‘Shambolic’ Budget gets the Green light
New Finance Minister puts country deeper into red agreeing to extra £173million spend with a ‘laughable and humiliating’ deal
FINANCE Secretary Kate Forbes will increase Scotland’s overdraft after reaching a ‘shambolic’ Budget deal with the Greens.
The newly promoted SNP minister yesterday said that she had hammered out a deal, bowing to several of the party’s demands.
This includes an extra £95million for councils, an additional £18million for Police Scotland and £45million aimed at tackling climate change.
Miss Forbes said an assessment of the legality of free bus travel for those under 19 will be carried out with a view to introducing the initiative in January 2021.
But Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie was forced to drop demands that plans to upgrade Edinburgh’s Sheriffhall roundabout were scrapped.
Miss Forbes said the last-minute deal had boosted spending by £173million, but experts say this contradicted her previous claim that ‘every penny’ had been assigned in the draft Budget.
The agreement means £50million of ‘anticipated’ non-domestic rates income will be used before it is even collected.
Despite increasing spending on public services, opponents accused the SNP and Greens of shortchanging vital services in a ‘laughable and humiliating’ deal.
David Eiser, fiscal policy analyst at the Fraser of Allander Institute, said: ‘Most of the new money comes from revised forecasts – for increased consequentials likely to flow to Scotland from next week’s UK Budget, and from higher Scottish budget underspends in 201920. What has enabled these forecasts to change in the three weeks since the Budget was published is not clear.’
Mr Eiser also warned that allocating £50million of anticipated non-domestic rates income would create a shortfall that will have to be made up in the future.
He said the Budget plans revealed three weeks ago ‘left the pool £100million in deficit, so the deal will take that to £150million’.
As a minority government, SNP ministers need to reach an agreement with other parties to pass spending plans – this is the fourth time they have joined Mr Harvie in a ‘shambolic partnering’.
Miss Forbes announced increases to her draft spending plans just weeks after telling MSPs that ‘every penny’ had already been allocated in her draft Budget – and that any additional money would have to be raised through tax or taken from another area.
But she confirmed that the Scottish Government would extend its overdraft by ‘re-profiling’ the distribution of non-domestic rates income from 2023-24, using £50million before it is even collected.
There will also be additional money from the UK Government, as well as £25million from a revised underspend for 2019-20.
The Scottish Conservatives refused to back the Budget unless it commits to ‘no further divergence’ from UK tax rates – and pledges £15million for drug rehabilitation beds.
Their finance spokesman Donald
Cameron said: ‘It’s no wonder the SNP has yet again tricked the Greens into supporting the Budget, which is now becoming an increasingly humiliating situation for Patrick Harvie.’
He also raised concerns over where the additional money for the deal had come from, adding: ‘The vague suggestion of “re-profiling” business rates will also set alarm bells ringing in Scotland’s business community, and is something the Finance Secretary will have to provide clarity on.
‘Everyone knew pro-independence parties would leap back into bed together when it mattered – but the main losers of this shambolic coupling are people who rely on public services and businesses who keep our economy going.’
Miss Forbes said: ‘I am pleased to have reached an agreement to pass the Scottish Budget.
‘While it is not possible to meet every party’s demands in full, I believe in reaching formal agreement with the Green Party, I am also delivering on key asks from every party and I encourage all MSPs to consider giving their support to Scotland’s Budget.’
Mr Harvie said: ‘Yet again it’s the Scottish Greens who have engaged constructively... to deliver for communities in Scotland.’
Comment – Page 16
‘Yet again tricked the Greens’