SNP ‘relying on short-term fixes to prevent Scotland from running out of money’

The SNP has been accused of “reckless” overspending after an official audit found it was relying on “short-term” fixes to prevent the Scottish Government from running out of money.

Stephen Boyle, the auditor general, said the Government’s accounts for 2024-25 showed that ministers had a record £1bn left unspent. But this was only after the Treasury handed the SNP an extra £2.2bn during that year and Scottish ministers implemented a series of “one-off savings”.

Mr Boyle said the SNP had failed to produce any detailed plans to address a looming financial black hole of nearly £5bn, which he said had been created by “policy choices and higher workforce costs”.

He also warned that the SNP “cannot clearly demonstrate” that its record public spending in Scotland was “delivering the intended outcomes”.

Holyrood’s opposition parties seized on the verdict, claiming it showed “the SNP cannot be trusted” with money and its spending was “completely unsustainable”.

The audit was published after official forecasts, published in August, warned that the SNP Government’s spending was on course to exceed funding by £4.7bn by the end of the decade.

Spending on social security had increased by 55 per cent above inflation since 2020-21, thanks partly to the SNP’s more generous benefits system.

The Scottish Government’s civil service has grown by almost 60 per cent since 2018-19, while all public sector pay deals agreed so far for this year and next have exceeded the official wage policy.

The shortfall is on course to balloon despite the UK Labour Government handing Scotland billions of extra pounds in public spending and the SNP hiking income tax north of the border. About 1.5 million Scots earning more than £30,318 pay more income tax than if they lived elsewhere in the UK.

Unveiling his audit, Mr Boyle said: “Although the Scottish Government reported a £1bn underspend this year, it did so from a combination of additional funding from the UK Government and one-off savings.

SNP ‘uncertain’ to balance books this year

“A forecast gap of nearly £5bn remains between what ministers want to spend on public services and the funding available to them. The Scottish Government needs to prepare more detailed plans setting out how it will close that gap by the end of the decade.”

His report also said that it was “not yet certain” that SNP ministers would balance the books in the current 2025-26 financial year, saying: “Many of the actions being taken are short term and do not support the fiscal sustainability of the Scottish public sector.”

It called for “more detailed delivery plans”, which, it said “must result in changes to the design and delivery of public services, including an affordable public service workforce”.

The report highlighted how a temporary staff member had been hired through an agency at a cost of more than £85,000 for only four months’ work. The contract was later extended to 10 months at a cost of £220,689.

SNP ministers advised that it was a “technical” role relating to the closure of the European Structural and Investment Funds, but Mr Boyle said “I do not agree that this level of public spending is appropriate without a more robust approval and monitoring process being in place”

Craig Hoy, the Scottish Tories’ shadow finance secretary, said: “This is yet another damning verdict from Audit Scotland on the SNP’s lack of a plan to address the ballooning spending gap on their watch.

“This report needs to be a wake-up call for the SNP to finally ditch their reckless policies, which are damaging Scotland’s economic growth and undermining our public services.”

Michael Marra, Scottish Labour’s finance spokesman, said: “This damning report lays bare the scale of SNP financial mismanagement and the chaos looming on their watch.

“The UK Labour Government decisively ended austerity and provided a record funding settlement for Scotland, but Scots aren’t feeling the benefit of this money.”

But Shona Robison, the Scottish finance secretary, said: “These unqualified accounts show that the Scottish Government has once again demonstrated the firm grip we have on the public finances – despite the continued impact of inflation, pressure on public sector pay and wider geopolitical instability.

“In order to balance the budget, whilst prioritising funding to protect public services and support the most vulnerable, consequential funding was carefully applied, emergency spend controls were introduced and savings measures were implemented.”

[Source: Daily Telegraph]