2. To ask the Scottish Government what impact United Kingdom Government annual financial settlements have on its ability to undertake long-term financial planning. (S6O-02758)

The United Kingdom Government’s financial settlements to Scotland significantly curtail the Scottish Government’s ability to undertake long-term planning. In recent years, there has been a significant alteration to assumed UK Government plans as a result of events such as the disastrous mini-budget a little over a year ago. In addition, we must also factor in potential changes to assumed capital programme spending by the UK Government in year to hold against the possibility of negative consequentials that would reduce our spending power in year.

This autumn’s statement simply does not go far enough in delivering the funding that we need. That makes the challenges on our budget even more severe. In order to bring as much clarity as it is within our gift to do, we published the medium-term financial strategy, which sets out the challenges to be addressed in our financial position.

Virtually every organisation that the Scottish Government funds seeks three to five-year financial settlements, yet we have seen chronic financial instability at UK level, with four Chancellors of the Exchequer in four months last year, for example. Has the cabinet secretary been given any indication that the current chancellor is considering longer-term settlements in order to help deliver the certainty, efficiency and effectiveness that longer-term financial planning would bring?

We have had no such clarity or certainty about longer-term financial planning from the UK Government. We will continue to face significant funding pressures in the year ahead, at a time when costs continue to rise and the need to support people through challenging times remains.

Prior to the autumn statement, I wrote to urge the Chancellor of the Exchequer to provide a funding settlement that will enable us to invest in public services, vital infrastructure and fair public sector pay increases. We have seen no such thing from the autumn statement today. What is emerging is a set of choices that will have a devastating impact on our public services next year.

Given the answer that the Deputy First Minister has just given to Mr Gibson, will the Government consider making further representations to the UK Government about the necessity of longer-term financial planning information so that Parliament can provide greater funding assurance to third sector organisations that are interested in providing transformational change in our society but need greater certainty about the funding horizon to enable them to do so?

I can say to John Swinney that we will continue to do so. Having met a range of organisations during the past few weeks, I can say that, for many organisations, particularly third sector organisations, funding certainty is almost more important than the quantum of the settlement, because it is about being able to keep staff and to plan.

I have to say, however, that what is emerging from the autumn statement today will make every single part of our public sector or third sector organisations’ funding extremely difficult. I will be keen to set out to Parliament at the earliest opportunity the full impact and how grave the situation is after what the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced today.