Post by wetkingcanute on Jan 12, 2009 13:45:43 GMT
A forecast that Scotland is on course to become the world's third most state-dependent country, behind only Cuba and Iraq, was dismissed by the Scottish Government yesterday as “completely misleading, factually inaccurate and based on patent nonsense”.
The prediction came in a report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research commissioned by a Sunday newspaper. It said that by 2012, public spending in Scotland would rise to the equivalent of 67 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
The report said that at present Scotland was ranked 20th in the world league table of the highest public spending governments but its position was set to rise dramatically over the next three years because of a combination of higher public spending and a shrinking private sector.
However, the Scottish Government dismissed the study saying that recent official statistics showed that share of state spending in Scotland in 2006-07 relative to GDP, including a geographical share of the North Sea, was 41.3 per cent compared to 41.5 per cent for the UK as a whole.
A spokesman said: “There is no direct link between the size of the public sector and economic growth and absolutely no basis for these fantasy figures. Scotland has higher employment, higher economic activity and lower unemployment than the rest of the UK, and outstanding areas of growth even during the current downturn, such as biotechnology and renewable energy. If the CEBR has nothing sensible to say about the Scottish economy, then a period of silence would be preferable."
The CEBR report claimed that in 2007-08, 56 per cent of economic activity in Scotland flowed from public spending compared with 43 per cent in the UK as a whole. One of the biggest drains on taxpayers' money was the public sector wage bill which stands at £12 billion, up 61 per cent since devolution, with almost one in four Scots now employed in the public sector.
Meanwhile, plans to increase spending on Government administration in Scotland have come in for criticism from Labour. Documents released at Holyrood alongside the 2009/10 Budget Bill show a rise in staff spending of more than £15 million. There are also proposed increases in travel, transport, stationery and hospitality of more than £10 million. It comes at a time when the SNP Government is looking for 2 per cent efficiency savings across the public sector. The central administration budget is rising 11 per cent in 2009-10 to £273 million. Within this, spending on “other office overheads”, which includes “travel, transport, stationery, hospitality” and IT projects, jumps 32 per cent to £42.4 million. Government staff costs rise 9 per cent to £193.8 million.
Andy Kerr, the Labour finance spokesman, said that Alex Salmond's administration had a poor track record when it came to tightening its own belt. Mr Kerr said: “The First Minister has failed to make the efficiency cuts imposed on everyone else and now as everyone is expected to tighten their belts his just gets bigger.”
However, a Scottish Government spokesman said recent public sector employment estimates clearly demonstrated that the government was delivering on its objective to deliver more resources for vital public services.
He added: “We are also substantially cutting the number of national public sector bodies - the first time any government in Scotland has ever acted to slash the number of quangos. Last autumn, we published a list of 199 bodies and set out proposals as part of our simplification programme to reduce this number by 25 per cent by 2011. As of December, this number had already reduced to 165.”
All paid for by England. Up the SNP!! (the sooner the better)
The prediction came in a report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research commissioned by a Sunday newspaper. It said that by 2012, public spending in Scotland would rise to the equivalent of 67 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
The report said that at present Scotland was ranked 20th in the world league table of the highest public spending governments but its position was set to rise dramatically over the next three years because of a combination of higher public spending and a shrinking private sector.
However, the Scottish Government dismissed the study saying that recent official statistics showed that share of state spending in Scotland in 2006-07 relative to GDP, including a geographical share of the North Sea, was 41.3 per cent compared to 41.5 per cent for the UK as a whole.
A spokesman said: “There is no direct link between the size of the public sector and economic growth and absolutely no basis for these fantasy figures. Scotland has higher employment, higher economic activity and lower unemployment than the rest of the UK, and outstanding areas of growth even during the current downturn, such as biotechnology and renewable energy. If the CEBR has nothing sensible to say about the Scottish economy, then a period of silence would be preferable."
The CEBR report claimed that in 2007-08, 56 per cent of economic activity in Scotland flowed from public spending compared with 43 per cent in the UK as a whole. One of the biggest drains on taxpayers' money was the public sector wage bill which stands at £12 billion, up 61 per cent since devolution, with almost one in four Scots now employed in the public sector.
Meanwhile, plans to increase spending on Government administration in Scotland have come in for criticism from Labour. Documents released at Holyrood alongside the 2009/10 Budget Bill show a rise in staff spending of more than £15 million. There are also proposed increases in travel, transport, stationery and hospitality of more than £10 million. It comes at a time when the SNP Government is looking for 2 per cent efficiency savings across the public sector. The central administration budget is rising 11 per cent in 2009-10 to £273 million. Within this, spending on “other office overheads”, which includes “travel, transport, stationery, hospitality” and IT projects, jumps 32 per cent to £42.4 million. Government staff costs rise 9 per cent to £193.8 million.
Andy Kerr, the Labour finance spokesman, said that Alex Salmond's administration had a poor track record when it came to tightening its own belt. Mr Kerr said: “The First Minister has failed to make the efficiency cuts imposed on everyone else and now as everyone is expected to tighten their belts his just gets bigger.”
However, a Scottish Government spokesman said recent public sector employment estimates clearly demonstrated that the government was delivering on its objective to deliver more resources for vital public services.
He added: “We are also substantially cutting the number of national public sector bodies - the first time any government in Scotland has ever acted to slash the number of quangos. Last autumn, we published a list of 199 bodies and set out proposals as part of our simplification programme to reduce this number by 25 per cent by 2011. As of December, this number had already reduced to 165.”
All paid for by England. Up the SNP!! (the sooner the better)
