Latest news with #Robison
The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Robison unable to rule out compulsory redundancies
The long-delayed report, which was supposed to be published last month, says that without action, Scotland faces a £2.6bn gap in resource spending and £2.1bn in capital spending by 2029–30. READ MORE Alongside the MTFS, the Government published a Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan, setting out how ministers hope to close that gap. Specific measures include reducing the public sector workforce by an average of 0.5% annually. With 469,100 full-time equivalent staff on the books, this would be the equivalent of around 11,611 full-time workers by the end of the decade. Forbes, Swinney and Robison outside the chamber (Image: Andrew Milligan/PA) The move should lead to savings of £700m annually, and ministers are confident it can be achieved through staff turnover and a freeze on recruitment. However, speaking in Holyrood, the Finance Secretary, Shona Robison, was unable to say there would be no compulsory redundancies. Answering a question from Labour's Daniel Johnston, the minister said: "I have been engaging with the unions and the STUC around this, is that no compulsory redundancy maintains to be the default position. "But as a last resort, once all steps have been taken through voluntary severance, through redeployment, if there is no other route and there are no jobs for those people involved, then the compulsory redundancy can be considered, but only at the end of that route. "So we believe that these reductions can be made through natural attrition and voluntary severance, and it is only in that extreme position that that would be enabled, and we don't see that happening in very many cases." Public sector wages represent 55% of Scotland's resource budget. Pay agreements in 2025–26, including NHS workers' 4.25% increase, have already exceeded the Government's 3% guideline. Alongside the strategy and the plan, the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) published its latest economic and fiscal updates. The watchdog said that the total funding available to the Scottish Government will rise from £61.3bn in 2026–27 to £66.5bn by 2029–30. However, after accounting for inflation, this represents an increase of only 0.8% per year in real terms. Next year, the Scottish Government's day-to-day spending will be £54bn, but after subtracting social security costs, only £46.3bn will remain. By 2029–30, this will increase slightly to £50.1bn. Ms Robison blamed the financial settlement from Westminster, pointing to a £400m shortfall triggered by the Labour Government's refusal to fully fund increased employer National Insurance contributions. She said changes to welfare payments could cost Scotland an extra £440m by 2029–30. "Managing the impact of Westminster austerity is all too familiar," Ms Robison told MSPs. "We continue to invest in the people of Scotland, supporting a better-paid public sector, delivering high-quality public services and providing welfare support not available elsewhere in the UK. And we have managed this while balancing the budget every year." Beyond cutting the workforce, the Government believes it can save between £600m and £1.5bn each year over the next five years by adopting new technology, increasing automation, and encouraging closer working between public agencies. Around 12,000 civil service jobs to go (Image: PA) The Government will also carefully reassess infrastructure spending due to high inflation in construction costs. Ms Robison confirmed she would publish a multi-year Scottish Spending Review alongside December's budget. The other key pillars of the plan to tackle the black hole are growth and tax. On economic growth, the minister said the Government would aim to increase business activity to broaden the tax base, while on taxation, she hinted at a potential wealth tax, with the Government committing to the publication of a literature review on the measure. Labour finance spokesman Michael Marra pointed to the £9.1bn extra coming to the Scottish Government in the coming years as a result of UK Government decisions. 'Today is the day years of gross mismanagement of the public finances by SNP ministers caught up with them – and the price is being paid by ordinary Scots,' he said. 'Let's be crystal clear, by no definition other than the SNP's can the budget they receive be described as austerity. 'The reason this Government is making cuts is because they have spectacularly mismanaged Scotland's budget. 'It's SNP ministers who have created a structural deficit of a staggering £2.6bn – that's a result of choices that you made.' READ MORE Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Craig Hoy said the workforce reduction target 'lacks ambition and detail.' He told MSPs: 'The last medium-term financial strategy was over two years ago – last year's was binned and this year's was delayed. 'By slipping out this year's strategy just before recess, we have no time to properly scrutinise this plan. 'But what we do know is that without radical action on public sector reform, on health and on labour force trends, Scots face substantially higher taxes or a state that does less. 'But the projected £5bn fiscal gap by the end of the decade is not Westminster's fault or responsibility, it is the SNP's.' David Phillips, an Associate Director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said "tougher financial choices" were still to come. He said the £2.6bn a year funding gap was "roughly equivalent to spending on Scottish police and fire services, or the revenue from increasing all rates of income tax in Scotland by around four percentage points." "As the MTFS and SFC make clear, current forecasts for the contribution of devolved tax revenues to the Scottish Budget are likely optimistic, as they assume earnings grow significantly faster in Scotland than in the rest of the UK from 2026–27 onwards. "All else equal, if earnings instead grew at the same rate as in the rest of the UK, the 'funding gap' for day-to-day spending would be closer to £3.5bn." He said the multi-year spending review would also have to say which services will be cut back in order to protect spending on the Scottish Government's key priorities – poverty, climate change, economic growth, and effective public services. "This will likely require steep cuts to some other 'non-priority' areas, and a laser-like focus on how effective spending actually is – not all spending on the Government's priorities can and should survive the chop. "Indeed, the scale of the fiscal challenge could necessitate the Scottish Government to make trade-offs between its four priorities." "The fiscal challenge facing Scotland is large and real. So as the current Government and opposition parties begin to set out their election pitch to voters, it will be vital to scrutinise what their plans would mean for Scotland's finances," he added.
