OSBORNE MUST CLARIFY REMARKS ON TORY CUTS FOR SCOTLAND.
SNP MSP Joe FitzPatrick – a member of the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee – has said that the Tories’ Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, must clarify what his party’s intentions are for Scottish public spending when he said on today’s Politics Show that Scotland must share some of the burden of their planned £5 billion cuts in public spending.
The remarks echo those of the Tory Westminster spokesperson for Scotland who said two weeks ago that “there is going to have to be restraint in spending in Scotland”. Both statements are at odds with previous comments by the Tories that there will only have to be only £28 million of cuts in Scotland instead of a pro-rate expected share of £500 million. Commenting Mr FitzPatrick said: “George Osborne has just added to David Mundell’s massive political blunder with this admission a Tory cash cutting agenda for Scotland.
SNP MSP Joe FitzPatrick – a member of the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee – has said that the Tories’ Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, must clarify what his party’s intentions are for Scottish public spending when he said on today’s Politics Show that Scotland must share some of the burden of their planned £5 billion cuts in public spending.
The remarks echo those of the Tory Westminster spokesperson for Scotland who said two weeks ago that “there is going to have to be restraint in spending in Scotland”. Both statements are at odds with previous comments by the Tories that there will only have to be only £28 million of cuts in Scotland instead of a pro-rate expected share of £500 million. Commenting Mr FitzPatrick said: “George Osborne has just added to David Mundell’s massive political blunder with this admission a Tory cash cutting agenda for Scotland.
“Previously the Scottish Tories were saying their planned cuts would exempt health and education. Now they are less clear and the implication is that their plans are no different from Labour's plans to cut £1 billion from Scotland's budget. “George Osborne must clarify what his party’s plans for Scotland are. If not it can only be concluded that the Tories are set on cutting Scotland’s budget. The Tories should also be fighting Labour’s £1bn planned cuts to the Scottish budget, not backing them.
“His lack of knowledge of the economic situation in Scotland was exposed when he said that unemployment had doubled in Scotland. In fact it has only increased by 8000 over the last year compared to a massive 369,000 across the UK as a whole. Perhaps he was referring to what happened when his party was last in power.”
“His lack of knowledge of the economic situation in Scotland was exposed when he said that unemployment had doubled in Scotland. In fact it has only increased by 8000 over the last year compared to a massive 369,000 across the UK as a whole. Perhaps he was referring to what happened when his party was last in power.”
More info;
1. BBC Newsnight Scotland interview with David Mundell, 16 February 2009
Glenn Campbell: "The talk in this interview is about the issue of addressing unfairness - perceived unfairness - within the union. Would a Conservative Government then look again at the proposed cuts to the Scottish Budget over the next couple of years if you were in a position to do so?
David Mundell: "Well I think it's inevitable as when we head into these difficult financial times, when there is going to have to be restraint in spending, that there is going to have to be restraint in spending in Scotland. And I think it's unrealistic to pretend otherwise...it's a sort of fiction that Alex Salmond and the SNP promulgate - the fact that Scotland could be exempt from the financial difficulties and constraints that the rest of the United Kingdom will have to face."
2. Scotsman article (Published Date: 08 January 2009) headlined “Scotland 'to escape Tory cuts'”
By HAMISH MACDONELL
SCOTLAND will escape the worst of the spending cuts imposed by a future Conservative government, the Scottish Tories claimed last night.
David Cameron announced earlier this week that, if elected, he would institute £5 billion of spending cuts across government departments to help cope with the economic downturn.
Scotland's share of this would normally be about 10 per cent, or £500 million of cuts.
But a Scottish Tory spokesman said last night that the plans had been drawn up in such a way that Scotland would only have to find £28 million of cuts - far short of its £500 million population share.
This is because the Conservatives' plans would affect all departments except health and education, the two biggest devolved budgets.
Most of Scotland's block grant comes to these two big departments so, by keeping these budgets intact, the Conservatives believe that Scotland's overall budget will remain virtually intact as well.
By HAMISH MACDONELL
SCOTLAND will escape the worst of the spending cuts imposed by a future Conservative government, the Scottish Tories claimed last night.
David Cameron announced earlier this week that, if elected, he would institute £5 billion of spending cuts across government departments to help cope with the economic downturn.
Scotland's share of this would normally be about 10 per cent, or £500 million of cuts.
But a Scottish Tory spokesman said last night that the plans had been drawn up in such a way that Scotland would only have to find £28 million of cuts - far short of its £500 million population share.
This is because the Conservatives' plans would affect all departments except health and education, the two biggest devolved budgets.
Most of Scotland's block grant comes to these two big departments so, by keeping these budgets intact, the Conservatives believe that Scotland's overall budget will remain virtually intact as well.
3. The UK Labour Government are planning a billion pound cut to Scotland’s budget from 2010/11 to 2011/12 – threatening a real terms cut to public expenditure in Scotland for the first time since the early 1990s under the Tories. And now the Tories support Labour’s cuts – previously they tried to pretend that Scotland would escape them. A major political blunder by David Mundell, proving yet again that Labour and the Tories are like Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
The £500 million annual cuts for Scotland planned by the UK Government for next year and the year after comprises £380 million from the £5 billion cuts at UK level, and another £125 million of cuts in Scotland as a consequence of reducing the NHS capital spending level in England. These figures have been published by Professor David Bell, adviser to the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee.
Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling’s billion pound budget bombshell comes in the teeth of a recession, and would destroy jobs and services at the very time the SNP Government are working to support Scotland’s economic recovery. The Tories back Labour’s planned cuts in Scotland. Only SNP success in the European and General elections can stop the Labour/Tory – the Brown/Cameron – cuts in their tracks.
Pre-Budget Report 2008: Effects on Scottish Government Budget Paper by Professor David Bell, Budget Adviser to the Finance Committee Extracts:
“The 2010-11 resource DEL includes a non-specific £5bn of “Additional Value for Money Savings”. These have also been referred to as “Efficiency Savings” and, in Scotland, come on top of the 2 per cent annual efficiency savings already built into the budget. If these savings are shared equally across DEL budgets, then the Scottish Government’s budget would fall by £380m.”
“There is also a reduction in the Department of Health’s capital budget of £1.4bn in 2010-11. This is not a reprofiling and will mean a recurring reduction of around £125m in the Scottish Government capital budget.”
The £500 million annual cuts for Scotland planned by the UK Government for next year and the year after comprises £380 million from the £5 billion cuts at UK level, and another £125 million of cuts in Scotland as a consequence of reducing the NHS capital spending level in England. These figures have been published by Professor David Bell, adviser to the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee.
Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling’s billion pound budget bombshell comes in the teeth of a recession, and would destroy jobs and services at the very time the SNP Government are working to support Scotland’s economic recovery. The Tories back Labour’s planned cuts in Scotland. Only SNP success in the European and General elections can stop the Labour/Tory – the Brown/Cameron – cuts in their tracks.
Pre-Budget Report 2008: Effects on Scottish Government Budget Paper by Professor David Bell, Budget Adviser to the Finance Committee Extracts:
“The 2010-11 resource DEL includes a non-specific £5bn of “Additional Value for Money Savings”. These have also been referred to as “Efficiency Savings” and, in Scotland, come on top of the 2 per cent annual efficiency savings already built into the budget. If these savings are shared equally across DEL budgets, then the Scottish Government’s budget would fall by £380m.”
“There is also a reduction in the Department of Health’s capital budget of £1.4bn in 2010-11. This is not a reprofiling and will mean a recurring reduction of around £125m in the Scottish Government capital budget.”
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