Dundee East Labour
12 November 2019
The latest report from the Fraser of Allander Institute has revealed that the Scottish economy is growing at a sluggish rate, below even that of the UK economy as published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics.
The report suggests that the Government’s handling of Scotland’s finances will lead to negative tax reconciliations this year and for many years to come.
The Scottish resource budget may grow by less than 1 per-cent in the years 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 according to the report and the Government’s cuts to local councils since 2010 are labelled “disproportionate”
In the words of the report this will imply “another two budgets of challenging departmental settlements” despite the rhetoric of an end to austerity.
The issues facing the Scottish economy will be exacerbated, the report says, by the implementation of the Scottish Government’s Fiscal Framework policy and Brexit uncertainty.
Reacting to the news Scottish Labour Finance Spokesperson Rhoda Grant said:
“ This report paints a sorry picture of the state of the Scottish economy.
"This morning we saw the impact of the Scottish Government’s damaging fiscal policy and if the SNP persist this report is clear that we have years of austerity and poor economic growth ahead.
“The disproportionate cuts made to local councils have been incredibly damaging to local communities.
"The SNP’s anti-austerity rhetoric has been nothing more than hollow promises for those most vulnerable in our society suffering at the hands of SNP cuts.
“Only through the election of a transformative Labour Government in Westminster in December and a radical Scottish Labour Government in Holyrood as soon as possible can we end austerity and re-boot our economy that has been so badly managed by both the Tories and the SNP.”
The latest report from the Fraser of Allander Institute has revealed that the Scottish economy is growing at a sluggish rate, below even that of the UK economy as published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics.
The report suggests that the Government’s handling of Scotland’s finances will lead to negative tax reconciliations this year and for many years to come.
The Scottish resource budget may grow by less than 1 per-cent in the years 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 according to the report and the Government’s cuts to local councils since 2010 are labelled “disproportionate”
In the words of the report this will imply “another two budgets of challenging departmental settlements” despite the rhetoric of an end to austerity.
The issues facing the Scottish economy will be exacerbated, the report says, by the implementation of the Scottish Government’s Fiscal Framework policy and Brexit uncertainty.
Reacting to the news Scottish Labour Finance Spokesperson Rhoda Grant said:
“ This report paints a sorry picture of the state of the Scottish economy.
"This morning we saw the impact of the Scottish Government’s damaging fiscal policy and if the SNP persist this report is clear that we have years of austerity and poor economic growth ahead.
“The disproportionate cuts made to local councils have been incredibly damaging to local communities.
"The SNP’s anti-austerity rhetoric has been nothing more than hollow promises for those most vulnerable in our society suffering at the hands of SNP cuts.
“Only through the election of a transformative Labour Government in Westminster in December and a radical Scottish Labour Government in Holyrood as soon as possible can we end austerity and re-boot our economy that has been so badly managed by both the Tories and the SNP.”