SCOTLAND OFFICE’S BUDGET DOUBLES IN 10 YEARS

SCOTLAND OFFICE’S BUDGET DOUBLES IN 10 YEARS

TIME TO AXE DEPARTMENT WHICH IS NEITHER USE NOR ORNAMENT

SNP Shadow Spokesperson for the Scotland Office, Angus MacNeil MP has expressed disbelief that the Scotland Office’s departmental budget doubled in the past 10 years – despite an ever shrinking remit.

Figures buried in the Scotland Office’s Annual Report 2009 reveal that the total administration costs of the department have rocketed from £3.7m in 1999 to £7.2m in 2009.

Mr MacNeil said:

“Since devolution the remit of the Scotland Office has shrunk but its budget has spiralled out of control.

“The department supposedly stands up for Scotland’s interests in the UK Cabinet but Jim Murphy’s track record to date has been woeful.

“The Scotland Office has done nothing to release the £150m of Scotland’s money being held in a Treasury bank account which could be used to support renewable energy development. Nor did it take any action to prevent the UK Government’s potentially devastating cuts to the Scottish Budget in the teeth of a recession.

“When the Chancellor launched a disastrous attack on the Scottish whisky industry with a stealth tax hidden deep in his Pre-Budget Report, the Secretary of State for Scotland did not even seem to know about it.

“Instead, Jim Murphy would rather make party political points on his blog and publish nonsense reports that talk Scotland down.

“Compare this with the SNP Scottish Government focussed on supporting jobs and communities through the recession. Just this week, Education Minister Fiona Hyslop MSP announced £3m of investment in 3000 training places.

“As we saw with the SNP’s spectacular victory in the Inverclyde by election on Thursday, voters are having serious doubts about Labour's claims to represent ordinary people and trust the SNP as the best party to see them through these tough times.

“The Scotland Office costs over £7m a year to run. Instead of endangering vital services with a £500m cut to the Scottish Government’s budget – absolutely the wrong thing to do in a recession – Gordon Brown should look to Dover House and get rid of this Government department which is neither use nor ornament.”