THE Scottish Government's spending on mitigating "vindictive and immoral" UK Government policies has risen to £594 million per year, it has been revealed.
In response to a written question by SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson, Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes provided figures for a range of spending commitments for the current financial year (April 6 2021 to April 5 2022) that total £594m.
The figures do not include almost £3.5 billion of social security benefits which, while devolved, are needed to support and supplement insufficient welfare benefits paid by the Tory UK Government.
The payments are needed as areas such as energy, telecoms, equal opportunities and job search and support are reserved to Westminster.
Some of the areas in which the Scottish Government has had to devote funding to include:
- £83million on discretionary housing payments (to mitigate the bedroom tax)
- £63million on equalities and promoting human rights (equal opportunities is reserved)
- £56million on Fair Start Scotland, employability and workforce skills (job search and support is reserved).
- £39million on enterprise zones
- £102 million on improving digital connectivity infrastructure across Scotland (telecoms is reserved)
- £198million on energy efficiency and industries, renewable and community energy, and the low carbon economy (energy is reserved)
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SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson said: “To protect the people of Scotland, the SNP Government is having to commit a substantial amount from its restricted budget to mitigate vindictive and immoral Tory policies inflicted on our country.
“Devolution was meant to provide Scotland with the opportunity to do things differently but, without sufficient powers to borrow, the Scottish Government is severely constrained. That opportunity is even further restricted if it is continually having to commit eye-watering amounts simply to right the wrongs of the Tories’ austerity agenda at Westminster.
“Scotland’s opposition parties are constantly demanding the Scottish Government spends its limited budget on opposition priorities without ever identifying where the money is coming from. Well, this is many millions of pounds that could be diverted to these areas if it was not being used to protect Scots from the worst elements of Westminster control."
He continued: “And it’s not just the Tories to blame. Labour and the LibDems, through their support for the Union, perpetuate vindictive Tory governance on the people of Scotland.
“Almost £600m is a vast amount. If the Tories at Westminster would only properly fund the areas in which we must spend to mitigate and protect people, jobs and businesses, this cash could be redirected to make transformational changes in other areas of Scottish life.
“Sadly, the direction of travel of this Tory Government means things will only get worse. It is why the people of Scotland will have the opportunity to choose a different path with a post-pandemic independence referendum once the crisis has passed.”
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