Union £1500 boost claim by the Tories
Scotland has received a “Union boost” of £1500 per person to fight the Covid pandemic, the Conservatives have claimed.
They said First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had failed to protect jobs despite the extra public spending this year via a Barnett Formula allocation from the UK Government.
Tory constitution spokesman Dean Lockhart said the cash boost showed “how vital Scotland’s place within the United Kingdom is for our public services”.
He added: “Even before this crisis, the UK Government had delivered the highest ever Scottish budget and since then, an extra £1500 has been spent per person to help fight this pandemic.
“In contrast, the SNP have failed to protect Scottish jobs.”
About £8.2billion has been added to the Scottish budget for 2020-21 in response to Covid-19.
The extra cash comes on top of UK-wide measures like Rishi Sunak’s Job Retention Scheme.
Strathclyde University think tank the Fraser of Allander Institute has claimed that up to £1billion of the extra cash remains unallocated.
A report published in November said there had been additional support for local authorities of £140million and £112million for adult social care, along with the self-isolation grant, assistance for children and young people’s mental health services and a student Covid-testing scheme.
However the report added: “It seems possible that around £1billion of funding for the 2020/21 financial year remains uncommitted.”
Sturgeon last month pledged to pay every NHS and social care worker in Scotland a £500 Covid bonus and urged Boris Johnson to make the payment tax-free.
But she was criticised for playing politics.
Fraser of Allander director Graeme Roy said such a move would benefit the better off.