What could the SNP do about cost of living? Quite a bit

WHAT can the Scottish Government do to help combat the inflating cost of living? Quite a lot actually. Nicola Sturgeon says the UK should take responsibility for galloping food and energy prices and only Westminster has the resources to address the crisis. But Scotland is not an impoverished land.

According to the Scottish Government’s own figures, “Scotland is the 14th richest country in the world in terms of GDP per head” ahead of France and the UK. The Scottish political classes would be wise to look at what they can do right now to help people on low and middle incomes keep their heads above water.

The First Minister has criticised the UK Government’s tax rises. Yet she has powers to mitigate those National Insurance rises or indirectly reverse them. She can do this by altering the bands and rates of income tax. If the overall tax burden is too high, lower it.

Alternatively, Ms Sturgeon could restore the 50p additional rate on high earners, many of whom are in the public sector. She has called for a windfall tax on energy companies which is likely to be introduced later this year, but what about a windfall tax on council officials and university principles earning vast salaries on the public purse?

Edinburgh University’s boss Peter Mathieson earns £340,000 plus benefits – more than twice the First Minister’s salary. Around 3000 council staff earn over

Around 3000 council staff earn over £100,000 a year. She could order a freeze on public sector pay and bonuses

£100,000 a year. She could order a freeze on public sector pay and bonuses.

The boss of Scottish Power, Keith Anderson, says that everyone on average pay in Scotland will be in fuel poverty next year. The FM could tell him to end the scandal of fixed charges doubling to nearly £1 a day. That stealth tax has nothing to do with world energy prices.

She has powers to give rebates on council tax and distributed a Cost of Living Award of £150 earlier this year. That is clearly not enough now. She could expand the Warm Homes Discount Scheme to include all Scots living on average wages.

Those grants that are supposedly going to instal heat pumps could be redirected to energy bills. The Scottish Government’s plan for Scots to pay £33billion over the next eight years to replace gas boilers is now clearly intolerable.

Ms Sturgeon invariably blames “Tory austerity” for the cost of living and for the collapse of public services. But as the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies always reminds us, Scotland gets far more in public spending per head than the rest of the UK. Up to 30% more than England according to its director, Paul’s Johnson.

One of the ironies of devolution is that the more powers the Scottish Parliament has, the more its political leaders claim they are powerless. Yet the Scottish Government now has powers to alter benefits system or introduce new benefits if it chooses.

Those with the broadest shoulders should carry the greater burden.

Over to you, First Minister.