What assessment has been made of the potential impact of changes to employer national insurance contributions on businesses in Scotland? A constituent has told me about one of their clients, which is a care home owner that is facing an increase in operating costs of £70,000 a year as a result of the national insurance contributions increase. Most of the business’s caring staff work part time, which suits their family circumstances. However, for each part-time member of staff, the business must pay an additional £615 a year as a result of the change to the national insurance contributions threshold in the Government's October Budget.

The impact of net changes in the Budget is £5.2 billion more for Scotland. That is record funding to invest in our NHS, protect the successes of devolution and fix our local services, but the Scottish Government have squandered the latter opportunity by continuing to underfund our councils, leaving Falkirk council with a £28 million hole to plug after eight years of SNP control. Does the Minister agree that the £5.2 billion secured for Scotland by the Labour Government could have been used to fix local government, but instead the SNP has chosen to leave the people of Falkirk to pick up the bill?