While the headlines in the budget are around the fiscally neutral new taxes, it is the budget allocations that matter more to UNISON members. Branches should also remember that these are Scottish Government allocations, not necessarily new money. When branches sit down with public sector employers they will also bring a list of other spending commitments to the table.
Over five years the Scottish budget has been cut by around 10% in real terms with the Capital budget facing a real terms cut of 26% as a result of the UK Government’s austerity programme. For the coming year this means a 1.7% real terms cut in the budget.
The main method of meeting this budget reduction in Scotland is by a further cut in the real wages of public service workers.
https://unison-scotland.org/wp-content/uploads/e-briefing_DraftScottishBudget2015-16_Oct2014.pdf