Tories call for a war on Government waste

Published on Saturday 17 January 2009 21:41

THE SNP is to be urged to declare a war on Government waste that would save the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds when the horse-trading over its Budget intensifies next week.

A plan for two new public spending watchdogs designed to hold the Government and the Scottish Parliament to account has been drawn up by the Conservatives.

The proposal has been put forward to tackle the chronic wastage of cash that the Tories claim has blighted the devolved administrations since they were set up 10 years ago.

The plan will play an important part in the crucial negotiations between the SNP and the Conservatives as ministers attempt to win enough support to get their Budget through Parliament later this month.

According to the Tories, an independent Budget Review Group should have access to internal Government documents and officials in order to scrutinise Government expenditure and promote efficiency.

A second watchdog, called the Scottish Parliament Budget Office (SPBO), would be created to provide support for MSPs of all parties, who are investigating financial issues.

The idea for the SPBO follows complaints that the resources available to MSPs on financial issues are minimal compared with those on offer to the Government.

The Conservatives claim that the new organisations would cost 1m each to set up, but argue that the outlay would soon be dwarfed by the savings.

Derek Brownlee, the Tory finance spokesman, said: "This would help us identify what programmes aren't working and where spending money is just not delivering. Spending has gone up without delivering anything extra. There is no accountability when people get spending decisions wrong."

The Conservatives argue that the rapid growth of the Scottish Budget from 14.9bn in 1999-2000 to 34.8bn in 2009-10 has "cushioned" the Government from having to make tough spending decisions.

Brownlee said that taking action was particularly important given the difficult economic times facing the country.

"The Budget will be going down in the future because we are bringing money forward from next year. There is a new reality when it comes to public spending and this will help prepare Scotland for the new economic environment. It is about identifying where savings can be made. We've got to get down to the real detail of what's in the Budget and what the priorities are. This would be a significant step in making the Parliament more accountable and raising its reputation."