JOHN Swinney has rejected the idea that cuts in Scotland amount to “SNP austerity”, saying the devolved administration is “living within its means”.
The First Minister was speaking to BBC Radio Scotland on Monday morning, the day after the SNP conference closed, when he accused the Labour-run UK Government of having chosen to “prolong austerity”.
Scotland’s Finance Secretary is expected to announce a series of cuts to public spending, reported to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds, when Holyrood returns from the summer recess on Tuesday.
The First Minister has also said the Government will set out its position on council tax during the Budget process.
Swinney has already warned there are “tough decisions” ahead on the public finances as the Government attempts to close a funding gap.
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Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland radio programme, Swinney said policy choices like the Scottish Child Payment mean child poverty is at a lower level in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK.
The BBC’s Gary Robertson put it to the First Minister that Labour are moving money to pay for public sector pay deals and Swinney’s Government is going to be in “exactly the same position” – asking if Finance Secretary Shona Robison’s statement would be “SNP austerity”.
Swinney denied this is the case and said the Scottish Government is “living within its means”, adding: “We’ve made the hard choices about expanding the resources that are available to us.
“Today, if the SNP government hadn’t taken the decisions we’ve taken, on tax, Scottish public expenditure will be £1.5 billion lower than it is today.”
It was put to Swinney that when he took over as First Minister he was briefed on the “dire state of the public finances”, with this taking place before Labour came to power in Westminster.
Swinney said: “Why on earth do you think I went through the election campaign making the point that the public finances and public services were under acute pressure because of sky high inflation?”
He said the Scottish Government had balanced its budget each year and Labour had “accepted” the fiscal rules of the Conservatives.
Responding to reports of council tax increases in the next year, the First Minister said his Government’s position would be set out during the Budget process in December.
After the financial update from Robison, Swinney is expected to address the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday as he unveils his first Programme for Government.
He pledged plans to grow the economy, deliver net zero and eradicate child poverty despite a “challenging financial backdrop”.
The Scottish Greens published a policy paper on Monday with proposals to expedite climate action, including scrapping the plan to reintroduce peak rail fares, diverting funds from the A96 dualling into public transport and creating a “real and urgent” transition plan for the energy sector.
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“With the Programme for Government and the new Climate Bill only days away, we need to see the kind of bold climate action that will make a difference,” the party’s co-leader Patrick Harvie said.
“Particularly over recent months there have been very worrying signs of the Scottish Government moving away from its climate commitments.
“The SNP spent an election trying to face both ways on oil and gas, then they hiked up rail fares and asked councils to raid the nature restoration fund. These are not the actions of a government that is doing all it can for our climate.
“We cannot underestimate the scale of change that is needed, or the importance of the decisions that will be made in the weeks and months ahead.”
Scottish Labour called for the SNP to “wake up”, with group deputy leader Jackie Baillie saying: “Year after year we have heard the same warm words from the SNP, but the spiral of decline continues.
“Instead of looking to deflect blame and make excuses, the SNP should set out a real plan to fix the mess it has made.”
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