A realistic view at the future

At last someone in the public sector is starting to realise that action on reducing the budgets is inevitable, and action needs to be taken soon.

Plans for wide-ranging budget cuts in the public sector are "patchy and lack urgency", a cross-party committee of MSPs has warned.

Members of the Scottish Parliament's finance committee also said the efforts of the public sector to tackle the issue were inadequate.

Inadequate isn't the word I would use, but the image of ostriches springs to mind.

The Budget is going to be a hell of a shock for some people who think that someone it can all be done without pain; especially when they realise the nature and extent of the pain that is necessary.

I'd much rather we weren't in this situation, but we are and there is a huge responsibility to manage the public sector down to bridge the huge gap; balancing jobs and services, and specifically how the impact on the general public will be felt.

The private sector is going to suffer too, especially those dependent directly or indirectly on the public sector, and the public sector has a responsibility to manage their expectations too. That means flagging up where the cuts will come so that there are no false expectations.

I forecast that there are going to be some big job losses, with substantial local businesses going under, but planning for coming out of the crash is going to be the key. That means letting the weaker businesses go so that the stronger can survive.

But the public sector will face similar cuts and cannot expect to be immune from the impact, and the sooner that Government and Councils get their act together and develop a coherent strategy - beyond ignoring the impact or playing the blame-game - then the better for us all.

Brace yourselves. It is going to be rough.