Craig Hoy
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party · Scotland
“Given the fragility of bus services across Dumfriesshire, will the minister commit the cabinet secretary, who is overseas, to a meeting with me, so that I can reinforce the case for a station at Beattock, which is now increasingly vital?”
“Jenny Gilruth: Perhaps it was a bit too much to expect some positivity about these announcements from Mr Hoy. However, I hope that he recognises that the Government has significantly adapted our position on support for businesses in relation to some of the outputs that I have set out today.”
“If kicking the can down the road was a competitive sport, this Government would win gold every single time. Many Scottish businesses now continue to face some of the highest rates liabilities in the UK, and many have seen eye-watering increases as a result of the most recent revaluation.”
“I extend to Mr Hoy the same invitation that I extended to Mr Greer. If Mr Hoy wants to come forward with some more ambitious proposals ahead of the budget, my door is open— Craig Hoy: I am seeing you tomorrow. Jenny Gilruth: We will be meeting tomorrow—I look forward to that engagement.”
“I thank the minister for her invitation for us all to work together. I will meet the Deputy First Minister next week to that end. If the new, fiscally prudent, small-state Scottish Government can commit to reducing tax and cutting the benefits bill, we will have a fruitful relationship.”
“Let us hope that that sentiment remains as we progress through the months. We need to look more broadly at where Scotland has been and where it is going. Scotland is a country that has made reducing child poverty an absolute priority—that is one of its moonshots. With our 6 per cent lower figure, we are leading the UK.”
The complete record
Every one of 926 lines we hold for Craig Hoy, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 18 of 19.
“To ask the Scottish Government what factors it considered when determining not to introduce any new bands or increase the rates of Scottish income tax for the remainder of this parliamentary session. (S6O-04294)”
“In recent days, rather than standing up for his constituents, Alex Cole- Hamilton has ridden to John Swinney’s rescue.”
“However, today is a day of betrayal for Scottish workers and Scottish taxpayers. For 18 years, the SNP Government has let down hard-working Scots. It has failed to deliver for businesses, including many retail and hospitality operators, who are yet again to be robbed of rates relief support that is available elsewhere in the UK. The SNP focuses on inputs but not outcomes— more tax, more spending—and, pitifully, it ignores the performance of our public services. Our schools, hospitals, roads and railways are all deteriorating. Crime is up, police numbers are down, and many Scottish businesses are teetering on the edge as a result of decisions taken by Keir Starmer and John Swinney. Rather than taking a stand against the budget, opposition parties will today endorse the SNP’s failed legacy by backing it.”
“Today’s budget debate sets out a core dividing line in Scottish politics—a dividing line between my party and the failed cosy socialist consensus, which is wedded to high tax and low growth and stands in stark contrast to our common-sense budget plans. Tonight, it will be the Scottish Conservatives— and the Scottish Conservatives alone—who will vote against this bad budget. Contrary to Shona Robison’s narrative, we engaged constructively, setting out a new direction for Scotland. We would cut tax for workers, businesses and home buyers. We would grow the economy and tackle the SNP’s soaring benefits bill. [Interruption.] The Presiding Officer: Let us hear Mr Hoy. Craig Hoy: We would do something that Mr Swinney has not done: deliver public service reform to drive real savings at the same time.”
“I am proud of the budget and all that it delivers for the people of Scotland, and I urge the Parliament to support it. I move, That the Parliament agrees to the general principles of the Budget (Scotland) (No. 4) Bill. 14:37”
“I end with a reminder to the Parliament of the important measures that the Government is putting in place for the people of Scotland: record NHS investment, including money to reduce waiting lists and make it easier for people to see their GP; tax choices that put money in the pockets of low-income and middle-income earners and that help hard-pressed local pubs and restaurants; winter heating payments for older Scots; more affordable homes; investment in childcare and nursery education through more jobs and business growth; more breakfast clubs in our schools; £4.9 billion for positive climate action; a record increase in funding for local services; transformational increases in culture spending; and action to mitigate the two-child cap, which will lift 15,000 children out of poverty.”
“At the start of this year, the First Minister said “There is nothing wrong in Scotland that can’t be fixed by what is right in Scotland.” The budget is all about putting the resources in place to do just that.”