The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Robinson unable to rule out compulsory redundancies
The long-delayed report, which was supposed to be published last month, says that without action, Scotland faces a £2.6bn gap in resource spending and £2.1bn in capital spending by 2029–30. READ MORE Alongside the MTFS, the Government published a Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan, setting out how ministers hope to close that gap. Specific measures include reducing the public sector workforce by an average of 0.5% annually. With 469,100 full-time equivalent staff on the books, this would be the equivalent of around 11,611 full-time workers by the end of the decade. Forbes, Swinney and Robison outside the chamber (Image: Andrew Milligan/PA) The move should lead to savings of £700m annually, and ministers are confident it can be achieved through staff turnover and a freeze on recruitment. However, speaking in Holyrood, the Finance Secretary, Shona Robison, was unable to say there would be no compulsory redundancies. Answering a question from Labour's Daniel Johnston, the minister said: "I have been engaging with the unions and the STUC around this, is that no compulsory redundancy maintains to be the default position. "But as a last resort, once all steps have been taken through voluntary severance, through redeployment, if there is no other route and there are no jobs for those people involved, then the compulsory redundancy can be considered, but only at the end of that route. "So we believe that these reductions can be made through natural attrition and voluntary severance, and it is only in that extreme position that that would be enabled, and we don't see that happening in very many cases." Public sector wages represent 55% of Scotland's resource budget. Pay agreements in 2025–26, including NHS workers' 4.25% increase, have already exceeded the Government's 3% guideline. Alongside the strategy and the plan, the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) published its latest economic and fiscal updates. The watchdog said that the total funding available to the Scottish Government will rise from £61.3bn in 2026–27 to £66.5bn by 2029–30. However, after accounting for inflation, this represents an increase of only 0.8% per year in real terms. Next year, the Scottish Government's day-to-day spending will be £54bn, but after subtracting social security costs, only £46.3bn will remain. By 2029–30, this will increase slightly to £50.1bn. Ms Robison blamed the financial settlement from Westminster, pointing to a £400m shortfall triggered by the Labour Government's refusal to fully fund increased employer National Insurance contributions. She said changes to welfare payments could cost Scotland an extra £440m by 2029–30. "Managing the impact of Westminster austerity is all too familiar," Ms Robison told MSPs. "We continue to invest in the people of Scotland, supporting a better-paid public sector, delivering high-quality public services and providing welfare support not available elsewhere in the UK. And we have managed this while balancing the budget every year." Beyond cutting the workforce, the Government believes it can save between £600m and £1.5bn each year over the next five years by adopting new technology, increasing automation, and encouraging closer working between public agencies. Around 12,000 civil service jobs to go (Image: PA) The Government will also carefully reassess infrastructure spending due to high inflation in construction costs. Ms Robison confirmed she would publish a multi-year Scottish Spending Review alongside December's budget. The other key pillars of the plan to tackle the black hole are growth and tax. On economic growth, the minister said the Government would aim to increase business activity to broaden the tax base, while on taxation, she hinted at a potential wealth tax, with the Government committing to the publication of a literature review on the measure. Labour finance spokesman Michael Marra pointed to the £9.1bn extra coming to the Scottish Government in the coming years as a result of UK Government decisions. 'Today is the day years of gross mismanagement of the public finances by SNP ministers caught up with them – and the price is being paid by ordinary Scots,' he said. 'Let's be crystal clear, by no definition other than the SNP's can the budget they receive be described as austerity. 'The reason this Government is making cuts is because they have spectacularly mismanaged Scotland's budget. 'It's SNP ministers who have created a structural deficit of a staggering £2.6bn – that's a result of choices that you made.' READ MORE Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Craig Hoy said the workforce reduction target 'lacks ambition and detail.' He told MSPs: 'The last medium-term financial strategy was over two years ago – last year's was binned and this year's was delayed. 'By slipping out this year's strategy just before recess, we have no time to properly scrutinise this plan. 