Robison urges Reeves to stop bypassing Holyrood – Daily Business

Scottish Fiinance Secretary Shona Robison has urged the Chancellor to stop overlooking Holyrood when reaching spending decisions.

Ms Robison said the Westminster had to bring an end to bypassing the devolved governments and work more closely together.

This should involve more flexibility to encourage investment, she said in a message to Rachel Reeves who delivers her spending review this week.

In particular she wants the Chancellor to:

• relax fiscal rules to enable investment in public services and stimulate economic growth
• fully fund the employer National Insurance increase for Scotland’s public services
• end the use of spending powers that bypass devolved governments
• abandon UK welfare cuts or, if UK Ministers do persist with these cuts, shield the Scottish Government’s budget from the impact for at least two years
• award funding for the Acorn carbon capture project
• ensure Scotland receives a share of GB Energy funding that matches its leading contribution to UK clean energy goals

Ms Robison said: “The UK Spending Review is an opportunity for the UK Government to abandon some of its damaging policies such as cuts to welfare support for disabled people, to scrap the two child benefit cap and to reinstate a universal winter fuel payment.

“We are also aware of the huge impact of the increase in employer’s National Insurance, not least on public services. I hope UK Ministers will use the spending review to fully fund the costs of this tax hike on jobs to vital public services like the NHS.

“The UK Government should also use the spending review to empower the devolved administrations with more flexible fiscal rules that can enable investment in public services. And we need an end to spending that bypasses devolution so we can direct funds to best meet local needs.

“We called on UK Ministers to involve us at an early stage of this process, but since they’ve refused to provide us with any clarity on their spending priorities it’s clear that its business as usual for Westminster.

“We continue to call on the Treasury to use the Spending Review to change course, providing the funding we need to deliver for the people of Scotland.”