The Scottish Budget

The video above was Tavish Scott a few weeks ago making the case for the Scottish LibDem proposal to freeze the remuneration of top-paid public sector staff. Tavish reinforced the point at First Minister's Questions today and exposed the ridiculous position of the Tories in proposing a freeze on the pay of anyone in the public sector earning over £18 000 - well below average earnings.

Here's Tavish's update on the Scottish Budget :

Yesterday saw the first debate in the Scottish Parliament on the Scottish Government’s Budget.

The economic background is serious. Unemployment continues to rise in Scotland , when it is falling in the rest of Britain . The gap in economic growth between Scotland and the UK is now widening to Scotland ’s disadvantage.

Liberal Democrats have taken up the challenge to work with the SNP Government to persuade them to take forward our proposals that will build a fairer society and a sustainable economy.

We are discussing practical plans. We can do more to give Scottish business a fighting chance of getting through the recession. Many businesses still can’t get the lending they need from their banks. Scottish manufacturing – including the Borders textiles industry that I highlighted in Parliament last week – needs help. The Scottish Budget needs to help strengthen these businesses, putting them in a good place to reap the rewards of economic recovery.

We have proposed practical steps to help other industries of the future such as marine renewables and businesses important to local communities such as Post Offices.

We also know that there are record levels of people being turned away from Scotland ’s colleges. Research by Liberal Democrats has shown that many colleges are turning away six times as many applicants than two years ago. If the Scottish Government expanded the number of college places then they will provide a direct way of boosting skills in sectors of the economy where we know we are short, be it engineering or social care.

As Labour’s deficit crisis makes the money tight, we really need the Scottish Government to get a grip on the salaries and bonuses of the highest paid people in the public sector.

Research published by the Scottish Liberal Democrats shows that the total salary bill for those earning more that £100,000 is £413million and is £651million for those over £80,000. And that is just 5,300 people out of half a million in the public sector.

People just cannot understand it when they learn that highest earners in the NHS are also able to nominate themselves for bonuses worth up to £75,000 a year on top of their salaries.

I know that we need restraint at the top to give a fair deal to the people at the bottom of the income scale.

People who want a progressive, fairer society will want government to take up these plans.

We can help Scotland out of recession. The SNP Government needs to work with us to do that.

It can find the money. It should use the money it has earmarked for its constitutional referendum. It should look hard at the Scottish quangos. And not just on their pay bill. For example, the Scottish Futures Trust continues to consume millions of tax pounds but builds absolutely nothing.

It is disappointing that the SNP Government has not moved to change its Budget yet. That is why we couldn’t vote for the Budget today. We have given them the benefit of three more weeks to respond to our positive and constructive approach. It will be for the benefit of Scotland if they take up our offer, make changes and win our support.

After all, they have seen the very poor show from Scottish Labour. Labour have simply proposed hundreds of millions of pounds of extra spending but have failed to identify where it can come from.

The Scottish Tories appear to have lost their way. Even last week, the normally loyal Daily Telegraph wrote of them, “it is time for a major rethink”. It reported “malaise”, “embarrassment” and called their performance “dreadful”.

And today’s Conservative proposals on public sector pay will hurt those on low incomes. It will not just be newly qualified nurses and teacher who will lose under the Tory plans for pay limits. Even a lance corporal returning from service in Afghanistan will find that his pay has been cut in real terms by the Tories while he has been away. It’s clear life would get worse, not better, for most people under a Conservative Government.

I will keep you up to date as the Budget process continues.

Tavish Scott