SNP ministers slammed over pay rises as frontline services set to miss out on £450,000
'SHAMELESS SPIN' SNP ministers slammed over pay rises as frontline services set to miss out on £450,000
SNP ministers were slammed over their pay rises - which will see frontline services miss out on almost £450,000.
All top Nats have accepted a £19,126 annual boost, apart from John Swinney after he ended their MSP salary freeze introduced in 2009.
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Tory finance spokesman Craig Hoy said John Swinney should apologise
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Ivan McKee boasted an extra £166,000 would be available
Credit: Getty
The 'minister' add-ons to their wages will still stay the same.
Public finance chief Ivan McKee this week boasted this would make an extra £166,000 available for the NHS, schools and councils.
But it would have been over £600,000 if the First Minister hadn't approved his team's bumper increases.
Social care minister Maree Todd claimed the £439,898-a-year bill for 23 cabinet secretaries and others 'won't cost the public purse a penny'.
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But Tory finance spokesman Craig Hoy said: 'This exposes shameless SNP spin. The rises are a reward for 18 years of failure.
'Ministers tried to pull the wool over people's eyes rather than be straight about how it will hit public services. John Swinney should apologise for this misinformation.'
A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'Ministerial and MSP salaries are set and paid by the Scottish Parliament.'
We recently told how around one in six Scots are languishing on NHS waiting lists - more than double since the start of the pandemic five years ago.
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Shocking figures reveal 860,925 are hanging on for crucial diagnostic tests such as X-rays, CT and MRI scans, as well as inpatient and outpatient treatment.
SNP chiefs were savaged by rivals as the backlog showed no signs of easing, despite pledges from First Minister John Swinney, Nicola Sturgeon and a string of health secretaries that they would fix the NHS.
Jenny Gilruth accused of 'playing truant' after her parliament no-show
The numbers languishing have increased, hitting 600,000 in June 2021, before rising to 700,000 in March 2022.
They hit a record high in June last year just after John Swinney replaced Humza Yousaf in Bute House, with 868,924 forced to wait for tests or appointments.
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The rise comes despite the Scottish Government vowing to cut waits and increase treatment slots in its August 2021 NHS Recovery plan.
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