This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/8252528.stm

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Swinney calls for budget 'unity' Swinney confident of tax freeze
(1 day later)
The Scottish Government has called for political "unity" as it prepares to publish its third budget next week. The Scottish finance secretary has said he is "very confident" of freezing council tax for another year, despite concerns over spending cuts.
Alex Salmond's SNP administration last year suffered the first budget defeat since devolution when opposition parties combined to vote it down. John Swinney also said his forthcoming budget for the year ahead would focus on protecting vital public services and boosting economic recovery.
MSPs then passed a revised spending programme the following week. He declined to comment on a fellow minister's claims there would be cuts across the whole public sector.
Finance Secretary John Swinney has warned spending constraints will bite in the 2010/11 budget and has urged the opposition to join talks on the issue. But he told BBC Scotland there were difficult years ahead for spending.
Mr Swinney said: "The context of this budget demands that all parties work together to deliver the best possible budget for Scotland. The Scottish Government, which is due to reveal its 2010-11 budget proposals in the next few days, warned it would have £500m less to spend, in the wake of the UK Government's efficiency drive.
"That is what the people of Scotland demand and it is what I am determined we will deliver. I'd be very confident the council tax freeze could be achieved again John SwinneyScottish finance secretary
"Against the backdrop of a recession and the fact that we will have £500m less available to spend, we are working harder than ever to ensure that we invest in our priorities and stimulate a strong recovery." But Labour has insisted the Scottish budget will still rise by about £600m in 2009-10, an increase of about 1.3%.
'Reassess services' Scottish Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing recently told parliament that forthcoming public spending would be the worst for decades, adding at the time: "All areas of the public sector will have less money to spend."
Scotland is facing a cut of £500m in its budget initially set out for 2010/11 at the last spending review two years ago, according to the Scottish Government. Speaking on BBC Scotland's Politics Show, Mr Swinney declined to comment directly on Mr Ewing's remarks, but did pledge the budget would protect services such as education and the NHS.
It comes after UK-wide efficiency cuts of £15bn for the coming years were announced by Chancellor Alistair Darling in April. The finance secretary said: "There will be two principal areas of thinking behind the government's proposals - that is the protection of frontline services and supporting economic recovery."
But next year's Scottish budget is still expected to rise by about £600m on 2009/10, an increase of about 1.3%, according to Labour. He added: "I'd be very confident the council tax freeze could be achieved again."
Mr Swinney also repeated calls for Mr Darling to allow ministers in Edinburgh to bring forward money from future budgets in 2010/11 to support construction jobs in Scotland. Mr Swinney also urged opposition parties to support the minority government's budget proposals.
He added: "The new spending climate for Scotland requires all parts of the public sector to reassess how best we can deliver the services the public expect and deserve." 'Squeeze' benefits
The previous year's spending plans were rejected by Holyrood, before being approved on the second attempt, after talks with the other parties.
Meanwhile, the former chairman of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Sir John Arbuthnott, warned the health service and councils faced the biggest spending squeeze.
Sir John, who is currently reviewing local government in the west of Scotland, told the Politics Show: "We've invested hugely in these services, to the benefit of the citizen.
"Now, we've got to be absolutely sure that we squeeze the maximum benefit in terms of back office, support structures and infrastructure.
"If we can do that, I believe we can make significant savings and that will be a step towards protecting the front end of the delivery to citizens."