13 September 2002
Swinney, who made his claim ahead of Finance Minister Andy Kerr's announcement on September 12 on how the Executive planned to distribute the cash, disputed the figure of £4.1bn over three years.
The SNP leader said there would be only an extra £100m to spend over the next year and not the £1.5bn the Executive claimed.
Swinney said the figure had been swollen by a combination of the inclusion of existing money and a change in accounting practice, and that a switch to Resource Accounting and Budgeting resulted in a change in the budget figure by £700m.
'They have engaged in an outrageous attempt at Enron-style accounting,' he said of the Executive. 'First they changed the way the figures are calculated to increase the total without adding a single penny to spending and then they added in money that has already been announced.
'This is not the first time that Labour have been caught fiddling the books. They have been caught double accounting, triple accounting and now Enron accounting.'
Kerr vehemently denied the claims ahead of his announcement, which concentrated on boosting Scotland's infrastructure and improving the skills and health of the young.
He said Swinney had made a gaffe by misreading the figures: 'He has got it completely wrong and I look forward to him eating a very big portion of humble pie.'
PFsep2002
