FINANCE Secretary Shona Robison has blasted reports suggesting Labour could change the law to allow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray to bypass Holyrood and directly fund anti-poverty schemes.
The Sunday Mail has reported new legislation to expand the powers of the Scotland Office by turning it into a “spending department” is likely to be voted on by MPs around the time of the Budget on October 30.
It would allow Chancellor Rachel Reeves to allocate a reported £150 million to Murray for local authority measures to combat poverty.
However, Robison said such a move would be “out of kilter” with the “positive” relationship being built between the Scottish and UK Governments.
She has warned the Labour Government against a “continuation” of the Conservatives’ “bypassing of the Scottish Parliament”, as a source suggested Murray could do a “better job” than the “incompetent” Scottish Government.
Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Robison said the £150m could have been used to avoid means-testing the Winter Fuel Payment north of the border.
She added Murray would be bypassing Holyrood if the plan suggested by the newspaper went ahead.
“If that is new money, there is definitely a question mark about why that money is not coming to the Scottish Government, given all of these funding pressures that we have,” she said.
She was asked if she believed the UK Government was “playing politics” with the plans but said there had been a “real difference” in the working relationship between both governments since Labour was elected to power, adding it was “far more open and collaborative”.
However, Robison (above) added: “What I would say about the Secretary of State for Scotland’s actions here is they are out of kilter with all of that.
“And that is disappointing because we should not see a continuation of the previous government’s bypassing of the Scottish Parliament.
“It was unhelpful. It was inefficient as well, it didn’t lead to the best delivery of public finances to the right places.
“What he is suggesting here is out of kilter with a very positive relationship that we are building with the Treasury and other (UK) ministers.”
A source told the paper that Murray was “serious” about working constructively with the Scottish Government but “is also serious about getting things done”.
“His focus is on finding ways to directly improving people’s lives in practical ways and these new powers to turbocharge his office combined with a budget will allow him to do that,” they added.
“There has clearly been a degree of incompetence within the Scottish Government and this legislation will allow the Scotland Office to invest directly where it sees fit rather than getting bogged down in bureaucracy.”
“Of course it will be seen by some as a challenge to devolution and the UK Government rolling its tanks onto Holyrood’s lawn.
“But there are many voters who believe the SNP has squandered billions through rank incompetence and it is no bad thing for someone else to try and do a better job with a relatively small portion of public spending.”
A Westminster Government spokesman told the Sunday Mail: “The Scotland Office is at the heart of delivering the UK Government’s missions in Scotland, working with the Scottish Government to grow our economy, create jobs and reduce poverty.”
