Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out its working definition of austerity.
Austerity measures are those which take forward a definite policy of reducing public spending on programmes and activity irrespective of the impact on the outcomes of those programmes and activity.
For example, the Labour UK Government’s severe restriction on the Winter Fuel Payment, and its consequent impact of reducing the budget for these programmes in Scotland by up to £160m, is a clear implementation of Westminster austerity.
This has followed Scotland long being subject to the austerity policies of the Conservative UK Government. In the face of this, the Scottish Government has stepped in to support people and services where it has been needed most – on social security, health, public sector pay, and public services – and has used all levers at its disposal to do so and mitigate the impact of Westminster austerity in Scotland. This includes an around £1.5 billion in 2024-25 from Scotland’s progressive Income Tax policy.
The new Labour UK Government’s commitment to the same debt rule as the previous government was always going to entail a similar fiscal constraint, and the UK Government is now pursuing policies that appear to be a continuation of Conservative austerity. Further spending cuts and austerity by the new UK Government will impact on the funding available for the budget here in Scotland.