Scots benefit from being in the UK by £1,968 each

SCOTLAND’S reliance on the UK for funding has soared over the past year, figures revealed yesterday.

Public spending north of the border was £1,661 higher per person than across the UK as a whole in 2018/19.

Scots also contribute £307 less per person towards government coffers – meaning the overall ‘Union dividend’ is worth £1,968 a year to every adult and child. The dividend is up from £1,904 per person in 2017/18.

The figures – from the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland report – was last night said to have left the argument for Scottish independence ‘in tatters’.

In September 2012, then deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon said that ‘Scotland has a relative surplus – in other words, an independent Scotland would be richer than we are now.’

But if the SNP succeeded in breaking up the Union, an independent Scotland would now start out with a £12.6billion deficit. This would be worth 7 per cent of GDP – the largest in the whole of Europe.

The GERS report shows that Scotland’s overall deficit has fallen at a much slower rate than the UK’s. It now accounts for over half of the UK public spending deficit.

Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack said: ‘The GERS figures show clearly how Scotland benefits from being part of a strong UK with every man, woman and child in Scotland receiving a “Union dividend” of nearly £2,000 a year.

‘These figures also show there would be a £12.6billion black hole at the centre of an independent Scotland’s finances. Real questions need to be asked about the First Minister’s stewardship of the economy.’

The GERS report gives a detailed account of how all public money is raised and spent in Scotland.

It shows that total public spending per person north of the border was £13,854 in 2018/19, compared with the UK figure of £12,193.

The average Scot contributes £11,531 to the public coffers through taxation when a geographic share of oil revenue is included, which is £307 less than the UK average.

Pamela Nash, from the Scotland In Union campaign group, said: ‘These figures show that all of us in Scotland benefit from our place in the UK. The SNP’s economic blueprint is in tatters.

‘It is beyond doubt that we are stronger in the UK, with the UK dividend worth nearly £2,000 to every person in Scotland. In an independent Scotland, the SNP would take that money out of families’ pockets.’

The report, published by the Scottish Government, shows that the total Scottish deficit of £12.6billion in 2018/ 19 was lower than the £13.8billion the previous year. This means a drop from 8.1 per cent to 7 per cent of GDP.

But the deficit has been cut at a much slower rate than across the UK. The UK deficit now stands at £ 23.5billion or 1.1 per cent of GDP, compared with 2 per cent the previous year.

Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Murdo Fraser said: ‘These figures reveal an enormous gap between what Scotland spends and what it raises in tax.

‘We can have much higher spending in Scotland on public services thanks only to fiscal transfers from the rest of the UK.’

‘Questions need to be asked’