This week both parliaments returned from their summer recess.

In Westminster, the newly elected Labour government is already making progress with its ambitious plans to fix the foundations of our country taking steps to reform workers’ rights, set up GB Energy and grow the UK’s economy.

These actions will help to put right the mess left behind by the previous Tory administration and eventually clear the £22bn budget black hole that was left. 

As Holyrood has returned this week, however, that ambition and positive plans for the future were sadly lacking as the SNP set out its Programme for Government and the work it intends to do over the next parliamentary year.

The Scottish Government rolled back on it’s previous promise to expand free schools meals to Primary 6s and 7s, failed to set out any actions to tackle Scotland’s rising numbers of drug deaths and kicked its plans for a human rights bill into the long grass.

And not only are its policy intentions lacking, the Scottish Government’s Finance Secretary, Shona Robinson also updated MSPs this week on her plans to cut up to £500m from the upcoming budget in order to balance the books.

This means that many vital government departments are set to lose funding, including, for example, health and social care, which is set to see it’s spending slashed by £166m.

Cuts to public services will be concerning for users across North Ayrshire particularly after years of cuts to North Ayrshire Council’s budget.

This is the third year in a row in which the Scottish Government has taken ‘emergency’ measures to make cuts. It demonstrates failed policy and a lack of long-term planning to grow our economy so we can invest in public services.

Ms Robison’s statement that her decisions would not ‘affect frontline delivery’ suggests many of the savings proposed are actually measures to cut waste that should have been made long ago.

But the need to fill this financial black-hole shouldn’t come as a shock.

Independent experts such as the Fraser of Allandar Institute and the Scottish Fiscal Commission have been warning about the fragile financial situation down to decisions made by the Scottish Government for years.

People in North Ayrshire and across Scotland deserve two governments that don’t play the blame game but take responsibility to fix the current mess.

The UK government is fixing the foundations of the UK economy. The Scottish Government meanwhile play the blame game and continue to make excuse after excuse.

Credit to one Scottish Government source though for their honesty when they were reported as admitting this week that they ‘hadn’t looked under the bonnet properly for years.”

The Scottish Government needs to acknowledge its failed policy agenda has led to the poor financial situation here in Scotland.

Lessons must be learned by the Finance Secretary fast. Scottish Government waste, incompetence and mismanagement needs to stop. And so do the excuses.