Shona Robison says 'decision to be made' on independence papers as she sets out £500m in spending cuts

Shona Robison has said no decision has been taken about whether the Scottish Government’s series of papers on independence will continue, on the day she had to cut £500m from public services.

The papers, of which there are now 13, have so far cost the government £207,047 according to information released under freedom of information laws earlier this year.

The finance secretary delivered a statement to parliament on Tuesday, confirming significant spending cuts in order to balance the books.

That included, Robison said, £188m from “additional specific savings across all portfolios”.

But a breakdown of those savings, published in a letter to the parliament’s finance committee, found none had been made in the constitution, external affairs and culture brief.

Asked why that portfolio had been untouched by journalists, Robison said the Scottish Government was “contractually and legally committed” to deliver on many of its plans for international development, while it was also fulfilling a commitment made by government last year to increase the culture budget.

When the future of the Building a New Scotland series was raised, she said: “There’s a decision to be made about the future of the papers.”

The government started publishing those papers in June 2022, each setting out its plans for a particular portfolio area. Combined they are supposed to provide a full prospectus for Scottish independence.

The most recent paper was published in April this year – covering justice – but their publication was paused while John Swinney took over as first minister and then the general election took place.

Scottish Conservative constitution spokesperson Meghan Gallacher said the series should be “scrapped immediately”.

Gallacher added: “It is astonishing that the SNP’s finance secretary cannot confirm that the axe will finally come down on her party’s independence papers, on the same day she has delivered £500m worth of swingeing cuts to Scotland’s public services.

 “They are a total waste of taxpayers’ money, yet the SNP are still wedded to pushing their independence obsession at every possible turn. This sitting on the fence will anger people up and down Scotland who are sick of the SNP failing to focus on their real priorities.”

The costs set out in the freedom of information request does not account for civil service time spent on their creation, just the costs of production – including formatting and design, printing costs, and creating translated, BSL and audio versions.

The most expensive paper to produce so far was on an independent Scotland in the EU, at £22,692. The cheapest was on “renewing democracy”, costing £10,033.