THE Scottish Budget will be finalised this week, setting the spending priorities for the year ahead. As I write this column at the start of the week, a number of related developments are taking place.

Firstly, the Greens and the SNP have announced they have struck a deal to pass it, something that has become a regular occurrence during this session of Parliament.

New Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar says Labour MSPs will back the budget if it delivers a fair deal for social care workers. We have asked for an increase in social care workers’ pay to £12-an-hour with a process to raise this to £15 in the next parliament.

The median wage for care workers across the UK is currently £9.50-an-hour and a pay rise would benefit as many as 200,000 care workers who have contributed so much during the pandemic.

I still do not believe that what is on offer represents fair funding for East Lothian, a failure to deliver that has been going on for years.

Last week, I raised this in Parliament with the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government, Aileen Campbell. I highlighted the fact that while the county’s percentage population increase is higher than anywhere else in Scotland over the last 20 years, funding for vital local services has not kept pace. In replying, Ms Campbell failed to even acknowledge the impact of this rapid growth and simply restated the Government’s view that the distribution of revenue funding is a matter for COSLA.

Through prudent financial management, East Lothian Council has managed to keep protecting local services, supporting communities and boosting the economy, despite the gaps in funding and the impact of Covid.

But this cannot go on indefinitely. We have to listen to local councils and communities, and deliver the fair funding they need.