AUDIT SCOTLAND REPORT - OPPOSITION IN "FISCAL FANTASY LAND" OVER SPENDING DEMANDS

AUDIT SCOTLAND REPORT - OPPOSITION IN "FISCAL FANTASY LAND" OVER SPENDING DEMANDS

REALITY OF SCOTLAND'S BUDGET CUTS WITHIN UK

Commenting on the Audit Scotland report published today - which confirms the scale of the squeeze on Scotland's budget from the Labour Government at Westminster - SNP MSP Linda Fabiani, a member of the Scottish Parliament's Finance Committee, said that it exposed the "fiscal fantasy land" opposition parties were living in as they routinely demand EXTRA spending in the Scottish Parliament, including reinstating the Glasgow Airport Rail Link.

Commenting Linda Fabiani said:

"The Audit Scotland report is extremely welcome, because it confirms everything that the SNP Government have been saying about the spending squeeze being imposed by the UK Government at Westminster - not just £500 million next year, but up to £3 billion by 2013/14. Given that the latest Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) analysis shows Scotland in budget surplus - with a surplus of some 2.3 billion pounds in the past three years - the Audit Scotland report reinforces the need for Scotland to be responsible for our own tax and spending decisions with independence.

"The Scottish Government have already risen to the challenge, not just in an ambitious efficiency programme which will deliver £3.2 billion in savings by 2011 while delivering the same level of services, but also in taking tough decisions such as cancelling the unaffordable rail link to Glasgow Airport - where the cost of work at the airport alone had spiralled from £8 million to £70 million without a single yard of track being laid.

"In demanding MORE spending virtually every day in the Scottish Parliament - including reinstating GARL, and more money for local government - while Scotland's budget is being CUT by the UK Government at Westminster, Labour and other opposition parties are living in a fiscal fantasy land.

"The Audit Scotland report sets out the reality of Scotland's budget cuts within the UK. Labour and the rest of the opposition have to get real over their ridiculous spending demands. And Scotland needs to acquire the real financial and economic powers that come with independence."