As Finance Spokesperson for the SNP group on Stirling Council, I was delighted that the SNP partnership Administration’s budget was unanimously voted through at the Council Budget meeting last week.
PAY RISE FOR PUBLIC SECTOR WORKERS AND LOWER TAXES FOR 70% OF SCOTS
The Scottish Government’s budget protects low and middle income earners and delivers for public services and public sector workers, SNP MSP for Stirling, Bruce Crawford has said as Stage 3 of the Budget (Scotland) (No.2) Bill is laid before the Scottish Parliament.
Stirling MSP Bruce Crawford has welcomed the Scottish Government’s Draft Budget 2018/19 announced by Derek MacKay last week.
By Stirling Constituency MSP, Bruce Crawford
Last week, the Tory Chancellor detailed a Budget with an economic forecast for the UK that, to say the least was gloomy in its outlook. UK growth is set to slow down considerably – meaning that, in terms of growth, the UK is lagging behind much of Europe and the rest of the economically developed world.
One major issue that emerged from the Budget that must be must be addressed, head on, is the phantom £2 billion of additional funding to be given to Scotland. After 10 years of cuts to Scotland’s budget totalling £2.9 billion, I would have welcomed any real increase in funding for our public services. That said, the Tory con of such a large amount of cash may have scored a couple of headlines, but the reality is quite stark and different on the ground.
For a start, by far the majority of money allocated by the Chancellor is specifically for financial transactions that must be paid back to the Treasury. This means that this money cannot be used for the day-to-day running of Scotland’s vital public services (e.g. Health, education, fire and rescue).
So far from being a funding increase, the money allocated from Westminster to Scotland is actually to be reduced by £213 billion, in real terms, and this will create additional real strain for Scotland’s public services. We should of course always remember this is our own money being returned to us with a cut.
Stirling’s MSP Bruce Crawford has made a final call for the UK Chancellor to lift Scotland’s Police and Fire services out of paying VAT in his Autumn Budget this week.
SNP group leader Scott Farmer has launched a scathing attack on the Tory Labour pact in charge of Stirling Council over their inability to provide coherent and consistent figures in their budget plans for Corporate Services. He stated the plan was “the work of smoke and mirrors with an uncomfortable […]
The Scottish National Party has warned only a strong team of SNP MPs in Westminster will mean a strong voice for Scotland as Labour confirms they would keep Tory cuts. Asked by the Today programme what he would reverse from Osborne’s Budget, Labour Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls replied that there […]