“That will support our commitment to scaling up renewable energy, restoring Scotland’s natural environment, expanding our public transport and active travel networks, and supporting a step change in how we heat our homes by investing more than £300 million in energy efficiency and clean heat measures. Our public services are an integral part of our daily lives, and we remain committed to protecting those valued services through the budget, building on many years of investment by the Scottish Government. I am proud that the 2025-26 budget takes significant steps in continuing the Government’s investment in our front-line staff and public services, including record investment of £21.7 billion for health and social care and more than £15 billion for local government.”
“Can the minister explain the difference between a pub with a rateable value of £50,000 that is facing extreme financial pressures and a pub with a rateable value of £60,000 or £75,000? Is that not an entirely arbitrary distinction? Shona Robison: The measure will impact 92 per cent of hospitality premises, which is the vast majority. The local pub and the local restaurant are the priorities that the Scottish National Party Government is focusing on. More widely, as part of the Government’s commitment to net zero and tackling the climate emergency, the budget will commit £4.9 billion of investment with a positive benefit for the climate.”
“Ministers must now urgently and transparently explain how they will fund it. I started with a rather vivid account of what happens when one ignores repeated warnings. I hope that the Government neither dismisses the report nor sets aside the constructive criticism from independent bodies that have engaged positively with the budget process. 16:32”
“I accept that Labour’s national insurance increase will put pressure on the Government and on Scotland’s councils, but we should not forget that firms and companies across Scotland, which will have to make internal efficiencies to be able to pay those additional costs, are in a similar position. The report rightly identifies the need for the Scottish Government to set out an urgent plan as to how it will fund any shortfall for its employer national insurance liabilities. When he closes, it will be interesting to hear from the minister what progress, if any, the Government has made with the UK Treasury and what insight it can give local councils as they set their own budgets in that respect. On welfare, the Scottish Government rushed to announce mitigation of the two-child limit— effectively, to gain headlines and political advantage.”
“Although the report welcomes the publication of the Government’s tax strategy, I put on the record that I strongly question whether it is robust and detailed enough to address the structural concerns that we have about the Scottish National Party’s high tax agenda. The report correctly identifies the need for a comprehensive assessment of behavioural responses to the SNP’s decision to make Scotland the highest-taxed part of the UK. The Government must also look at the cost of its workforce and at the cost, scale and scope of its social security policies—both of which are identified in the committee’s report.”
“It warns against any slippage in the medium-term financial strategy and urges the Government to identify and monitor “the number of ‘live’ strategies” and to reduce them “wherever possible.” The Government is often accused of using smoke and mirrors, so I urge ministers to accept the committee’s call to ensure that very significant in-year transfers, most notably between health and local government, are baselined in the Scottish budget. If the Government does not do that, it leaves itself—quite rightly—open to the accusation that it is massaging the figures for political purposes. Ministers must heed significant warnings and be alert to significant risks, which the report highlights and which include the on-going financial pressures and the potential of a £701 million negative reconciliation in the 2027-28 budget.”
“Like the man in the story, it has been warned repeatedly: by Audit Scotland, the Scottish Fiscal Commission and, now, the Parliament’s finance committee. It has been warned about transparency, sustainability and the affordability of its tax and spending plans. The committee report sets out a number of areas that the Government must address urgently and it—correctly—criticises past inaction. The report states: “The Committee should not be in the position of having to repeat and reiterate some recommendations before they are clearly responded to. The quality of future Government responses to our reports must improve”. I echo that call. The report criticises the lack of “medium- and longer-term financial planning”.”
“In an episode of “The West Wing”, a priest attending the President recalls a story about a religious man whose village is flooding. The man rejects a public radio broadcast warning him to leave, turns away a boat that is sent to save him and dismisses a third attempt to save his life. He then drowns. Standing at the gates of St Peter, the man demands an audience with God. “Lord,” he says, “I’m a religious man. I pray. I thought you loved me. Why did this happen?” God says, “I sent you a radio report and a guy in a rowing boat, and then we tried to save you a final time. What the hell are you doing here?” We might ask the same of the Scottish Government, because it has found itself in this vulnerable financial position despite record financial settlements.”
“To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service regarding the setting of mandatory timescales for decisions relating to the charging and prosecution of criminal proceedings. (S6O- 04259)”
“As the Scottish Fiscal Commission warns, this year, the Government is spending £1.4 billion more on social security than it receives funding for. By the end of this decade, social security spending will be nearly £9 billion—some 15 per cent of the entire Scottish Government revenue budget.”
