AT last Thursday’s Holyrood Question time, the Scottish Health and Social Care (H&SC) Minister, Jeane Freeman MSP, was repeatedly challenged to explain what she was doing about Fife’s Health and Social Care budget gap.

The Fife Integration Joint Board (IJB), which is responsible for commissioning H&SC services, set its budget last week, but failed to identify savings to close the remaining £9M gap.

Ms Freeman has taken the position that the funding gap is nothing to do with her.

As far as she is concerned, the gap has to be closed by Fife Council and NHS Fife. But the only way to do that is to further cut vital services. This is why I proposed an amendment, at last week’s IJB, to refuse to set a budget and to return the matter to those responsible; the Scottish Government. Why did I propose that? Because this funding gap was dumped on the IJB when it was first set up in 2016 and the IJB has carried that burden ever since.

My amendment was defeated, and the IJB instead voted to “try harder and make some really difficult decisions to find the savings”.

We all know what that means. Poorer access, fewer medical practitioners, diluted care packages. I’m the first to agree that we need to set balanced budgets, but there needs to be a level playing field.

People have had enough. There is no reason why Fifers should suffer further cuts to services for our most vulnerable people, just because the Scottish Government refuses to pay what it owes.

If the SNP Government would focus on its day job of looking after its citizens instead of spending £ Millions on opening foreign consulates and subsidising defunct airports, this problem wouldn’t exist. It’s a disgraceful abrogation of responsibility and Ms Freeman, and her Party, need to be held to account.

COUNCILLOR TONY MIKLINSKI.