ANNEX A Patrick Harvie MSP Scottish Parliament, MG-18 Unit 3, 19 Argyle Court Holyrood, Edinburgh EH99 1SP 1103 Argyle Street Tel: 0131 348 6363 Glasgow, G3 8ND Fax: 0131 348 5972 Tel/Fax: 0141 221 6999 RNID Typetalk 18001 0131 348 6363 RNID Typetalk 18001 0141 221 6999
[email protected] Derek Mackay Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Constitution Scottish Government 19 October 2016 Dear Cabinet Secretary, Thank you for the invitation to begin discussions regarding the Scottish Budget for 2017/18. There are significant areas of common ground between some SNP policies and the Scottish Greens’ priorities, but also some substantial areas of difference. I recognise that a minority government must work toward some degree of consensus across Parliament, and I hope that our engagement with you will be constructive. Clearly we all face a degree of uncertainty, as we have discussed in other contexts. Until the UK Autumn Budget Statement and the subsequent publication of the draft Scottish Budget, this discussion can only take place in general terms. I hope that the further information you intend to place in the public domain later this month will assist, however you will understand that we must reserve our view on your specific spending plans until we have seen them. Our principal concern is for a strong emphasis on anti-poverty measures in the budget. In this letter I would like to address three broad areas: commitments already made on existing government policy, where more information would be helpful; additional proposals which we believe the government should adopt; and how existing and proposed spending plans fit with taxation policy and the potential of new powers to avoid implementing any further cuts to Scottish public services.