“In 2022, Humza Yousaf said that he would “eradicate” long waits for patients, but Public Health Scotland says that that has not happened either. We were promised a national care service by 2026 but, £30 million of wasted money later, we have a task force and nothing more. When it comes to the SNP, we are used to having more strategies and working groups but no real, commonsense solutions to the problems across Scotland. On schools, for example, under the SNP, education in Scotland has gone backwards in international rankings. On housing, more than 10,000 children are still living in temporary accommodation. On law and order, police numbers are down and violent crime is rising. The Government says that its budget will deliver growth. It does deliver growth—growth in the cost of the civil service and growth in the benefits bill.”
“The problems that we see across Scotland’s public services stem from a failure of leadership in the SNP Government. It is a Government that yet again, only yesterday, thought that a hollow speech from the First Minister would fix Scotland’s ailing NHS. The First Minister’s predecessor and the First Minister who went before him both served as health secretary, and the current First Minister led on Covid recovery. Therefore, the waiting lists, the workforce crisis and the staggering collapse of the national care service before it was even launched are their failures. They caused them, and they own them. In 2021, the SNP Government vowed to increase NHS capacity by 10 per cent to tackle waiting times. That never happened—we are still waiting.”
“I echo Neil Gray’s thanks to our emergency service workers and public service workers for their Herculean efforts in response to the extreme weather this weekend. We approach the debate with a depressing sense of déjà vu. It is another SNP Government debate that papers over the structural cracks in Scotland’s finances and fails to address the fundamental problems in our public services. It is another SNP Government debate where the excuses pile high. The simple truth is that, under this Government, public service outcomes have declined despite significant increases in public spending. That is no criticism of our nurses, our teachers or our police—the very people that the SNP Government cynically uses as human shields to mask its policy failures.”
“Are you aware of how the information may have come to be in the public domain, and what will you and the Parliament do to prevent such egregious breaches of the rules and disrespect of the Parliament and its members? The Deputy Presiding Officer: I thank Mr Hoy for his point of order. I am not cognisant of the full detail of the newspaper article to which he refers. I would not expect to see any detail being made available to others before the Parliament is made aware of it. That is the expectation to which we all work. Therefore, I will look into the matter to which the member has referred. We will now proceed with a statement by Maree Todd on the future of the national care service. The minister will take questions at the end of her statement, so there should be no interventions or interruptions. 15:07”
“On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Not for the first time, details of a statement that is to be made in the Parliament have been leaked to the Scottish press. For years, we have been saying that the Scottish National Party’s ill-conceived plan for a national care service should be scrapped. Today, thanks to the Daily Record, we found out that that is the Government’s intention. That shows complete and utter contempt, not just for the Presiding Officer and the Parliament but for the many stakeholders who have invested a huge amount of time, energy and money in working with the Government on the botched plan. I seek your guidance, Deputy Presiding Officer. Have you had any discussions with the Government about the latest breach of protocol?”
“Shona Robison: As I said in my answer to Kenny Gibson, we brought those excessive profits and poor PFI deals to an end, and we introduced more affordable schemes so that we can utilise resources in the best way as we invest in our infrastructure. We can do that while also ensuring value to the public purse—which is, it seems, unlike what the Tories want to do. Youth Work 4.”
“Shona Robison: I think that all our constituents care about value for money and value to the public purse, and I think that all our constituents would be very concerned about the excessive profits made from previous PFI deals that were poorly constructed and not good value to the public purse. I find it very strange that the Tories, who often talk about value for money and criticise the spending priorities of the Government, seem so easy with the excessive PFI profits when it suits them—[Interruption.]—and do not seem to share the concerns—[Interruption.]—that I think the public share with us. The Presiding Officer: Let us hear the cabinet secretary.”
“Regardless of the perceived flaws of past PFI models, does the cabinet secretary concede that our constituents are broadly agnostic on how major infrastructure projects are funded and delivered, and that, in short, they just want urgent progress on major projects, including the upgrading of roads such as the A1 and the A75 in my South Scotland region? Will the minister therefore set aside dogma and fully explore new and alternative models to turbocharge Scotland’s flagging infrastructure procurement programme, including by appraising the infrastructure investment partnership model, as was recently recommended by the Future Governance Forum?”
