John Swinney to list plans up to 2015

Finance secretary John Swinney has agreed to publish spending plans for future years following pressure to go beyond his one-year budget.

By The Newsroom

Published 28th Feb 2019, 14:03 GMT

Opposition parties welcomed the decision weeks after a vote at the Scottish Parliament calling for further details.

In a statement to parliament, Mr Swinney said: "This government has listened to and accepts the clear message delivered by the parliament. More information is requested about public spending options in Scotland in future years. We will therefore publish illustrative figures for the years up to 2014-15."

Mr Swinney announced his draft 2011-12 spending plans last month, identifying 1.3 billion of cuts.

The UK government had earlier set out its comprehensive spending review, revealing that Scotland's block grant would be hit by cuts of about 3bn over the next four years.

Labour, Tories and Liberal Democrats said the SNP should be able to set out plans up to 2015, in line with the Westminster coalition.

The Scottish Government set up a commission, led by Campbell Christie, former Scottish TUC general secretary, to investigate long-term reform of public services.