At the time I wrote this column, the UK Budget had not been announced – but I can predict that it won’t be good news for Scotland, as new research shows Scotland's block grant is at its lowest level in a decade.
The independent analysis by the House of Commons Library, published on October 26, shows that Scotland's block grant has fallen as a percentage of UK government spending from 8.2 per cent in 2015/16 to 7.6 per cent this year – meaning Scotland is getting a lower share of the UK spending pie than at any point in the last decade.
The research also shows that, in a like-for-like comparison, the Scottish Government's block grant has suffered a real-terms cut in every year since 2020, and is now worth £6.4 billion less than it was in 2020/21. This is a drop of 12.7 per cent.
The like-for-like comparison, before adjustments are made to reflect the recent devolution of tax powers and welfare responsibilities, shows the declining spending power of the Scottish Government over time because of Westminster cuts.
For example, the Scottish Government's capital block grant was cut by 9.6 per cent last year – a real-terms cut of around £600 million, and it faces a further 3 per cent cut of around £200 million this year.
That means less money available to build affordable homes, hospitals, schools, roads and other projects. This directly impacts Inverclyde as our Finnart Street college building and prison need replaced, to name just a few capital projects.
On the Scottish Government's resource block grant, which pays for the day-to-day running of the NHS and other frontline public services, this research shows it has been cut by almost 15 per cent in real-terms since 2020/21.
This is despite the soaring costs of UK inflation, public pay demands, Brexit and Covid backlogs, and means less money for health, education and policing.
This research is utterly damning and proves that the Union is harming Scotland. It's therefore vital that the Labour government abandons its devastating plan to follow in the Tory’s footsteps and impose billions of pounds of austerity cuts to public services and Scotland's budget.
The Scottish Government has already had its budget slashed by Westminster; we cannot afford even more cuts from the Labour Party, which would take money away from our NHS, schools, police and vital infrastructure projects.
Voters were promised change but instead Labour ministers have been lining their own pockets with thousands of pounds of freebies while imposing austerity cuts which hit the most vulnerable in society the hardest.
Scottish Labour must speak out against these cuts – but given they have defended and supported cutting the winter fuel payment for 900,000 Scottish pensioners, voted to keep the cruel two-child cap, and failed to prevent a 10 per cent hike to energy bills, despite promising a £300 cut, I won’t hold my breath.
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