Swinney fury at Scots budget cut
A BITTER war of words erupted last night as the Scottish Government accused Labour of a “bare-faced” cut in public spending.
Finance Secretary John Swinney insisted the Budget would cut millions off his spending plans, at a cost of thousands of jobs.
He launched a scathing attack on Chancellor Alistair Darling’s spending plans, saying they exposed Labour’s “atrocious” management of the UK’s finances.
Mr Swinney stormed: “This Budget demonstrates the atrocious financial management of the UK by this current administration. Who are they to lecture anyone? The UK public finances are in a shocking mess.”
But Labour hit back, accusing Mr Swinney of scaremongering.
Mr Darling said he wanted to make £9billion in efficiency savings a year, by 2013-14, which the SNP administration claim will have “dire consequences” for business and families.
Mr Swinney also attacked what he describe a “bare-faced reduction in public spending” which would wipe £500million off the Scottish budget next year.
“It’s not what we need, particularly because the country has been confirmed as being in recession,” he said. “We need public spending to help us out of the recession and we don’t need public spending cuts.” The UK Government said the level of efficiency savings demanded from Scotland in 2010-11 worked out at £367million.
But SNP ministers said this did not include a further reduction of £129million as a consequence of changes in NHS capital spending, and took no account of the post-2011, £9billion savings drive.
Scottish Labour finance spokesman Andy Kerr said Holyrood ministers would not ultimately lose the health service cash.
And he insisted the amount of cash the Scottish Government had to spend would go up by £2.2billion over three years, rising from £33.3billion last year to £35.5billion in 2010-11. “John Swinney either cannot count or he is deliberately misleading the public,” said Mr Kerr.
“He should take a reality check and face the facts instead of trying to mislead the Scottish public.”
Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy said Scotland had reaped the benefits of a £2billion fiscal stimulus and the £50billion bank rescue.
Rejecting the claim of a £500million cut, he added: “Most families and businesses are having to tighten their belts and so do we.
“The Scottish Government surely can’t believe it alone should not be making sensible savings to balance the books.”
One of the country’s leading accountants was scathing.
Russell Hills, head of tax for KPMG in Scotland, said: “There can be little doubt that the impact of this debt mountain will be felt by Scots for a generation.”