“That is another reason why I urge the Scottish Government to make sure that it gives support to Scotland’s hospitality sector. Burns’s life and legacy are intertwined with the hostelries of south Scotland. He continues to contribute much to our tourism and hospitality sector. That is why I welcome Oliver Mundell’s debate and his motion. 18:16”
“Indeed, Agnes Burns, Rabbie’s mother, was buried alongside her son and her daughter Annabella in the parish kirkyard, within a railed enclosure, which still draws visitors to East Lothian today. Every year, local publican Paul Kinnock at the Tyneside Tavern remembers Rabbie and Gilbert at the Grant’s Braes Burns brunch—try saying that after a couple of nips. It is a jolly lunch that I have had the pleasure to chair in the past and to attend most years, at which pub regulars get together to remember the great man and, of course, his wee brother, too. Rabbie Burns was a pub man. Just a stone’s throw from here, he visited the Sheep Heid Inn in Duddingston and the Beehive Inn in the Grassmarket. I suspect that, in the latter, a pint now costs considerably more than it did then.”
“The sector faces very difficult times, partly because of decisions that the Scottish National Party Government has taken this year in relation to support for the hospitality sector. In fact, I would say that, this January, the memory of Robert Burns is probably doing more to support and sustain Scotland’s hospitality sector than its present-day Government is doing. Before I close, I would like to highlight another connection with Robert Burns. His younger brother Gilbert lived in Bolton, which is a tiny hamlet very close to the town of Haddington in East Lothian. Gilbert was a well-known figure in the town and, in 1808, he became an elder of the beautiful St Mary’s church.”
“At this time of year, people come together across Scotland in our hospitality venues—restaurants, pubs, and community and sports clubs—to eat, drink and listen to some of Burns’s famous pieces and works. As colleagues have said, where better to do that than in the welcoming Globe Inn in Dumfries, which offers fine dining and lovely historic rooms, and where Robert Burns ate, drank, recited, slept and otherwise entertained affairs of the heart. The life and works of Robbie Burns offer a welcome boost for the hospitality industry at what is genuinely a very difficult time for it. In January, the Burns suppers are much needed by our pubs and restaurants—this year, more than ever.”
“The museum celebrates Burns’s life, work and legacy. One of the most poignant items on display is the William Burns family bible, which lies open on a page on which William has understatedly written: “Had a son Robert 25th Jan 1759.” In Dumfries, in a former mill building by the River Nith, we have the Robert Burns Centre, which is also a film theatre that shows the best in contemporary cinema. Today, as many of my colleagues did, I met the trust team at the Robert Burns Ellisland museum and farm, who have set out a bold vision to save the home of “Auld Lang Syne” and to create an enhanced visitor attraction with accommodation and a focus on the arts and education. Burns’s presence continues to influence local festivals, with the annual Robert Burns festival in Dumfries drawing visitors every January.”
“I thank Oliver Mundell for bringing the debate to the chamber. I will use my brief contribution to focus on the benefits that Burns brings to the hospitality and tourism sectors in Scotland—not least because he was partial to a wee nip, himself. His life and his legacy are woven through the whole region that I am proud to represent—South Scotland. That legacy draws tourists to the south and brings together locals and visitors alike, particularly at this time of year, when we gather together to celebrate the life and work of Robert Burns, not just here in Scotland but, as I found when I lived in Asia, across the world. Nowhere are we more likely to keenly celebrate the life of Robert Burns than in South Scotland. In Alloway in Ayrshire, Robert Burns’s birthplace museum is just a short walk from the Burns cottage.”
“Alasdair Allan: I move amendment S6M- 16171.3, to leave out from “opposes” to end and insert: “believes that communities must be at the heart of the renewable energy transition, and that it is vital that they share in the significant benefits that will be created, in contrast with how Scotland’s communities have been failed for decades under successive UK administrations’ energy policies; notes the ongoing representations by the Scottish Government to the UK Government around the need for energy market reform; further notes that Scotland has some of the most stringent environmental impact regulations anywhere in the world and that the planning and consenting system is designed to ensure that local communities have their say; notes that the proposed reforms have long been the established position in England, which the previous UK Conservative administration did not alter in its 14 years in office, and understands that the proposals would require developers to consult communities much earlier in the planning process, which will ensure that affected communities can more meaningfully influence the process of project development.” 16:13”
“That would mirror the process that is already in place in Scotland under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, and it is therefore not quite the novelty that the Conservatives present it as. The Deputy Presiding Officer: Minister, you need to conclude. Please move your amendment.”
