Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Budget ‘betrayal’ of Scottish public services – Yousaf
THE £230 million of extra health spending coming to Scotland following the chancellor’s Budget is “nowhere near enough”, the first minister has said.
As a result of spending in England on the NHS, Scotland will receive £237m in Barnett consequentials for this year’s budget.
But Humza Yousaf has criticised Jeremy Hunt’s spending plans, claiming the cut to national insurance in the Budget and the autumn statement last year will mean £1.6 billion less in “potential consequentials” for Scotland.
Speaking at first minister’s questions yesterday, he said: “Health consequentials of £237m are nowhere near enough given the pressure we face.
“They don’t cover, for example, the recurring costs of the agenda for change pay deal.”
The Scottish Government had also been hoping for capital funding to flow from the Budget, with Deputy First Minister Shona Robison saying a cut in the Scottish housing budget of more than £200m would be first to be reversed if extra cash became available.
Earlier yesterday, Alyson Stafford – the director-general of the Scottish Exchequer – told Holyrood’s public audit committee that there would be no capital consequentials coming to Scotland as a result of the Budget, and total funding would drop by 8.7% in real-terms by 2026-27.
Mr Yousaf declared: “The absence of investment in public services and infrastructure is nothing, frankly, short of a betrayal of our public services by the UK Government.”
The first minister also took aim at Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, who had earlier questioned Mr Yousaf on the NHS.
Mr Ross has said he opposes an extension of the windfall tax on oil and gas firms proposed by Mr Hunt in the Budget, and he has vowed to vote against it – with reports emerging earlier this week that he had considered resigning over the issue.
He denied the reports when asked by journalists yesterday.
Mr Yousaf said: “So disastrous a betrayal of workers in the north-east, apparently Douglas Ross threatened to resign, but he’s still sitting here.
“I wonder if he sold out the
north- east for a peerage or, indeed, to be a privy councillor. We don’t know but in time we’ll find out.”
Responding to the attack, a spokesman for the Scottish Tories said it was “desperate”.
“He should have been fully focused on answering Douglas’ questions on his party’s appalling record in charge of Scotland’s NHS, instead of typically reaching for his playbook of personal insults,” he said.
Speaking to journalists following FMQs, Mr Ross said: “The chancellor had a difficult Budget to set and I think everyone has accepted there was a balance to be struck. I will never shy away from publicly saying it was the wrong choice by the chancellor.”