Financial deal for Scotland ‘must be public’, says Labour

Scotland’s new funding and tax-raising settlement should be negotiated in public, Scottish Labour has said.

Negotiations between Finance Secretary John Swinney and the UK Treasury are ongoing to shape how Scotland will be funded after the devolution of new powers in the wake of the Scotland Bill. The meetings are taking place behind closed doors.

In a letter to both Swinney and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Greg Hands, Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray called for the minutes from the meetings to be published.

“Whilst I understand that the matters under discussion are sensitive, it is important to balance the needs for discretion with the principles of transparency and accountability,” he said.

In a debate in the Scottish Parliament last night Swinney said Parliament will have the ability consider the fiscal framework proposals that emerge from the discussions before it decides whether to accept the Scotland Bill

“The Scottish Government will not recommend that this Parliament give consent to the bill without an agreed fiscal framework that is fair to Scotland.

“I would have no hesitation in refusing to recommend a proposal that did not provide us with the ability to use our powers properly and flexibly to support the people of Scotland, to address our own priorities and to improve our economy,” he said.

Scottish Labour’s Democracy spokesperson Claire Baker agreed the fiscal framework should work to the benefit of the people of Scotland, but “instead we have a Government in Holyrood threatening to reject new powers for Scotland on the basis of a framework they aren’t yet prepared to put under public scrutiny." 

Scottish Labour called for VAT and the work programme to be fully devolved to Scotland, but the SNP accused the idea as “a gimmick”.

Scottish secretary David Mundell, in an interview for the next issue of Holyrood, said he hoped the negotiations would be concluded swiftly.

“What I want is in next May’s Holyrood elections the debate can then be about what can we do with the powers we’re going to have, and not just ‘the powers are not enough’,” he said.