Westminster Budget

26th March 2012

Governments the world over are renowned for burying bad news on days when peoples backs are turned and attention is focused elsewhere.

Well, this week, all eyes were focused on Chancellor George Osborne’s budget. And with nobody looking, the SNP government took the opportunity to bury some bad news of their own.

The Education Secretary Mike Russell following pressure from teachers and parents agreed to postpone the introduction of the national Curriculum for Excellence.

Strange, given his assertion only two weeks ago before the Scottish Parliament’s Education Committee that the debate on the Curriculum for Excellence was now “over”.

Next the Health Secretary announced in parliament that NHS Lothian had been fiddling waiting time lists to give the impression that they had been meeting Scottish Government targets.

This is a worrying development and the government must ensure that such practices are rooted out so that people’s trust in the NHS is upheld.

Last, but not least, the Scottish Government climbed down from their long standing opposition to the Scotland Bill and backed the legislation securing greater powers for Holyrood.

I welcome the development and it is a significant moment for those of us who believe in a stronger Scottish Parliament and a strong Scotland within the UK.

If the Scottish Government are feeling the cuts from the Chancellor’s budget, it certainly isn’t in their PR department.