Robison told contingency plan needed as spending cuts loom

Reports suggest she is set to announce up to £600 million worth of cuts, with Ms Robison blaming the expected tough decisions on Westminster.

However, experts from the Fraser of Allander Institute and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) told the Herald the Scottish Government should have foreseen it, particularly after public sector pay deals were finalised.

Scottish Labour’s finance spokesman Michael Marra has urged the Scottish Government to “come clean” over exactly where the cuts will fall, with Ms Robison, ahead of her Holyrood statement, stating ministers will “do everything we can” to protect people and public services.

It seems to be the case that there was no contingency plans in place

 

It is unknown precisely where the cuts will fall, however a number of measures have already been announced, with the Government redirecting money from a nature fund and a free iPad scheme to go towards local authority pay awards.

Speaking to the Herald, David Phillips, associate director of think tank IFS, said the Scottish Government had used “short term fixes to push problems down the road” in recent years.

He said: “(Ministers) should have anticipated some of those problems, particularly in pay, and some of it is problems they created for themselves by pushing back spending.”

Emma Congreve, deputy director of the Fraser of Allander Institute, criticised the lack of a contingency plan after similar spending revisions were made in previous years.

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“This is the third year in a row that we will have been in this position, where there have been these in year cuts which are almost announced like they are a total surprise,” she told The Herald.

She added: “It seems to be the case that there was no contingency plans in place. Given that this is the third year in a row it has happened, we think they should have been better prepared.

“That’s not to say it wasn’t really difficult and there wasn’t uncertainty, but when you have that uncertainty, you need to have a plan.”

Ahead of her statement, Ms Robison said: “I am proud to serve in a government which is investing hundreds of millions of pounds to lift children in Scotland out of poverty, and is ensuring our police, our nurses and our teachers are the best-paid in the UK.

“We have taken many tough choices – including asking those on higher incomes to pay a bit more income tax – in order that we can invest more in public services like our NHS.

“But the fact is, the Scottish Government operates with a largely fixed budget determined by Westminster and, under the Labour Government, it is clear that we are entering a whole new era of austerity.

Michael Marra. (Image: Image: Scottish Parliament)

“The cuts that they are proposing to make will have a profound effect on our ability to deliver for the people of Scotland – but (the) SNP Government will do everything we can to protect people and public services from the cuts that Westminster is making to our budget.”

But Labour’s Mr Marra said: “With brutal cuts to services and potential job losses looming, the usual SNP secrecy and spin will not cut it.

“It’s time for the SNP to come clean about the financial chaos it has created and tell us the truth about what lies ahead.

“The SNP has said essential jobs would be protected from cuts, but it has failed to say in any way what an essential job actually is.

“This incompetence and failure to plan is causing uncertainty for public sector workers and chaos for service leaders, who now need urgent clarity.”

A UK Government spokeswoman said: “We’ve been clear that tough decisions must be taken to restore economic stability and address the £22 billion hole in the public finances left by the last government. This is a challenge facing the whole of the UK, including Scotland.

“The Chancellor reiterated this in a constructive meeting with the First Minister and Finance Minister in Glasgow last week, and we are committed to working with the Scottish Government on our shared priorities to fix the foundations of our economy, so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of the United Kingdom better off.”

Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Liz Smith said: “It is the SNP’s financial mismanagement over their 17 years in power that has pushed public services beyond breaking point, yet the SNP leader acts like his party have done nothing wrong.

“They are solely responsible for record backlogs in our NHS, falling standards in our schools and councils having to cut day-to-day services year after year.”