Sturgeon warns of cuts ahead of Scottish swine flu vaccination drive

Published on Monday 20 July 2009 14:12

HEALTH Secretary Nicola Sturgeon today warned cuts could have to be made if the UK Government does not help Scotland pay for a swine flu vaccine.

Ms Sturgeon stressed money would be made available to fund a vaccination programme in Scotland.

She said: "The bottom line here is the Scottish population will be vaccinated against swine flu."

However the Scottish Government is pressing the Treasury for contingency funds to be made available to pay for the vaccination programme.

Last week Finance Secretary John Swinney wrote to the Treasury warning there were "significant" implications for health spending and other programmes if the Holyrood administration has to foot the bill.

"If ever there was a public spending need that justified access to central reserve funds, it is the flu pandemic," Mr Swinney argued.

And today Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish Government would continue to make the case for cash to be made available for a vaccination programme.

But she said that if UK ministers rejected those calls, the vaccine would be paid for out of the Scottish budget.

Ms Sturgeon said: "The bottom line is we will fund both the vaccine and the delivery of that vaccine. If we don't win the argument on contingency funding we will fund that out of the Scottish budget.

"We're simply making the case that we think a pandemic flu outbreak is something that should trigger the use of contingency funding. But make no mistake, the vaccine programme will be funded."

But she warned that cuts could have to be made if the vaccination programme had to be funded from the Scottish budget.

Ms Sturgeon said: "Every spending decision we take in a fixed budget like the budget the Scottish Government has means that we can't spend money elsewhere, so we will take those decisions should that be necessary."

She added: "We've budgeted 100 million for measures required to deal with a pandemic flu outbreak, so we budgeted for the stockpiling of antivirals, facemasks, but no country across the UK budgeted for a vaccine because you didn't know when you would need that vaccine and unlike antivirals you can't stockpile a vaccine in advance because you don't know what strain of vaccine you'll need until you know what strain of flu you're dealing with.

"But the bottom line here is the Scottish population will be vaccinated against swine flu, I've made that absolutely clear, and we will continue working very hard with our colleagues across the UK to make sure we're doing everything necessary to prepare the Scottish population for whatever might lie ahead."

A Treasury spokesman said last week: "The administration and delivery of the response to swine flu is devolved, and so are the budgets to meet the costs."

Labour health spokeswoman Cathy Jamieson said: "The Scottish Government should be planning now for a vaccination programme and how it will meet the cost of this from the existing budget.

"We are in the midst of a pandemic with the possibility of further outbreaks in the autumn and so this is too important an issue to play politics with."

Ms Jamieson said it was "only right that people in Scotland get the same access to the vaccine as those in England".

And she added: "The Government must get on with dealing with the current outbreak of the virus, by ensuring people have adequate information about what to do if they think they have swine flu, and that resources are in place for testing and the distribution of antivirals where they are needed."

Tory health spokeswoman Mary Scanlon accused the SNP of playing constitutional politics over the pandemic.

The Conservative said: "In England the cost of the vaccine is being met from within their health budget. A responsible, grown up Scottish Government would accept its devolved responsibility and do the same."

She added: "If only Alex Salmond hadn't pursued the populist but costly road towards free prescriptions, a move which will cost at least 40 million per year, then more money would be in the health budget to meet real health priorities.

"Indeed, some estimates put the eventual cost as high as 100 million every year. More than enough to pay for the vaccine and much, much more.

"But sadly, the SNP has put its own political ends ahead of the health of the nation: Free prescriptions for the wealthy, instead of vaccines for all."