Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 25 January 2024.
There is no doubt that the replacement for the eye pavilion needs to be built. We need to replace the existing infrastructure, and there is no doubt across any political party about that.
However, I go back to the points that I made to the member’s colleagues. We are having to take forward capital spending projects in the face of high inflation in construction costs but also a 10 per cent cut to our capital budget over the next five years, which is being imposed on Scotland by the Conservatives. Therefore, although Miles Briggs has every right to ask us about the progress that we are making, I hope that he will also use any influence that he has with the UK Government to tell it to reverse that capital cut, which is having such significant impacts on our budget and on health infrastructure up and down the country.