John Swinney pledges to prioritise NHS in Scottish Budget

First Minister John Swinney has pledged to prioritise the NHS in the Scottish Budget.

Swinney said he had “thrown the weight of the Scottish Government behind tackling some of the key challenges” faced by the NHS in Scotland since he took on the role.

Ahead of the publication of the Budget on Wednesday, the First Minister said he wanted to see a “healthier population”.

Swinney said: “All of us have used Scotland’s National Health Service at different points in our lives, and we all know what a precious institution it is.

“Under this Government, Scotland has had the best-performing core accident and emergency units in the UK for nine years, we have more GPs per head than anywhere else in the UK and we have prevented the disruption of strike action by settling fair pay deals for frontline NHS workers.

“But we know that health services everywhere face huge pressure in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and ours is no exception.

“When I became First Minister, I made clear that one of my top priorities was improving public services like the NHS. Since then, I have thrown the weight of the Scottish Government behind tackling some of the key challenges it faces – whether that is increasing capacity in hospitals or making it easier for people to see a GP.

“Our Budget this week will be a Budget which has improving the NHS at its heart. We have listened carefully to suggestions from patients and staff, as well as engaging constructively with organisations and political parties across the Parliament.

“I want to make progress on improving our NHS, but to do that, Parliament must approve our Budget Bill in order to unlock investment which will drive the long-term and lasting improvements – and the healthier population – that we all want to see.”