SHONA Robison has urged the Labour UK Government to “respect devolution” after Scottish Secretary Ian Murray sparked confusion over a multi-million pound war chest to tackle poverty.
On Monday, Murray was forced to retract allegations he made that a journalist “made up” a story about £150 million being handed to the Scotland Office to directly fund anti-poverty schemes.
In a TV interview on Sunday, Murray furiously hit back after he was confronted with press reports which had set out Labour's proposals.
Asked about them on the BBC Sunday Show by host Martin Geissler, Murray accused the journalist of having fabricated the figure. In a statement released through a spokesperson later on Sunday, Murray conceded the figure had been based on past “Levelling Up” funds allocated to Scotland which it had been envisaged the Scotland Office could repurpose.
However, on Monday, he admitted the numbers were “not made up”, adding that what he meant was “we don’t have the money yet”.
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Following the back and forth, Finance Secretary Robison has called for the Labour Party to ensure they keep to their “clear manifesto commitment” of ending the practice of bypassing devolved nations.
The plans would require the Scotland Office to become a “spending department” which would require changes to be brought about in a Budget or a similar fiscal event.
They would be controversial because they would be seen by critics to be bypassing the devolution settlement by allowing the UK Government to spend money in Scotland without consulting Holyrood in devolved areas of policy.
Robison has previously said such a move would be “out of kilter” with the “positive” relationship being built between the Scottish and UK Governments.
In a debate on the upcoming UK Budget at Holyrood on Tuesday – which was only attended by three Labour MSPs – Robison told the Chamber: “The new UK Government has said it will respect devolution.
“We saw in June that it was splashed on the front of the Daily Record that a £150m war chest would be handed to the Scotland Office to spend in devolved areas along with lines from the new Scottish Secretary Ian Murray (above).
“What is stranger still is at the weekend, Ian Murray gave an interview where he said a journalist had made up the £150m figure, then yesterday he gave further clarification that despite his slur the journalist had not made it up and what he meant was that he didn’t have the money yet.
“So at this stage my best guess, to explain Ian Murray’s behaviour, is that he doesn’t think he’s actually getting £150m from the Treasury, or perhaps Ian Murray is demanding there should be no more bypassing of this parliament through the UK Government spending money in devolved areas, something we would welcome.
“It’s really important that Labour’s clear manifesto commitment to end the practice of bypassing devolved nations is delivered and delivered in full.”
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Robison said in the debate there had been a “distinct improvement” in the Scottish Government’s relationship with the Treasury and repeatedly stressed she wanted to work with Chancellor Rachel Reeves to ensure the UK Budget on October works for Scotland.
But she called on Reeves to ditch Tory fiscal rules and take a “different approach” that would allow for further borrowing for investment to renew infrastructure and services.
During the debate, Labour MSP Daniel Johnson accused Robison of staging a “political stunt” by bringing forward a debate on the Budget five weeks before it was due to be laid out, accusing the SNP Government of a “hasty attempt to cry betrayal before we’ve even had the Budget”.
The Finance Secretary put forward a motion calling for the UK Government to heed advice from top economists and use the Budget to halt “the under-investment that has resulted in a vicious circle of stagnation and decline, whereby low investment leads to both a weaker economy and greater social and environmental problems.”
In a letter to the Financial Times, former Cabinet secretary Gus O’Donnell, ex-commercial secretary to the Treasury Jim O’Neill and Professor Mariana Mazzucato, of University College London, urged the Government to avoid cuts and instead “implement a pro-investment fiscal framework that focuses on long-term fiscal sustainability”.
The motion also called for the Government to reverse cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment and remove the two-child limit on benefits.
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