“Alasdair Allan: There is certainly a need for reform at the UK level—which is where the powers lie—of the national grid in terms of grid connections and the capacity to make them, and to ensure that the grid queue is in the form that it should be in. I understand that work is under way on those areas. To return to the planning system in Scotland, at present if a planning authority objects to an application, a public inquiry is automatically held. The proposals seek to modernise that aspect of the system, but specifically do not seek to remove the option of a public inquiry. Under the proposals, planning authorities would retain the statutory right to challenge, but in the event of objections from the relevant authorities, the reforms suggest that alternative forms of consideration may sometimes be more appropriate.”
“[Made a request to intervene.] Rachael Hamilton: Will the member take an intervention? Alasdair Allan: Yes. The Deputy Presiding Officer: Is the minister giving way to Rachael Hamilton? Alasdair Allan: Yes. Rachael Hamilton: The queue for an energy grid connection is vastly oversubscribed. Communities that I and others represent are angry—and they are angry because there are so many applications. The reforms will not address that. There are hundreds of planning applications in the process. Surely we should be halting those and reviewing the situation. The Deputy Presiding Officer: Minister, you have one minute left.”
“Too often, the Scottish Government forgets about rural residents, who face specific challenges, including the need, as I said, to travel long distances to access services. Imagine how long it might take someone who has an injury or wound to get from Oldhamstocks to Edinburgh royal infirmary. The healthcare problems that Scotland’s rural communities face are not new, but it is clear that they are getting worse. How can the Government claim to be supporting rural communities when nearly half of all NHS vacancies in Scotland are in rural boards? Whether it relates to the model of care, social care provision or the NHS workforce, the SNP Government is failing to deliver what our communities really need. 18:07”
“Our rural communities have been truly betrayed, and that is a concrete example of that. I carried out surveys about the Edington and Belhaven hospitals. More than 500 people responded, and their views were stark. Some local residents could no longer visit dying family members because of travel and logistical issues or, simply, the financial pressures of getting to and from Edinburgh. Some elderly patients, in their dying days, were taken away from places where they said that nurses felt more like family members. The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee recently issued a report into remote and rural healthcare. It highlighted significant problems that people in rural areas face when they seek to access NHS services.”
“The Edington hospital provided East Lothian’s sole minor injuries clinic and offered local palliative care facilities. People who need step-down or palliative care are now sent to Haddington or they remain, undischarged, on wards in Edinburgh. That clearly does not aid their recovery. Belhaven hospital, which offered residential care, was closed later last year, to the disgust of Dunbar residents. The way in which it was closed was nothing short of shocking. With little or no notice, vulnerable people were taken from their beds and moved 12 miles away to a different hospital. The move was unexpected, unwanted and distressing for the residents. To add insult to injury, some patients were relocated late into the night, with some frail and elderly residents still being moved at 1 am.”
“Health boards are warning that they are operating under an extremely high degree of pressure, which is causing patients concern and their families worry and stress. Sadly, such announcements about a state of emergency have become the new normal under the SNP Government. In large part, they stem from the problem of delayed discharge, which is a result of the SNP’s failure to tackle the crisis in social care and care-at-home services. Vital services in my area, the south of Scotland, have been withdrawn as the Government pushes a centralised model of care, which clearly does not work in rural areas. East Lothian residents are sad and angry at the loss of two well-used local facilities that have closed in the space of a year and which ministers gave repeated assurances would not be closed without consultation.”
“I welcome the debate and thank Tim Eagle for securing it. The number of participants should send the cabinet secretary a clear message. I join my colleagues who have shared their testimony and concerns about the SNP’s on-going failure to address the crisis that rural healthcare faces. I represent the south of Scotland and, from Dunbar to Dumfries, residents have been badly let down. Vital healthcare facilities have been withdrawn in East Lothian, and in the Scottish Borders, Borders general hospital repeatedly asks only those with life-threatening emergencies to attend. In Dumfries, there is a similar picture. In December, the emergency department of Dumfries and Galloway royal infirmary was operating beyond capacity.”
“If somebody buys a buy-to-let property for £200,000, they will have to pay £16,000 in ADS, which will undoubtedly be passed on to the tenant through higher rent.”
“Timothy Douglas, Propertymark’s head of policy and campaigns, made that clear when he said: “With the huge demand for private rented property and long-term rent control measures contained in the Housing Bill, the Scottish Government’s decision to raise Additional Dwelling Supplement ... from six to eight per cent is ... out of touch with the housing needs of Scotland.” I concede that the change might have less of an impact on the build-to-rent market, because transactions that involve more than six properties are excluded from ADS. However, surely the Government must concede that many buy-to-let investors have only a couple of properties. When the Minister for Public Finance gave evidence to the Finance and Public Administration Committee, he somewhat casually dealt with a point that cannot be easily disregarded.”
