Scottish politics LIVE John Swinney reveals SNP Government plan to axe health boards and quangos

Trade unions are reacting with anger to Swinney’s plans to axe health boards.

Unison Scottish Secretary Lilian Macer said: “You cannot just restructure your way out of a public service crisis. The Scottish government must build the capacity of public services, not spend millions reorganising them.

“Previous overhauls have shown this rarely delivers the long-term savings promised. They’re loaded with upfront costs, cause years of disruption and are a distraction from making desperately needed improvements to our services.

“The real issues facing public services are the Scottish government’s cuts to budgets and jobs. It is predicted that 20,000 jobs will be cut across public services and millions slashed from budgets.

“Scotland’s NHS has the longest waiting lists since devolution, thousands of nursing posts remain vacant and social care is in crisis. At the same time, councils are being warned they could become financially unsustainable.

“Changes to NHS boundaries won’t lead to a single extra nurse, care worker or paramedic nor any new care packages or hospital beds.

“Real investment is needed to make those services better. That means more staff, shorter waiting times and increased capacity to meet the population’s changing needs.”