£2,000 FOR EVERYONE IN SCOTLAND
That’s value of Union ... as SNP’s own figures highlight nation’s £15bn deficit
SCOTLAND’S place in the UK is worth nearly £2,000 to every man, woman and child in the country, official figures have revealed.
Public spending is £1,633 per head higher north of the Border than across the UK – while the amount raised per person is £308 lower.
This means Scotland has a £15.1billion deficit – which is worth 8.6 per cent of the country’s entire economic output and would be higher than any other country in Europe.
The deficit – worth £1,941 per person – is covered by the ‘broad shoulders’ of the UK.
But critics say it shows that separation would mean huge cuts equivalent to the cost of running the NHS would be needed to plug the funding gap.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: ‘The Scottish Government’s own figures show how much Scotland benefits from being part of a strong United Kingdom, with the pooling and sharing of resources that brings.
‘People in Scotland, year after year, benefit from levels of public spending substantially above the United Kingdom average, with a Union dividend of £1,941 per person in Scotland.
‘In the face of a global pandemic, the strength and experience of the UK Treasury is helping people in Scotland and across the rest of the United Kingdom.’
The annual Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) document gives a full account of how all public money is raised and spent in Scotland.
Yesterday’s report, which covers the 2019-20 financial year, shows that government revenue per person, including oil, was £12,058 in Scotland – which was £308 lower than £12,367 across the UK.
Government spending per person in Scotland was £14,829 – £1,633 higher than £13,916 a head across the UK. Scottish Tory finance spokesman murdo Fraser said: ‘This is a hammer blow to the SNP and a massive setback for separation. Nicola Sturgeon would have to throw away Scotland’s entire NHS, every nurse and doctor, just to come close to balancing the budget in her separate state.
‘It’s beyond dispute that the economic case for independence has never been weaker. Separating would cost Scotland £15billion a year that we need for our schools and hospitals.’
Pamela Nash, chief executive of the Scotland in Union campaign group, said: ‘These latest figures confirm that Scotland is better off in the UK. We benefit from a UK dividend that ensures we can spend more on our NHS, schools and other public services. It’s time for some honesty from the SNP about how a separate Scotland would address the huge gap between spending and revenue – how much would taxes rise by and how much would be cut from schools and hospitals?’
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said: ‘With billions draining from the Scottish economy in the event of separation, Scotland would be thrust into years of savage and unrelenting austerity.’
According to the GERS figures, Scotland’s notional deficit is worth 8.6 per cent of GDP, up from 7.4 per cent the previous year.
The Scottish Government said the pandemic has already had an impact on the figures, including a drop in revenue from corporation tax and VAT, while public spending on health has increased.
But it points out that there will be a greater impact in 2020-21.
The Treasury’s economic forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility, has given a ‘central scenario’ estimate that the UK deficit will rise to 16 per cent of GDP this year before falling to around 7 per cent in 2021-22.
Analysis by the Fraser of Allander Institute at Strathclyde University forecasts that the Scottish figure will rise to 22 per cent of GDP this year, while the Institute for Fiscal Studies predicted it will soar to between 26 to 28 per cent of GDP. Tracy Black, director of CBI Scotland, said: ‘Even without considering the impact of coronavirus, it’s clear that Scotland continues to spend significantly more than it raises in tax.
‘In spite of an acceleration in spending to combat the impact of the pandemic, many jobs and businesses have been lost – putting future tax revenues at risk. We need to do everything we can now to secure an effective and sustainable recovery that focuses on job creation, skills and training, kickstarting demand and boosting competitiveness.’
Asked if she felt the latest figures showed Scotland gets a good deal from being part of the UK, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said: ‘It doesn’t sound like a good deal at all. I look at those figures and see the current constitutional arrangements as being unsustainable, and look at other small advanced economies around the world and see what Scotland could have.
‘If you look at historic levels of growth among small advanced economies versus larger economies, it has been faster and higher. A lot of those countries have been frankly better at managing the crisis of the last few months than some of the larger economies.’
‘A hammer blow to the SNP’ ‘Years of savage austerity’