'But what we do know is that without radical action on public sector reform, on health and on labour force trends, Scots face substantially higher taxes or a state that does less. 'But the projected £5bn fiscal gap by the end of the decade is not Westminster's fault or responsibility, it is the SNP's.' David Phillips, an Associate Director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said "tougher financial choices" were still to come. He said the £2.6bn a year funding gap was "roughly equivalent to spending on Scottish police and fire services, or the revenue from increasing all rates of income tax in Scotland by around four percentage points." "As the MTFS and SFC make clear, current forecasts for the contribution of devolved tax revenues to the Scottish Budget are likely optimistic, as they assume earnings grow significantly faster in Scotland than in the rest of the UK from 2026–27 onwards. "All else equal, if earnings instead grew at the same rate as in the rest of the UK, the 'funding gap' for day-to-day spending would be closer to £3.5bn." He said the multi-year spending review would also have to say which services will be cut back in order to protect spending on the Scottish Government's key priorities – poverty, climate change, economic growth, and effective public services. "This will likely require steep cuts to some other 'non-priority' areas, and a laser-like focus on how effective spending actually is – not all spending on the Government's priorities can and should survive the chop. "Indeed, the scale of the fiscal challenge could necessitate the Scottish Government to make trade-offs between its four priorities." "The fiscal challenge facing Scotland is large and real. So as the current Government and opposition parties begin to set out their election pitch to voters, it will be vital to scrutinise what their plans would mean for Scotland's finances," he added.
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Record
SNP Government to cut jobs to help fill £2.6bn black hole as rivals blast 'gross mismanagement'
John Swinney's will try to reduce the public sector headcount. The Scottish Government aims to reduce the public sector workforce by 0.5% each year for the rest of the decade, the Finance Secretary has said. Announcing the Government's medium-term financial strategy, Shona Robison said taking no action would result in a near-£5 billion budget black hole by 2030. If left untreated, Robison told MSPs on Wednesday, the gap between funding and day-to-day spending would top £2.6 billion, while the capital deficit would grow to £2.1 billion. One of the key drivers will be a reduction in the size of the public sector workforce. A previous plan – which has since been abandoned – aimed to bring the level back to pre-Covid numbers, but Ms Robison outlined an average 0.5% reduction up to 2029-30. 'This will be achieved by reforming our public services as set out in our public service reform strategy, and through natural attrition and recruitment controls,' she said. 'By taking this action, we will protect valuable frontline services, and continue to offer a progressive pay policy which recognises that our public sector workforce is our most valuable asset.' Robison hinted that Social Security Scotland could be targeted for potential efficiencies, pledging to continue to 'process and deliver benefits with dignity, fairness and respect – while driving important efficiency savings'. NHS boards have already been asked to come up with 3% savings annually. The savings are hoped to cover the £2.6 billion deficit by the end of the decade. The strategy published on Wednesday was made up of three pillars; public spending, economic growth and taxation. On economic growth, the Government will aim to increase business activity and thereby increase the tax base – though there was no concrete proposal for achieving these goals. On taxation, Robison hinted at a potential wealth tax, with the Government committing to the publication of a literature review on the measure. The Government will also study the sustainability of the current tax regime in Scotland – with income tax slated to bring in £616 million this year – with a view to seeking further devolution, according to a document released alongside the plan on Wednesday. Labour finance spokesman Michael Marra pointed to the £9.1 billion extra coming to the Scottish Government in the coming years as a result of UK Government decisions. 'Today is the day years of gross mismanagement of the public finances by SNP ministers caught up with them – and the price is being paid by ordinary Scots,' he said. 'Let's be crystal clear, by no definition other than the SNP's can the budget they receive be described as austerity. 'The reason this Government is making cuts is because they have spectacularly mismanaged Scotland's budget. 'It's SNP ministers who have created a structural deficit of a staggering £2.6 billion – that's a result of choices that you made.'
