Shona Robison
Scottish National Party · Scotland
“For the purposes of rule 9.11 of standing orders, I advise the Parliament that His Majesty, having been informed of the purport of the Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill, has consented to place his prerogative and interests, in so far as they are affected by the bill, at the disposal of the Parliament for the purposes of the bill.”
“I acknowledge that there have been rising costs across the whole public sector. They include the rising costs of employer national insurance contributions and VAT, while the global situation at the moment will put fuel costs up for local authorities and every other part of the public sector. We are well aware of the rising costs.”
“All local authorities in the north- east region have announced council tax increases that are well above the rate of inflation. Financial and social pressures on many constituents make it difficult for them to pay their rent, and delays in receiving social security support compound that situation.”
“Presiding Officer, before I answer the question, I hope that you will indulge me just for a moment, as this is my last portfolio question time and my last opportunity to speak in the Parliament. I take this opportunity to thank my Government officials for all their support in my Government role.”
“Local government has a key role to play in driving progress on reducing child poverty, including by delivering whole-family support that breaks the cycle of poverty. That is why the 2026-27 Scottish budget provides a further real-terms increase to the local government settlement.”
“However, if the amount of funding was truly sufficient, SNP-run councils such as Perth and Kinross Council would not be forced to raise council tax by nearly 9 per cent simply to stand still. Does the cabinet secretary accept that the so- called record funding is not keeping pace with rising costs?”
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“Pam Gosal has the same problem as Meghan Gallacher, in coming to the chamber to ask, apparently, for more money for local government—which, I have to add, was not raised by her party’s finance spokesperson in our meetings—when the leader of her party in this place wants there to be £1 billion less in the budget. She cannot have more money for local government—or anything else, for that matter—if her party is proposing £1 billion less in the budget because it wants to provide unaffordable and uncosted tax cuts. Tory back benchers have to address that problem before they come here asking for more money.”
“Council chief executives from my region, West Scotland, have also expressed concerns over the state of their council finances and indicated that they will have to take difficult decisions in the upcoming council budgets, such as increasing council tax. Does the cabinet secretary therefore not recognise that 18 years of Scottish National Party mismanagement have left council finances in an absolutely terrible state? Shona Robison: The independent Accounts Commission would disagree with Pam Gosal’s assessment; it showed that we provided a real- terms funding increase to local government last year, which was 2023-24, and the year before that, which was 2022-23.”
“The independent Accounts Commission has confirmed that the Scottish Government provided a real-terms funding increase to local government this year and in 2023-24 and 2022-23. The 2025-26 Scottish budget will provide local government in Scotland with record funding of more than £15 billion. If Opposition parties support the budget, the local government settlement will increase by more than £1 billion, which represents a real-terms increase of 4.7 per cent compared with 2024-25. Pam Gosal: A report from the Local Government Information Unit has shown that seven in 10 councils believe that they will be “unable to pass a balanced budget within the next five years”.”
“On the issue of PPP repayments, the Scottish Futures Trust continues to work with authorities to assist them in making savings and improving performance across private finance initiative and PPP contracts, while ensuring that contractual obligations are delivered and that contracts are affordable and provide best value for money for the taxpayer. However, that is a legacy from the previous Labour Administration that we could well have done without. The Deputy Presiding Officer: Question 3 is not lodged. “Fiscal Sustainability and Reform in Scotland” 4.”
“Marie McNair: Does the cabinet secretary agree that, despite increased funding from the Scottish Government to local authorities, Labour’s public-private partnership repayments and the national insurance hike are having a significant impact on councils’ ability to balance their budgets? Shona Robison: I certainly agree that any additional employer national insurance contribution costs that are not fully funded by the United Kingdom Government will deprive front-line services of vital funding, to the detriment of local communities. I confirm that the First Minister and the president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, supported by a range of organisations, wrote jointly to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 3 January.”
“If Parliament works together to pass the 2025-26 budget, councils will receive their formula share of the more than £1 billion of additional funding for local government—the largest increase in recent times. That would deliver an increase of £22.9 million for East Dunbartonshire Council and an increase of £14.3 million for West Dunbartonshire Council, compared with 2024-25. It is then for locally elected councillors to make decisions on how best to utilise the additional funding available and to deliver services to their communities based on local needs and priorities.”
“Our commitment to deliver 110,000 affordable homes, of which at least 70 per cent will be for social rent and 10 per cent will be in our rural and island communities, is supported by our rural and islands housing action plan.”
“Emma Roddick: As someone who has always stressed the importance of ensuring that sufficient funding is allocated to affordable housing, I strongly welcome the fact that total spending for the coming year is set to return to where it was two years ago. Does the cabinet secretary agree with me on the importance of MSPs—especially those who represent communities that are experiencing depopulation—backing the budget to unlock that vital housing investment? Shona Robison: Yes. We very much recognise that good-quality affordable housing is essential to retaining and attracting people to Scotland’s rural communities. Since March 2016, we have delivered more than 12,000 affordable homes in rural communities. We know that even a small number of additional homes in rural and island communities can have a significant and generational impact.”
“The draft budget includes investment of £768 million for the affordable housing supply programme in 2025-26. That will help to tackle the housing emergency while contributing to our target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032. The budget prioritised capital spending to eliminate child poverty, grasp the opportunities of net zero, boost economic growth and maintain high-quality public services and infrastructure. Therefore, delivering more affordable homes for families with children living below the poverty line was very much a priority. The Deputy Presiding Officer: I apologise again, cabinet secretary. Shona Robison: That is all right.”