No compulsory redundancies from health board cuts – Swinney

Swinney’s speech on Tuesday also revealed the number of Scotland’s councils could be reduced in a bid to help them operate more sustainably.

There are currently 32 local authorities, but the first minister would not be drawn on how many he believes there should be.

He said he wanted to work with local government to have a range of larger councils that are “strategic in their nature”.

He wants them able to undertake “sophisticated challenges” in areas such as public protection and the delivery of social work interventions.

Swinney added that he wanted local communities to feel they have “much more control over their lives”.

The first minister’s speech focussed on reform of the public sector to save money, cut bureaucracy, and improve how services are delivered.

The SNP leader set out a range of policies aimed at growing the economy, eradicating child poverty, transitioning to net zero and addressing “the epidemic of violence against women and girls”.