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Business
- Scotsman
SNP ministers to axe public sector jobs as £2.6bn funding black hole emerges
Shona Robison has warned compulsory redundancies will be considered if 'no other route' to cutting jobs is available in order to balance the books. Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... SNP ministers are poised to shed public-sector jobs after bracing for a £2.6 billion funding black hole by 2030 - with an admission that the wage bill is a 'significant driver' of soaring costs. A stark document has warned that public services pressures and 'the cost of achieving statutory net zero and child poverty targets' will put strain on the Scottish Government's finances - with the door opened to compulsory redundancies if not enough jobs are cut through other means. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Savings worth £2.6bn will be needed to balance the books by the end of the decade. St Andrew's House is the Scottish Government's headquarters, based in Edinburgh. | TSPL The Scottish Government has published its medium-term financial strategy - painting a bleak picture of the public finances by 2030 without intervention. A Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan (FSDP) sets out that a Scottish Spending Review will set a savings target of between £300m and £700m a year over five years, while efficiency and productivity improvements alongside reforming public services, is forecast to see savings grow from £600m to £1.5bn a year over the five-year period. A target of cutting the public sector workforce by an average of 0.5 per cent every year until 2030 is expected to see savings growing from £100m to £700m a year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad SNP Finance Secretary Shona Robison told MSPs that the Scottish Government will 'reshape and reform our public services'. She added: 'We will set a public sector workforce managed reduction target to reduce staffing levels by an average of 0.5 per cent per year until 2030. 'This will be achieved by reforming our public services as set out in the public services reforms strategy and through natural attrition and recruitment controls. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad SNP Finance Secretary Shona Robison 'By taking this action, we will protect valuable frontline services and continue to offer a progressive pay policy which recognises that our public sector workforce is our most valuable asset.' Ms Robison insisted that 'no compulsory redundancies maintains to be the default position'. But she added: 'As a last result, once all steps have been taken through voluntary severance, through redeployment - if there is no other route and there are no jobs for those people involved, then the compulsory redundancy can be considered.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The delayed document warns that 'without action, the difference between projected funding and estimated spending is set to grow from a balanced budget in 2025-26, to £2.6 billion in 2029-30'. It adds that 'day-to-day government spending…continues to face pressures from growing demand for public services and the cost of achieving statutory net zero and child poverty targets'. It adds: 'The devolved public sector wage bill is also a significant driver of projected costs, recognising the proportionately larger and better paid public sector in Scotland.
The National
4 days ago
- Business
- The National
SNP Government 'to cut spending by £2.6 billion per year by 2030'
Speaking in Holyrood, Shona Robison said that the Scottish Government's plans would save the equivalent of '4.4% of the forecast resource budget' by 2029/30. Her speech came as the Scottish Government published both its Medium-Term Financial Strategy and its first Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan. Opening, Robison said that the Scottish Government had been left facing a '£400 million shortfall' after Chancellor Rachel Reeves declined to provide full funding for the additional costs of Labour's increases to employers' National Insurance contributions. She went on: 'Further, in the UK Spending Review, had the resource funding being provided to the Scottish Government for day to day priorities matched the average increase for UK departments, we would have £1.1 billion more to spend over the next three years. 'And, last week, they set out proposals that will deliver deep cuts to disabled people's support – pushing more people into poverty. With a real life negative funding impact in Scotland of £440m by 2029-30, based on the Office for Budget Responsibility's estimates.' Robison said that the allocations "simply do not reflect the unavoidable realities of the demands that will be placed on public services by the demographic changes we face – not least through an ageing population". More to follow …
