 15 BIllIon lower In real terms compared to 2021 SpendIng RevIew plans. The chancellor has set out the 22 BIllIon FundIng Gap InherIted from the prevIous admInIstratIon and the rIght mInIster confIrmed that the forthcomIng Uk Budget wIll be paInful, as they seek to address the fIscal posItIon. WhIle It Is welcomed that the new Uk Government has accepted the dIagnosIs we have gIven four years on the uks publIc fInances, theIr solutIon Is sadly lookIng lIke an extensIon of the folly of austerIty. I made clear there was a dIffIcult fInancIal outlook and last years medIum term fInancIal strategy. Last years medIum term fInancIalstrategy. I last years medIum term fInancIal strategy. I set out the projected and growIng gap between Forecast FundIng and planned spendIng In scotland. At the tIme, thIs was forecast to be 1 can balance now to ensure we can balance the ScottIsh Budget In 2024 25. ResIdIng offIcer, peI contInues to be a sIgnIfIcant drIver of In year pressures, were expected addItIonal costs of up to 0. 8 bIllIon In thIs fInancIal year alone. WhIlst I welcome the Uk Governments acceptance of the Pay RevIew Body recommendatIons, It acceptance of the Pay RevIew Body recommendatIons, It remaIns to be seen whether the remaIns to be seen whether the Uk Government wIll fully fund Uk Government wIll fully fund It. SImply, If they do not It. SImply, If they do not fully fund the Pay Deals, It fully fund the Pay Deals, It wIll leave a substantIal gap wIll leave a substantIal gap between the expectatIons of the between the expectatIons of the workforce and the avaIlable workforce and the avaIlable fundIng. In addItIon, we must fundIng. In addItIon, we must also recognIse that we have a also recognIse that we have a larger PublIc Sector In larger PublIc Sector In scotland relatIve to the Rest Scotland relatIve to the rest of the uk, our PublIc Sector of the uk, our publIc Sector Workforce wIll need to evolve workforce wIll need to evolve to ensure the delIvery of hIgh to ensure the delIvery of hIgh QualIty PublIc servIces wIthIn QualIty PublIc servIces wIthIn contInued WestmInster AusterIty, and I wIll set out contInued WestmInster AusterIty, and I wIll set out more detaIl on our approach In more detaIl on our approach In the budget. AlongsIde pay, there are of course other pressures that arIse In the year that we must ensure are funded and there are costs that emerge due to natural demand led changes lIke legal aId, PolIce And FIre pensIons and the cost of accommodatIon for ukraInIan dIsplaced people. More wIdely, the budget must stIll be managed for wIder operatIonal pressures, most notably, Nhs Boards are havIng to address the sIgnIfIcant health and socIal Care Backlog that arose durIng the CovId PandemIc and a recent further surge In covId and respIratory cases. WhIle the ScottIsh Government has to operate wIthIn a largely fIxed budgets, determIned by westmInster, thIs Government WIll of course do everythIng we can to protect people and the publIc. Of course, were scotland an Independent country, we would not be payIng the prIce for bad decIsIons taken at westmInster, whether that be years of austerIty cuts, brexIt or Reckless MInI budgets, all of whIch have taken money out of the Economy And PublIc for fundIng servIces. FundIng for publIc servIces. The fact remaIns that our maIn lever to reduce these pressures In year Is to reduce spendIng to achIeve balance and that Is why I am settIng out today a range of measures to support the 202425 of measures to support the 2024 25 budget, totallIng almost 1 bIllIon, of whIch up to 500 MIllIon our dIrect savIngs. The savIngs Include up to 60 mIllIon of further savIngs that wIll be realIsed lImItatIon of the Emergency SpendIng controls, partIcularly targetIng recruItment over TIme Travel and marketIng. As prevIously announced, we wIll not progress wIth the removal of lower Peak Fares or the concessIonary Fares ExtensIon to the Asylum Seekers pIlot. We have also agreed wIth local government that they can use exIstIng programmes to fund Pay Deals and thIs amounts to a further 65 mIllIon of savIngs and we wIll make addItIonal specIfIc savIngs across all portfolIos. ThIs Includes a reductIon In resource to spend on sustaInable and actIve travel and Increased Interest Income on scottIsh Water Loan balances. Full detaIls are beIng shared wIth the fInance and publIc AdmInIstratIon CommIttee and publIshed alongsIde thIs statement. These savIngs should also be consIdered In the context of the recent and regrettable scottIsh Government DecIsIon to move the Uk Government decIsIon not to retaIn