Scotland will benefit from increased capital spending and ‘shovel ready’ infrastructure projects that will boost economic growth and create new jobs, Chancellor George Osborne announced in the Government’s Spending Review.
Despite the difficult economic times, this Spending Review will see the Scottish Government’s ability to spend public money on capital projects and infrastructure that will increase by over £400 million – 12.9% in real terms – to £3.3 billion for 2015/16.
This includes increased capital borrowing powers – set at £296 million in 2015/16, up to an overall limit of £2.2 billion – which are provided by the Scotland Act 2012.
The Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore said: “Today we see the positive case for Scotland as part of the UK in pounds and pence which can be spent by the Scottish Government improving the lives of those in Scotland, boosting the economy and creating jobs.
“The Spending Round provides a huge spending boost for Scotland. It is £400 million in additional spending power which the Scottish Government can spend as it sees fit, which is a good example of devolution working in practice.
“The Scottish Government has asked for additional capital resource and the UK Government has delivered it. They must now use it to invest in Scotland and help the economy grow.
“This good news is coupled with the fact the Scottish resource budget will be about flat cash in 2015/16, significantly better than the reductions across the rest of the UK.
“Being part of the larger UK economy and pooling resources from a wide UK tax base allows Scotland to have a stable budget that can be allocated from Edinburgh. Being part of the UK also protects Scotland from the volatility of resources such as oil and its potential impacts on annual budgets.
“The Scottish Government should welcome today’s news as a fair and positive result for Scotland.”
