Rishi Sunak ‘has a cheek’ to comment on Scottish Budget, says Shona Robison

The Prime Minister said it would be ‘disappointing’ to see tax rises in Scotland

The Prime Minister has got “a bit of a cheek” to comment on the Scottish Government’s tax and spending plans, the deputy first minister has said.

Shona Robison, who is also Scotland’s finance secretary, accused Rishi Sunak of “deprioritising” public services south of the border and cutting spending.

It comes after Mr Sunak said it would be “disappointing” to see tax rises in Scotland as part of the Scottish Budget.

Ms Robison is widely expected to introduce a new income tax band for higher earners as part of her Scottish Budget on Tuesday afternoon.

During a visit to the Larder Café in Broxburn, she said Scottish ministers faced “tough choices” amid a grim financial backdrop.

But she said they would have had £1 billion less to spend on public services if they had followed the tax positions of the UK Government in previous years.

Ms Robison said: “What I would say to Rishi Sunak is he’s got a bit of a cheek pitching up in Scotland to say anything, given his autumn statement is deprioritising public spending, which will be there for all to see – so not just in Scotland, but in Wales, in England. To have a real-terms cut to the NHS in England is an astonishing position at a time when the services are still recovering from Covid.

"If we followed Tory spending plans, the NHS in Scotland next year would have got an extra £10.8 million, which would give about five hours of capacity in the NHS. Clearly, that’s not something we can follow, and wouldn’t want to follow. But in order to meet pay alone we will have to find about a quarter of a billion pounds of resources.”

She accused the Tories of pre-election positioning “entirely at the expense of public services”, adding: “These are not our values, or our priorities.”

Asked if the public should expect unpalatable spending decisions, Ms Robison said: “It’s a tough Budget but what we’ve done, in those tough choices that we have, is to prioritise the investment in public services and that is something the UK Government has not done. Our values are first and foremost about making sure that we sustain our public services.”

Ms Robison is dealing with a potential £1.5 billion black hole in the country’s finances.

Speaking to journalists at RAF Lossiemouth in Moray earlier, the Prime Minister said: “The first thing I’d say is the UK Government has provided a record amount of funding to the Scottish Government through the Barnett formula, so they’re ultimately responsible for the finances here in Scotland.

“But I can tell you what we’re doing in the UK is controlling spending and cutting people’s taxes and that’s going to kick in for everyone in Scotland and across the UK, a reduction in the rate of national insurance from 12 per cent to 10 per cent from January. That will save a typical person in work around £450 – it’s a significant tax cut.

“So that’s what the UK Government is doing to help Scottish families with the cost of living, which we know is a priority for them.

“But ultimately, it’s the Scottish Government that are responsible for their own finances – it’s already the highest taxed part of the UK and obviously it would be very disappointing to see that tax burden continue to rise in Scotland.”