Scottish Government will get no more than £330m for national insurance increase
Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison accused the UK Government of ‘austerity through the back door’.
The Treasury will provide no more than £330 million to the Scottish Government to cover the impact on the public sector of the increase in national insurance.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her October 30 Budget that employer contributions would increase, but the UK Government would mitigate the impact on the public sector in England.
Immediately, the Scottish Government called for £500 million to cover the increase to the Scottish public sector, which employs more people and usually on higher wages.
It is understood this figure ranges from £295 million to £330 million.
Scotland’s Finance Secretary Shona Robison said the funding offered “simply won’t cover the cost of this hike” and there could be “irreparable damage” caused to services in Scotland if the funding is not fully reimbursed.
Ms Robison suggested more than £500 million would be needed just for those directly employed by the public sector, rising to £750 million when indirect employees such as those in childcare, colleges or social care are factored in.
“Clearly, the Labour Government expect the shortfall of hundreds of millions to be absorbed by cuts to Scotland’s public services.
“Let me be clear, that is nothing less than Westminster austerity through the back door.
“Labour need to fully fund their decision to avoid irreparable damage to our public services in Scotland.
“With just over a week until the Scottish Government announces its budget for the coming financial year, we need urgent and formal clarity from the UK Government that they will do so.”
“It is for the Scottish Government to allocate this across its own public sector and meet the priorities of people in Scotland.
“It will also receive additional Barnett funding on top of this record £47.7 billion settlement as part of support provided in relation to changes to employer national insurance.”
Ms Reeves’s budget provided an extra £3.4 billion for next year, which the Scottish Government will likely have to use to cover the remainder of the increased costs to the public purse through the national insurance hike.
