Ministers unveiled a £500million slashing of public finances. 

The Scottish Government has come under heavy criticism for its decision to cut public spending as ministers warned they had been forced to take “urgent action” to balance Scotland’s budget. 

Finance Secretary Shona Robison said on Tuesday that £500million in “savings” to ease pressure on public finances was to be included in the Scottish budget later this year. 

Ms Robison cited the continuing effects of Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis, alongside UK Government spending decisions, as the reason for the plans. 

The swinging cuts included implementing emergency spending controls across the public sector, ending the ScotRail Peak Fares pilot, and following in the UK Government’s footsteps by means testing Winter Fuel Payment. 

Additional cuts to sustainable and active travel, and in health and social care, are also planned for 2024/25. 

The Finance Secretary said: “In the face of these challenges, the Scottish Government has stepped in to support people and services where it has been needed most: on social security, health and public services. 

“But we have done so without equivalent action from the UK Government, which has repeatedly failed to properly review the adequacy of funding settlements.”

Those representing the voluntary sector have suggested the strategy represents short-term thinking, calling for investment in Scotland’s third sector. 

In a statement, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations told TFN: “In focussing this statement, and the subsequent difficult budget decisions, on the need to make savings to fund public sector pay agreements, the Finance Secretary overlooks the key role played by Scotland’s voluntary sector in delivering some public services and reducing demand for others. 

“Overlooking the voluntary sector - which was not even mentioned in today's statement - is the most expensive option, financially and socially. Making cuts to services that save money to the public purse through prevention and diversion, promoting well-being and social cohesion ultimately costs the public purse significantly more when people end up in acute health services and the criminal justice system.

“Scotland’s voluntary organisations, their staff, and volunteers face the same rising costs as the public sector, yet while government goes to great lengths to fund pay increases for public sector workers, many in the voluntary sector, including those doing equivalent work, have not had a pay rise for years as voluntary sector budgets have remained static and under constant threat.  

“Far from this being a good time to risk cutting voluntary sector services, this is exactly when government should be investing in them, if we are to meet government priorities and create the kind of society we all want to live in.”

The cuts to active and sustainable travel have also come under heavy criticism, with Transform Scotland writing on social media: “Finance Secretary Shona Robison has just announced cuts to resource spend on sustainable and active travel.

Yet despite acknowledging that the Scottish Government “cannot afford all of our capital commitments”, it has decided to make no cuts to its multi-billion pound road-building programme.

“Its transport policies continue to prioritise the demands of the more affluent while slashing investment aimed at lower-income groups who are more reliant on buses, cycling and walking.”

Anti-poverty groups joined in with the condemnation, urging the Scottish Government to invest in public services - pointing to “concrete plans” that could be taken up on progressive taxation and borrowing.

Poverty Alliance chief executive, Peter Kelly, said: “People in Scotland believe in justice and compassion. They know that we need a strong social foundation so we can look out for each other and help people build a life beyond the injustice of poverty.

“But we’re now being left with holes in the fabric of Scottish society that will likely make life even harder for people on low incomes who are already being pushed towards debt, hunger, homelessness, and destitution. That is completely unjust, irresponsible and unnecessary.

“We are a rich country, and our collective wealth has grown massively over the decades. Past generations used that wealth to plan and budget for the public good, and MSPs and Ministers must now urgently use their powers over tax and investment to build a better, fairer future for all of us – and especially those in poverty. Economic growth will not fix the holes in society, unless it comes along with increased social investment.

“We are very concerned about the effect of cuts to mental health support and adult social care. We know that people in poverty are more likely to need that support, and data shows a growing risk of poverty for disabled people. We are deeply disappointed that plans to expand concessionary bus travel to people in the asylum system have been scrapped, along with a return to peak fares on ScotRail. We all need the freedom to travel, but too many of us simply can’t afford the fares.

“Organisations like the STUC and IPPR Scotland have published concrete plans that show how the Scottish Government can use powers over tax to invest billions of pounds every year in our shared society. We can build better budgets that give people the means to build a better future, to create a true wellbeing economy that supports fair work, and a just transition to the net zero future that we urgently need.”

Jamie Livingstone, head of Oxfam Scotland, added:  “More hardship and hollowing out of public spending are the very last thing Scotland needs when economic inequality is rising, poverty rates are stubbornly high and climate change targets are crumbling.  

“We simply can’t afford to keep being shortchanged by an unfair tax system – whether at UK or Scotland level – that favours the wealthiest. 

“As Scottish Ministers prepare next year’s Budget and a critical new tax strategy, they must swap these cuts with courage and launch far reaching reforms to devolved taxation to help deliver a fairer, more prosperous country that benefits everyone, not just the privileged few.”