unIversalIty In the wInter fuel payment, whIch would have cost up to 160 mIllIon. At present, I am also reluctantly plannIng on the basIs of utIlIsIng up to 460 MIllIon of addItIonal Scotland Revenue fundIng. In the past, It has allowed me to protect budgets from cuts that otherwIse would have been made, IncludIng beIng able to contInue to support net zero expendIture. As the fInal year progresses, and through our Emergency SpendIng controls and contInued robust forecastIng, I am seekIng to protect as far as possIble that Scotland Revenue, just as I was able to do In 202324. Just as I was able to do In 2023 24. ResIdIng offIcer, as we look ahead, It Is clear that further sIgnIfIcant actIon wIll be needed to reset the publIc fInances onto a sustaInable path. The chancellor has made clear that Uk Government fundIng wIll contInue to be tIghtly constraIned. The PrIme MInIster has also made clear the dIffIcult decIsIons to come. The head of the autumn budgets, we agaIn call on the Uk Government to make sure that It prIorItIses Investment In publIc servIces and Infrastructure. We know from better experIence that yet more WestmInster AusterIty Is not the answer, and publIc servIces must be protected. However, If the ScottIsh Government does not act, spendIng wIll contInue to outstrIp avaIlable fundIng. That Is not sustaInable, and tough decIsIons wIll be requIred. Annual savIngs alone wIll not address thIs. So, all members of thIs place must face up members of thIs place must face up to thIs challenge and the demands they meet durIng the Budget Process to come. On publIc spendIng, ourapproach publIc spendIng, our approach to publIc spendIng, ourapproach to the forthcomIng budget wIll be focused on actIon In key areas to address spendIng pressures, some of whIch I want to hIghlIght today. FIrst, let me turn to health. We wIll take forward our vIsIon for health and socIal care reform. ThIs Government WIll always prIorItIse fundIng for nhs and ended 2025 26 budgets we wIll buIld on the Record FundIng we have allocated In the current fInancIal year and take the twIn approach of Investment And Reform In our health servIces, an approach that rIghtly tackles the PopulatIon And Health challenges we face. Where necessary, that must mean realIgnIng spend to ensure It reaches those that need It most. Beyond health, we wIll also contInue to IdentIfy and Implement opportunItIes to de prIorItIse low Impact spend In programmes across whole of government. I wont use the forthcomIng budget to hIghlIght how we wIll double down on reform, opportunItIes and maxImIse effIcIencIes wIth a partIcular focus on publIc bodIes and drIvIng further savIngs through effIcIency leavers, IncludIng operatIons around estates, procurement, fund management, dIgItal shared servIces and revenue raIsIng. When workforce, we have RecruItment Freezes In place across the ScottIsh Government for all but the most essentIal roles, and where approprIate, I am lookIng to extend that across publIc bodIes whIle ensurIng that Front LIne servIces and the lIke of our nhs, polIce, and fIre can recruIt the staff they need. We also face sIgnIfIcant pressures and our capItal budget. A sustaIned hIgh level of InflatIon ExperIence and the ConstructIon Sector has permanently Increased the cost of delIverIng Infrastructure. ThIs comIng sIzed wIth an expected real Terms ReductIon to our Uk CapItalfundIng of 8. 7 overfIve years. To our Uk CapItalfundIng of 8. 7 over fIve years. ThIs coIncIdes wIth. ThIs Is a communIty of loss of over 1. 3 bIllIon between 2024 and 2028 and as IndIcated prevIously, are transactIonal allocatIon has dropped sInce 2022 23, addIng to the challenge we already face. These factors combIned have reduced our spendIng power, and we cannot afford all of our capItal commItments. We wIll need to contInue to make dIffIcult decIsIons to ensure our CapItal Programme Is a portable and delIverable. In lIne wIth our Investment HIerarchy we are focusIng spend on EssentIal MaIntenance of our Infrastructure so we can contInue to delIver hIgh QualIty PublIc servIces, I whIlst these wIll be dIffIcult choIces, thIs government remaIns commItted to protectIng the most vulnerable In socIety. Our approach to EqualIty BudgetIng wIll be strengthened further for the 2025 26 budget by publIshIng the results of our Gender BudgetIng PIlot wIth the oecd. On tax, I can confIrm we wIll publIsh our Tax Strategy alongsIde the 2025 26 ScottIsh Budgets, where we wIll set out our medIum term ambItIons for the scottIsh Tax System. Of course, are cumulatIve decIsIons on system. Of course, are Cuml Used DecIsIons on system. Of course, are cuml used to ecIsIons on system. Of course, are cuml used to support n system. Of course, are cuml used to support our vItal been used to support our vItal publIc servIces and anyone who would advocate removIng the progressIve changes to Income Tax In scotland wIll need to set out 21. 5 BIllIon of cuts would fall as a consequence. On the applIcatIon of taxatIon, we can only go so far, gIven the scope of our devolved tax powers. RaIsIng sIgnIfIcant further revenue would requIre substantIal reform to the Tax System or the further devolutIon of powers. These wIll take tIme and wIll rely on the Uk Government. It Is therefore essentIal that we aIm to grow the economy and the Tax Base to support a sustaIned flow of revenues over tIme. SInce 2007, Scotlands Economy Flow of revenues over tIme. SInce 2007, Scotlands Economy has grown faster than the uk as has grown faster than the uk as a whole after accountIng for a whole after accountIng for populatIon growth, and populatIon growth, and productIvIty has grown twIce as productIvIty has grown twIce as quIckly. And thIs, of course, quIckly. And thIs, of course, has supported growth In has supported growth In scottIsh tax revenues, and scottIsh tax revenues, and boostIng economIc growth boostIng economIc growth Is a top prIorIty for our governments because It Is key to both raIsIng scotlands lIvIng standards and fundIng the publIc servIces we all rely upon. ThIs Is even more Important gIven that brexIt Is estImated to have left In the Uk Government at least 69 bIllIon worse off compared wIth eu membershIp, and that Is why our programme for Government Tomorrow wIll set out In detaIl the steps we wIll take thIs year to boost faIr green economIc growth wIll stop as members wIll be aware, I recently bred to be fInance and publIc AdmInIstratIon CommIttee to provIde an update on the tImIng of the ScottIsh Budget. I also stated I Intend to publIsh the medIum term fInancIal strategy after the Uk Governments multI year SpendIng RevIew has concluded In the sprIng. Place on Budget Budget takes place on the 4th Of December and I contInue to dIscuss the Budget Date wIth the publIc fInance and AdmInIstratIon CommIttee and AdmInIstratIon CommIttee and the ScottIsh FIscal CommIssIon and wIll fInalIse It In due course. ScottIsh Budget Date. We cannot Ignore the severe fInancIal challenges we face and we wIll contInue to be a fIscally responsIble Government And Balance the budget each year, as we have done every yearfor 17 budget each year, as we have done every year for 17 years, and we wIll do so agaIn thIs year, but thIs wIll mean we must unfortunately take dIffIcult decIsIons along the way. I belIeve we can all agree on the Importance of puttIng the publIc purse to all that we do, and I am callIng on members across the chamber to work together to navIgate the challenges ahead In the best Interests of all of the people we have the prIvIlege to serve. Thank you. Applause thank you, CabInet Secretary. The CabInet Secretary wIll now take the CabInet Secretary wIll now take questIons on the Issues raIsed take questIons on the Issues raIsed In take questIons on the Issues raIsed In her statement and I Intend raIsed In her statement and I Intend to raIsed In her statement and I Intend to allow around 30 mInutes Intend to allow around 30 mInutes for questIons, after whIch mInutes for questIons, after whIch tIme, we wIll move onto the next whIch tIme, we wIll move onto the next of busIness and It WItI the next of busIness and It wIll helpful If the people wIshIng to ask a questIon would press wIshIng to ask a questIon would press the wIshIng to ask a questIon would press the request to speak Button Press the request to speak button. Read back the scottIsh fIscat button. Read back the ScottIsh FIscal CommIssIon has made It abundantly clear that much of the pressure facIng the countrys the pressure facIng the count ... the pressure facIng the count .... countrys fInances Is down to the scottIsh countrys fInances Is down to the ScottIsh Governments. Countrys fInances Is down to I the ScottIsh Governments own decIsIons the ScottIsh Governments own decIsIons and the ScottIsh Governments own decIsIons and It the ScottIsh Governments own decIsIons and It cIted the ScottIsh Governments own decIsIons and It cIted the decIsIons and It cIted the above decIsIons and It cIted the above InflatIon decIsIons and It cIted the above InflatIon Pay decIsIons and It cIted the above InflatIon Pay settlements for publIc above InflatIon Pay settlements for PublIc Sector above Inflat