THE Scottish Government has set out budget cuts of around £500 million as ministers warned of the “enormous and growing pressure on the public finances”.
Finance Secretary Shona Robison has outlined a raft of measures to curb spending, including applying emergency brakes on pay and cuts to services across the public sector.
Some parts of the package have already been announced, including cuts to the Scottish Government’s version of the Winter Fuel Payment, the re-introduction of peak fares and the shelving of plans to give asylum seekers free bus travel.
And her announcement came with familiar calls for the UK Government to boost investment to protect public services.
The Scottish Government’s package of cuts comes as Labour lay the groundwork for more cuts from London.
Keir Starmer has already told the public to expect “pain” when the Chancellor speaks at the despatch box of the House of Commons on October 30.
In her update to MSPs on Tuesday, Robison highlighted that the Scottish Government’s increased spending on benefits and the delivery of better pay deals than England had come “without equivalent UK Government action”.
This comment bolsters her argument that the UK Government has failed over the years to adequately fund public services – especially in light of the social democratic ambitions of the SNP.
But it also plays into the hands of her critics across the Holyrood chamber, who will point to expert research which last week found that the Scottish Government’s spending decisions had contributed significantly to the budgetary pressures it faces.
The Scottish Fiscal Commission last week outlined how pay deals which went beyond what the Scottish Government had budgeted for when it prepared its pay policy earlier this year.
The independent spending watchdog also highlighted how the Scottish Government’s relative largesse with the welfare bill and the council tax freeze had put extra pressures on the budget and given ministers less room for manoeuvre.
But in her statement, Robison set out the defensive case – arguing that Scotland faced external pressures which put immense strain on the public finances.
She said: “Were Scotland an independent country, we would not be paying the price for bad decisions taken at Westminster – whether that be years of austerity cuts, Brexit, or reckless mini-budgets – all of which have taken money out of the economy and funding for public services.”
And she highlighted that the Scottish Government is required – unlike the UK Government – to run a balanced budget.
Robison further highlighted the limited powers she had to further put up taxes – though critics such as the Scottish Greens pointed out that she was not pulling the levers available to her, such as £700 million in business tax breaks.
And the Scottish Trades Union Congress lamented ministers’ failure to impose a wealth tax on the super-rich – a move they claim could pump £3.7 billion into the public purse.
Robison will hope, like Keir Starmer, that the public buy her arguments of having no other choice as they preside over “pain”.
