Programme for Government | Scottish Parliament debates

No. [Interruption.]

That will impact on front-line services and staff. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance said that essential staff would be protected. Why, then, are vacancies for nurses and consultants frozen? I did not get an answer from her yesterday, so maybe she can try again, because that is going on under her nose. As staff are not replaced, the pressure on those that remain increases, and they risk burnout.

There are cuts to mental health services, cuts to primary care, and cuts to services for disabled people. Does the Government have no shame? All the Government has is a sticking-plaster approach. It has no vision and no solutions. Anas Sarwar was right: it is clear that the SNP Government has lost its way, and its incompetence is failing the people of Scotland. The programme for government is a missed opportunity—but so, too, was the last one. It effectively demonstrates that the SNP’s record is one of abandoning its flagship pledges, missing its own targets and leaving every institution in Scotland weaker. The SNP is out of ideas, it is out of time and, increasingly, the people of Scotland want it out of office.

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