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Cost of providing services 'needed'

04:25, Oct 3 2012

 

The Scottish Government is set to be challenged to set out what the bill will be over the next decade for universal services such as free prescriptions.

The Tories will demand that a breakdown of the costs of providing such services be published by the end of the year. Party finance spokesman Gavin Brown will issue a challenge to ministers during a Holyrood debate.

After Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont called to an end for the "something for nothing" culture last week, her party will raise the issue in the Scottish Parliament.

A motion by Ms Lamont in a debate on Scotland's future notes that "cuts are currently taking place at both national and local level and having an impact on people's daily lives" and that it is those who are most in need that are often worst affected by these.

All MSPs are being urged to "consider how to fully fund and sustain high-quality public services in Scotland that best support the needs of Scots now and in the future".

But Mr Brown said it is "impossible to have an honest and transparent debate on the future policy on universal services" such as free prescriptions, concessionary bus travel and free university education without knowing how much they will cost over the next 10 years.

"Most right-thinking people will see no reason why the Scottish Government should not make public information on how they intend to spend the taxes generated by hard-working Scots across the country," he said.

Meanwhile Finance Secretary John Swinney accused Labour of having "adopted the straightjacket of Tory cuts instead of working to make Scotland a fairer and wealthier society".

Speaking before the debate Mr Swinney said that the Scottish Government has "taken tough decisions each year to meet our commitments against UK budget cuts". He said: "We are reforming public services and delivering important policies like free university education and free personal care from within our fixed budget.

"Over the next two years, while Labour's cuts commission focuses on which of these vital policies to axe, this Scottish Government will continue to deliver Scotland's social wage, support Scotland's older people, maintain free education and present a real alternative to the Labour, Tory and Lib Dem vision of cuts and austerity, with control over our own resources and key decisions taken by an independent Scottish Parliament."

 

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