THE next few weeks in Holyrood will be dominated by discussion of the Scottish Government’s budget. It was published in draft just before Christmas, and quickly unravelled.

For the first time ever, the Scottish Government have to set rates of income tax, to determine how much they spend on services like schools and hospitals. After years of complaining about the decisions of the Conservative Government, SNP ministers had the power to refuse to cut taxes so they could avoid cuts to services. In fact, they meekly followed the Tory budget almost to the letter.

Then they were discovered double-counting funding for councils to hide the fact that they are cutting £327 million from those budgets for schools and social care.

The New Year started with an embarrassing appearance in Parliament by the Finance Secretary, who was clearly not on top of his own figures.

For years, councils have tried to plug the gaps in Government funding, to protect their communities. For example, the Government are supposed to pay for our police officers. Yet for years East Lothian Council had to fund some of the local officers. Government are supposed to fund the railways, yet East Lothian Council are having to stump up a significant part of the cost of a new station at East Linton, because Government cannot.

In return, councils have had their budgets cut year on year, and cannot go on bailing the Government out. £327m of cuts cannot fail to have an effect locally in schools and social care.

To make matters worse, the SNP in Government continue to promise huge increases in things like nursery hours. That is a good thing, but they cannot expect councils to deliver these kinds of promises while every year they give them less money than before.

I will not support a budget which provides a tax cut for the better off while cutting resources for our schools and social care.