Rennie: Growing the economy is the best way to pay for great public services

Responding to an embargoed briefing from the Auditor General which warns "Scottish Government’s projections suggest that it cannot afford to pay for public services in their current form" and that "Reform is urgently needed to address budget shortfalls of more than £1 billion over the coming years", Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson Willie Rennie said:

"For the Scottish Government to afford to pay for increasing numbers of public sector workers, it needs to get the economy firing on all cylinders.

"Many of the new regulations this SNP/Green government introduces may be justifiable in isolation, but the cumulative impact is to strangle everyone with red tape.

"Likewise NHS staff and teachers rightly bemoan the amount of time they have to spend on administration, rather than engaging with patients and pupils.

"Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling on Humza Yousaf to set out how he is going to make it easier for businesses to prosper and thrive and how he will get the economy growing. That's the best way to pay for great public services, not punishing ordinary people with ever increasing taxes."