Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay will urge John Swinney to cut the number of SNP “talking shops” and deliver better value for taxpayers in a speech in Edinburgh today.

Mr Findlay will criticise the size of the SNP state and claim the Nationalists waste resources, which he will say prevents taxpayers’ money from being spent on improving frontline services such as the NHS and schools.

The Scottish Conservative leader will set out areas where he believes bureaucracy can be cut so the public sector is able to help people more efficiently and effectively.

He will suggest Mr Swinney sets a target to radically reduce the number of Scottish Government working groups, which currently number almost 300.

He will say that, despite the growth in the size of the public sector, the Scottish parliament has become increasingly detached from the concerns of the public.

“The ever-growing state sector seems designed to serve itself, not to serve the public,” says Mr Findlay.

“Do you feel the benefit of more public servants, more working groups and more government agencies than ever before?

“Is there better delivery of essential everyday services? Does it seem like there are more nurses and doctors, teachers and librarians, street cleaners and bin collectors?

“The SNP state has expanded rapidly yet declined in delivery. It sucks up record sums of cash without doing better for families, workers and businesses. Taxpayers pay for more, but get less.

“This cannot continue. Change must happen. Things must be done differently or the public services that we all need will stay on life support, only getting worse.”

Mr Findlay declares: “The Scottish Conservatives are the only party prepared to be honest with the public and take the tough action that is necessary.

“We know people just want some common sense for a change. They want government to do the simple stuff well. Make public services efficient, affordable and effective.”