RISHI’S BILLIONS FOR SCOTLAND ( BUT SNP STILL MOAN)
Chancellor sends an extra £2.4bn to tackle Covid crisis But Nationalists complain that windfall is not enough
A £2.4BILLION windfall will be handed to the Scottish Government as part of Rishi Sunak’s bid to help the whole of the UK recover from the coronavirus crisis.
The Chancellor yesterday unveiled the huge funding boost – double last year’s package – as he announced plans to face up to an ‘economic emergency’, which he warned has ‘only just begun’.
His pledges include another £1.3billion linked to spending in England responding directly to the pandemic, taking the total amount of such funding given to the SNP Government so far to £9.5billion.
Mr Sunak also said the whole of the UK would benefit from investment through the Shared Prosperity Fund being set up by the UK Government when controls over it pass back from Brussels.
However, responding to the announcements, SNP Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said: ‘The Chancellor’s announcement appeared to recognise the devastating economic harm of coronavirus, yet did not deliver the levels of investment required for economic recovery.’
She said the Scottish Government’s capital budget, which can be used for projects and investment, was set for a 5 per cent cut.
Unveiling his spending plans in the Commons, Mr Sunak said: ‘This is a spending review for the whole United Kingdom.
‘Through the Barnett formula, today’s decisions increase Scottish Government funding by £2.4billion, Welsh Government funding by £1.3billion and Northern Ireland Executive funding by £0.9billion.
‘The whole of the United Kingdom will benefit from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), and over time we will ramp up funding so that total domestic UKwide funding will at least match EU receipts, on average reaching around £1.5billion a year.
‘To help local areas prepare for the introduction of the UKSPF, next year we will provide funding for communities to pilot programmes and new approaches.
‘We will accelerate four city and growth deals in Scotland, helping Tay Cities, Borderlands, Moray and the Scottish I slands create jobs and prosperity in their areas.’
He added: ‘This spending review will help people in every corner of Scotland. It will provide billions of pounds to fight coronavirus, deliver the people’s priorities and drive the UK’s recovery. The Treasury is, has been, and will always be the Treasury for the whole of the United Kingdom.’
The Treasury said Scotland would benefit from some of the £100billion of capital investment across the UK next year.
It also said the furlough and selfemployment support schemes have helped protect 936,500 jobs in Scotland, while businesses had received 80,000 Bounce Back loans worth £2.9billion.
Mr Sunak also announced that only low-paid public sector workers and health workers would get a pay rise, with the rest of the public sector set for a pay freeze.
While the decision affects 24,300 civil service workers, it will be up to the Scottish Government to decide whether or not to take the same approach for the rest of the public sector in Scotland when it unveils its Budget in January.
Miss Forbes said the decision ‘makes very little economic sense at a time when we should encourage spending and consumption’.
Earlier this week, concerns were raised that some of the £8.2billion handed to the SNP Government since the beginning of the pandemic has still not been spent. The Fraser of Allander Institute thinktank said in a blog ‘it seems possi
‘Economic emergency’ ‘Nationalist grievance’
ble around £1billion of funding for the 2020-21 financial year remains uncommitted at this point’.
Last night, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said: ‘It’s now a fact Rishi Sunak and the UK Government have gone further than any government in peacetime history to protect jobs and support public services. These unparalleled spending promises show the deep pockets of the UK Government are best placed to support Scottish jobs, schools and hospitals.’
He added: ‘We now need the SNP Government to start getting UK Government funding out the door. As the Fraser of Allander Institute made clear, the SNP’s Barnett consequential funding disputes have no substance. They’re just another Nationalist grievance.’