Thank you for contacting me about the First Minister’s appointment of a Minister for Independence.
I and my Scottish Labour colleagues find it highly inappropriate for the Scottish Government to be using taxpayers’ money, and the time and resources of Scottish civil servants, to support a ministry solely in service of the SNP and Scottish Greens’ independence agenda.
People across Scotland are facing significant cost-of-living challenges, too many people are being failed by the NHS, child poverty and the attainment gap remain unacceptably high, and our island communities are being failed by their lifeline ferry services. All these matters should be immediate priorities for the Scottish Government, yet Humza Yousaf has seen fit to reorganise his ministerial team and expend governmental resources by adding a Minister for Independence.
We will continue to hold the Scottish Government to account for their use of taxpayers’ money, including this new office and its holder.