Foreword by the Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform
This document sets out the Executive's spending plans for 2007-08. In doing so, it provides more detail and updates the plans that we published at the conclusion of the spending review in 2004, showing how we will invest your money to deliver the best results for the people of Scotland.
This is the last year of the current Spending Review Period and is perhaps the time to reflect on some of the real progress that the Executive has made in the last few years across our key priority areas
- in relation to our top priority of growing the economy, unemployment is down and employment is up, we have increased our investment in transport and other infrastructure and our efforts to promote Scotland overseas are yielding results, with more people choosing to study, live and work in Scotland;
- our far-reaching reforms to the criminal justice system and measures to promote greater respect for individuals and their property are helping build safer communities and a more tolerant Scotland;
- we have taken very significant steps to improve the nation's health, with the successful implementation of the smoking ban reminding us that we can make a real difference to people's lives;
- educational attainment is improving with most pupils performing at or above the expected level for their stage, and clear evidence that our efforts to improve literacy and numeracy in the early years are paying off; and,
- our commitment to safeguarding the environment has seen good progress made in implementing Scotland's first ever sustainable development strategy, promoting a healthy rural economy and continuing to support our thriving renewables industry.
We will as ever continue to consult widely on our plans. Our aim is to ensure that the budget process is as open and transparent as possible, and we welcome participation from all sectors of society. As in recent years the consultation period will end, following consultation with the portfolio committees, with a full parliamentary debate on our plans in December. We will then seek formal parliamentary approval for our spending plans for 2007-08 in the Budget Bill to be introduced in January 2007.
We believe that our spending plans will allow us to deliver better public services, greater economic prosperity and an improved standard of living for the people of Scotland.
Tom McCabe MSP
Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform