The Scottish Government’s spending on overseas projects has long been seen as controversial.
Yesterday we reported that a cross-party group of MSPs has launched an investigation into its international aid policy.
Today one of our readers wonders why so much cash goes abroad when there are economic difficulties at home.
Jill Stephenson of Edinburgh writes:
It will come as a surprise to no-one that concerns have been raised about a lack of transparency in the Scottish Government’s approach to international aid. There used to be annual reports on this, but there has been none since 2019. No wonder the Auditor General has complained about a general transparency failure on the part of the Holyrood regime.
Perhaps the Holyrood Cross-Party Group on International Development will be able to shed light on the seemingly arbitrary award in October 2023 of £750,000 to Gaza at a time when Scottish citizens in Brechin were in dire straits as a result of flooding in their area.
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With Holyrood facing a big black hole of £1.5 billion in its finances, and severe cuts to various areas of Scottish life, including higher education and housing, Scots may wonder why so much of our money has been given away in recent years to countries such as Pakistan - with its nuclear weapons - and Turkey, with its authoritarian regime."
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