Local MSP for the Linlithgow Constituency, Fiona Hyslop, welcomes the 2024-25 Scottish Budget which has targeted resources as those who need them most as we continue to deal with the impacts of the Cost of Living Crisis.
The 2024-25 Scottish Budget was commended to the Scottish Parliament by Deputy First Minister, Shona Robison, in a statement to the Chamber on Tuesday 19th December 2023.
Commenting Fiona said:
“This is a budget which reflects the shared values of our nation and speaks to the kind of Scotland that we want to be, and I was proud to see the Scottish Government choose to invest in our people and public services as we go into the new year.
“The Scottish Government have refused to follow the spending decisions of the UK Government and instead is doing all it can to mitigate them, with the limited powers we have. However, it is clear that this is no substitute for Independence.
“There are many important commitments in this budget which aim to help those who need it most, including; delivering a fully funded council tax freeze by providing councils with more funding, providing council’s with £1.5 million to cancel school meal debt and funding the real Living Wage of £12 an hour for adult and children’s social care and early learning and child care workers in the private, voluntary and independent sectors who deliver funded provision.
“The Scottish Child Payment will be increased to £26.70 to support families across Scotland, a decision which has been labelled as “game-changing” by anti-poverty charities.
“To support households across Scotland as they continue to deal with rising living costs, £6.3 billion has been allocated to social security benefits, allowing for an increase in line with inflation. This is over £1 billion more than the funding received from the UK Government for devolved benefits in 2024-25.
“The Scottish Government has prioritised protecting the NHS in Scotland from Westminster austerity and will increase funding for frontline NHS boards by £550 million.
“£200 million will be delivered to help tackle the poverty-related attainment gap, almost £390 million to protect teacher numbers and fund the teacher pay deal.
“There will an increase in funding for culture and heritage this year by £15.8 million.
“In the face of a deeply challenging financial situation, this budget reaffirms the Scottish Government’s social contract with the people of Scotland, to provide a safety net should they fall on hard times.”
ENDS
Notes – You can read the full budget here – Scottish Budget: 2024 to 2025 – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)