By David Scott
18 March 2010
Public spending in Scotland is set to fall by an ‘unprecedented’ £1bn in each of the next three years, an independent panel has said.
The panel’s consultation document warned that ‘early and focused action’ would be needed to address spending reductions that will ‘characterise the public finances in, at least, the short to medium term’.
The three-member panel of ‘wise men’ was appointed by the Scottish Government to produce options on public expenditure before the next UK Comprehensive Spending Review, expected this autumn.
The document stated: ‘It is already plain that, under any reasonable assumption, the Scottish Government’s Departmental Expenditure Limit budget is likely to fall by £1bn (3.6%) per year in real terms during the next three years to 2013/14.’
The panel emphasised that future spending reductions would ‘affect the way public services are delivered and have significant implications for all citizens and throughout all sectors of Scottish society’.
Chaired by Crawford Beveridge, a former chief executive of the development agency Scottish Enterprise, the panel includes Sir Neil McIntosh, a former local authority chief executive, and Robert Wilson, a partner in Deloitte Consulting.
The scale of spending cuts contained in the document could add weight to arguments that the Scottish budget is being severely cut as a result of the UK government block grant.
However, Professor Arthur Midwinter, a leading commentator on public finance and an adviser to Labour in the Scottish Parliament, told Public Finance that he would be ‘astonished’ if the Scottish budget was cut by 3.6%. There was no evidence underpinning the figure as the forecasts were based on Pre-Budget Report spending projections, not allocations, he stressed.
Midwinter added: ‘The UK fiscal position is much stronger than its critics recognise and the fiscal deficit can be reduced on time without the need for swingeing cuts on the scale suggested.’
A Scottish Government spokesman pointed out that the budget review had been broadly welcomed as part of the 2010/11 budget Bill agreed in February.
18 March 2010
Public spending in Scotland is set to fall by an ‘unprecedented’ £1bn in each of the next three years, an independent panel has said.
The panel’s consultation document warned that ‘early and focused action’ would be needed to address spending reductions that will ‘characterise the public finances in, at least, the short to medium term’.
The three-member panel of ‘wise men’ was appointed by the Scottish Government to produce options on public expenditure before the next UK Comprehensive Spending Review, expected this autumn.
The document stated: ‘It is already plain that, under any reasonable assumption, the Scottish Government’s Departmental Expenditure Limit budget is likely to fall by £1bn (3.6%) per year in real terms during the next three years to 2013/14.’
The panel emphasised that future spending reductions would ‘affect the way public services are delivered and have significant implications for all citizens and throughout all sectors of Scottish society’.
Chaired by Crawford Beveridge, a former chief executive of the development agency Scottish Enterprise, the panel includes Sir Neil McIntosh, a former local authority chief executive, and Robert Wilson, a partner in Deloitte Consulting.
The scale of spending cuts contained in the document could add weight to arguments that the Scottish budget is being severely cut as a result of the UK government block grant.
However, Professor Arthur Midwinter, a leading commentator on public finance and an adviser to Labour in the Scottish Parliament, told Public Finance that he would be ‘astonished’ if the Scottish budget was cut by 3.6%. There was no evidence underpinning the figure as the forecasts were based on Pre-Budget Report spending projections, not allocations, he stressed.
Midwinter added: ‘The UK fiscal position is much stronger than its critics recognise and the fiscal deficit can be reduced on time without the need for swingeing cuts on the scale suggested.’
A Scottish Government spokesman pointed out that the budget review had been broadly welcomed as part of the 2010/11 budget Bill agreed in February.
