Priorities in the budget
Friday, 27 November 2009
We all know that it's going to be a particularly difficult year for the public finances and although the budget is still rising by £600m it is still a time to focus on priorities.
We already know about cutting GARL just before the Commonwealth Games and now that Glasgow Council will get less than half the average increase in local government (those pesky Glaswegians, eh. wanting resources to tackle their social ills, how very dare they!) but if you want to look at the SNP's real priorities you need to look around the margins.
Now that SPiCE have published detail proposals on the draft budget it is possible to examine these in better detail.
I mentioned the Commonwealth games above and as you keep on hearing as we approach London 2012, Glasgow 2014 and the Ryder Cup it is a very exciting time for Sport yet in the run up to this period and just 3 years before the Games in Glasgow start the budget for Sport is increasing by a miniscule £0.2m , that's a tiny increase of 0.4%.
The budget for Social Care fell by £3.9m
We already know that housing will be subject to savage cuts of 36.7% but it is interesting to look further within the First Ministers office to see exactly what will be increasing.
- During that time the First Ministers office is increasing by £4.5m or by 1.5% in real times. Or to put it another way the First Ministers portfolio is increasing by more than 20 times the money Sport is getting and could have more than made up for the social care loss.
- Culture and Gaelic is going up by a whopping £5m. That's despite the fact that more people in Scotland speak Urdu than Gaelic now.
- Again within our First Minister's office Europe and External Affairs goes up by a whopping 32.6% with a nice £4.2m increase.
As I say it's about priorities. And it's no mistake that it's a Nationalist Government that opts for spending on these factors to increase rather than seriously improving health participation or keeping infrastructure projects to create jobs or improve housing and regeneration.
That doesn't even include the £12m referendum that hasn't been budgeted for and the National Conversation.
Does anyone believe any other party would be increasing these things at this time?
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18 comments:
"Culture and Gaelic is going up by a whopping £5m. That's despite the fact that more people in Scotland speak Urdu than Gaelic now."
No, it's because of this fact. Dieing languages need more support than flourishing ones. If we didn't support the gaelic, then who would?
This is dangerously close to begrudging the gaelic speakers the right to use their own language in every and any aspect of their lives they choose.
Begrudging their language by not increasing funding? Is this really your priority in a recession when jobs are being lost anonymous?
How will the spend per capita in Glasgow compare with the rest of Scotland after this budget?
After how many years of Labour hegemony in Glasgow why is Glasgow still suffering these 'social ills' that the others seem immune to in the view of Glasgow Labour?
Yousuf
Our native languages are important, they are ours and ARE a priority!
Your comments come on the back of the contributions from labour party members in the recent debate on history. The sneering dishonesty of the colonised mind was all to the fore.
Absolutely nauseating!
Your blog seems to be in a downward spiral Yousuf - is a member of the modern Labour Party really suggesting that minority communities should not be funded in order to aid their development?
I also notice your slight of hand - "Culture and Gaelic" - now just because we are in a recession (which your dear leader was a principal cause of) doesn't mean we can't pay the increasing bills for keeping the nation's galleries, museums and historical treasures safe for future generations.
Then again, one of your Glasgow MPs sneeringly thinks that poor people aren't interested in culture so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised to find that you have also become a philistine along with your local party colleagues....
Tony/ Chris that is quite incredible. Now not having a £5m INCREASE in spending for Gaelic/Culture is not funding languages or being a philistine.
If that's how strongly you feel about suggesting we don't increase spending on something I look forward to your fierce denunciations of cuts in housing, regeneration and GARL.
Yousuf, The point is that under the Labour Party's (eventual) Gaelic Act there is a National Plan for Gaelic which needs to be funded and runs till 2012. I suggest you look through all the proposals signed off by the Labour Executive and you'll see why Gaelic funding is continuing to expand.
However, as has been pointed out, implying this £5m is all going to Gaelic is inaccurate, disengenous and is playing on stereotypes.
Unless you're going to call for full macro-economic powers to be transfered to Scotland I'm interested in how you believe this continued recession is Bute House's and not Downing Street's fault.
OMG. Housing is only going to experience "savage cuts" because the Scottish Government brought forward capital spending to suppor the construction industry. Labour SUPPORTED that at the time but now you are going to criticise them for the consequences?
Pathetic.
I wonder what budget cuts Norway are making a small independent country with oil fund. Spare me your crocodile tears .
The really funny thing about this post is that many other councils are looking at Glasgow and that it gets per head a lot more than any other council.
There are even rumours of a ripped off Aberdeen campaign starting. Why should Glasgow get more than any other council.
It looks as if the ripped of Glasgow campaign of the Labour party has come back to bite.
Can anyone extrapolate on the £12million referendum figure?
I don't recall any argument against the referendum on Scottish Devolution and I certainly don't recall it costing £12million.
Hi Yousuf
Hope you are enjoying SLS. I couldnt make it this year. As a Proud Gael and Labour Party activist I am grateful for all Labour did for Gaelic and the only problem I have with the SNP's commitment to Gaelic is their politicising of the appointment of the chief executive of the new BBC Alba channel.
Throughout history the establishment tried to kill our language by outlawing it in schools etc and the establishment owe it to us to restore it as the rich, diverse language which has made such a powerful contribution to Scottish life.
I believe we should prioritise our spending and avoid squandering money on vanity projects such as homecoming Scotland as much as the next man but do not include Gaelic in this category.
Laudrup
Laudrup, I don't think Gaelic is a vanity project and I'm not saying that it's funding should be cut.
Rather I'm saying that its not the right time for it's funding to rise.
Yousuf
I can understand your point of view, but without increased funding NOW there will be no language to at all to fund in 100 years. As I have said the UK and Scottish Governments have a disgusting record when it comes to Gaelic ( My parents would receive the belt for speaking their mother tounge in school for example) so I would actually campaign for more support.
Yousuf, you are absolutely right to highlight the £5m increase in the spend on Gaelic (INCREASE being the operative word). It is an absolute scandal, in my opinion. Particularly when considering the cuts that this maladroit SNP 'government' is imposing on areas where they have little support.
Re Gaelic - as someone else pointed out the SNP is in reality doing the minimum it can get away with to meet the commitments of a bill drafted by Labour. If Labour MSPs are happy to drop those commitments I suggest they communicate that to SNP business managers.
If your Labour bosses in London scrapped Trident there would be more than enough money freed up to fund GARL, Gaelic, and Goodneess knows what else.
Gaelic education could expand in Glasgow after funding was pledged for a Gaelic-medium unit at Glendale Primary in Pollokshields.
Parents have campaigned for more provision due to rising numbers at the Gaelic school in the city's west end.
More than 500 children attend Gaelic nursery, primary and secondary classes in the city.
The Scottish Futures Trust has pledged to match council funding for a unit, with funds available from April 2010.
Almost 300 pupils currently attend Glendale Primary, which is in a bad state of repair, and it is proposed a new school will be built to accommodate the existing pupils and the Gaelic unit.
Glasgow being ripped off again?
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