The Chancellor, Philip Hammond MP, has today announced an extra £350m in funding for the Scottish Government.
The Scottish Government already had £500m more to spend this year, compared to last year. This extra funding, as a result of the Barnett Formula, is due to spending commitments in devolved areas contained in the budget.
The chancellor also confirmed that the national living wage will rise to £7.50 in April, meaning a pay rise for 100,000 Scots and that personal tax allowance will continue to rise to £12,500 by 2020, a tax cut for 2.6 million Scots.
Local MSP John Lamont said that the fact that Scotland’s budget is being increased at a time when oil revenues have been all but decimated shows the importance of Scotland remaining part of the UK.
John Lamont MSP said: “This budget delivers yet another boost to the Scottish Government, who now have a further £350m to spend.
“Given his budget had already increased compared to last year, the Finance Secretary must be thinking Christmas has come early. There is surely little excuse now to slash council budgets and make Scotland the highest taxed part of the United Kingdom.
“What this budget really shows is the importance of remaining part of the UK to Scotland’s finances. If we’d believed the SNP just a few years ago, Scotland would now be facing a £15bn deficit caused largely by the near obliteration of North Sea oil and gas revenues. Because we are part of the UK, our budget has not only been protected, it has increased.
“With even more money to spend on local services, it’s high time the SNP stopped threatening another independence referendum and started thinking about how to improve local schools, hospitals and transport.”
