Budget Bill 2012-2013 announced

The Government will continue to invest in jobs and the economy, Finance Secretary John Swinney said today as the Budget Bill for 2012-13 was published ahead of the Stage 1 debate next week and reflects the Spending Review published in September.

The Bill includes resources to:

• Deliver 25,000 modern apprenticeships and fund the 'Opportunities for All' programme to guarantee a training or learning opportunity for every 16-19 year-old;

• Pass on in full to the NHS in Scotland the Barnett consequentials from increases in UK health spending;

• Prioritise key infrastructure projects such as the new Forth Crossing and the New Glasgow Southern Hospitals Project and create jobs by using a range of measures to maximise investment, such as the 2.5 billion pounds non profit distributing (NDP) pipeline of revenue-financed infrastructure projects and switching revenue spending to support capital investment;

• Give local authorities resources to continue to freeze the council tax and maintain police and teacher numbers;

• Invest in the low carbon economy to cut emissions and create new jobs;

• Implement a shift to preventative spending, encouraging joint working across the public sector to improve outcomes;

• Ensure workers whose pay is controlled by the Scottish Government receive the Scottish Living Wage of 7.20 pounds an hour.

Finance Secretary John Swinney said:

"The Scottish Government is using every lever currently available to us to secure new investment and create and safeguard jobs - just this week we established new Enterprise Areas in Scotland to target our investment where it will be most effective"

To read the full quote from the Finance Secretary and to view the Budget Bill please visit the Scottish Government website.