“I rise to speak against the increase in the additional dwelling supplement that is contained in the SSI. In the Finance and Public Administration Committee, Liz Smith and I voted against the change because of the likely effect on the housing market and because it amounts to another Scottish National Party stealth tax. Although the Government says that its recent policy changes are not negatively impacting the buy-to-let market, that is not the evidence that we are receiving anecdotally from landlords who are leaving the market and those who are not adding to their portfolios. It is not what the sector says, either.”
“One challenge that we face is that a great deal of the powers in such areas lie not with the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliament but down at Westminster. However, that does not prevent this Government from using its convening and facilitation powers to work with energy providers. I recently met with energy providers to discuss housing issues, for example. Craig Hoy raises an important point about the difficulties that those on prepayment meters have, and the impact that such meters can have on people’s debt levels and their ability to heat their homes. It is another area where we need to look carefully at what the Government in Scotland can do, using its convening and facilitation powers, as well as looking at the issues that we must continue to persuade the UK Government or Ofgem to take forward.”
“In 2024, a number of energy suppliers restarted the process of installing prepayment meters without consent for customers who had fallen into debt. Given that those on prepayment meters are often the poorest and most vulnerable in society, and that they often pay more per unit for gas and electricity, will the cabinet secretary work with the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets to identify how many pensioner households and other households are on PPMs? Will she press for an amnesty to allow existing customers to opt out of prepayment meters, and explore a ban on the future involuntary installation of such meters now and in the future? Shirley-Anne Somerville: Craig Hoy raises an important point.”
“Sadly, I suspect that the Government will not rise to the challenge, because it continues to make the same mistakes and operate in the same manner, which leaves us at a competitive disadvantage not just with the rest of the UK but with the rest of Europe and the rest of the world. That is why I suspect that we will struggle to grow our economy and attract the right talent to this country. 15:52”
“I hope that the Government will work with local authorities and enterprise agencies such as South of Scotland Enterprise to tackle the problem, which undoubtedly affects inward migration. The SNP Government should use its powers to make Scotland a place that people want to live in and invest in and where people want to be part of driving economic growth. The Government should let hard-working people keep more of their hard- earned pounds, removing red tape, delivering quality public services and providing real support for business. Maggie Chapman: Will the member take an intervention? The Deputy Presiding Officer: The member is just concluding. Craig Hoy: I do not have time, I am afraid.”
“The Government also has to recognise that it has misused devolved powers to make Scotland a relatively unattractive place to come to and live in. That does not have to be the case, because Scotland is a friendly, welcoming and exciting place to live and work in. However, sadly, depopulation is another problem that too many of our local authorities suffer, and I hope that the debate will touch on that issue. It is a particular problem in our rural and remote areas, which for too long have been neglected by the central belt- biased SNP. In my region, Dumfries and Galloway has suffered the largest net outward migration of young people anywhere in Scotland. It is a serious issue for areas such as the south of Scotland and the Highlands and Islands.”
“Could he suggest how public services would be improved with more than £1 billion-worth of tax cuts, set against the free prescriptions, the free tuition and the other parts of the social contract that the Scottish Government provides? Craig Hoy: The minister better be careful about what is coming, because her Government is looking at the issue of Government efficiency and Government waste, as we are. For example, we could save £110 million by taking 5 per cent out of the corporate back-office functions of departments that do not involve the NHS or touch the front line. I suspect that her Government, in order to pay for the welfare choices that it is making, will have to make significant savings in its back-office functions, otherwise it will bankrupt its budget in the foreseeable future.”
“The negative impact of having a high-tax, poorly performing, low-efficiency, central belt-biased Government cannot now be underestimated. This year, my party submitted budget proposals that the SNP Government has chosen to ignore but which would have given individuals and struggling businesses a well-deserved tax break while promoting economic growth. We would put more money into people’s pockets and pass on the 40 per cent rates relief for pubs and restaurants, which would give them more money to invest in targeting talent, including from overseas. Shirley-Anne Somerville: I am grateful to Craig Hoy for giving way. His party proposes tax cuts, which obviously mean cuts to public expenditure.”