Nicola Sturgeon: UK Budget delay leaves Scotland in 'horrendous situation'

The First Minister said both her administration and the Welsh Government have been left in a “horrendous situation” after the UK Government postponed its Budget until after the General Election. Sturgeon said there would be knock-on effects for health boards and councils in Scotland, with public bodies unsure of how much cash they will receive for the coming financial year.

Sturgeon said Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has written to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Rishi Sunak, expressing “very strong concerns”, and stressing the need for an early decision after the election about the timing of the UK Budget.

Speaking as she was quizzed by Holyrood’s committee conveners, the First Minister said the Scottish Parliament “has to prepare itself for this continuing to be an uncertainty, with implications for our ability to set a budget well into the new year”.

Ms Sturgeon said: “It is a horrendous situation to be put into, and it’s not just the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government are in the same position.

“And what makes it even worse is if the Budget had been postponed and we had an alternative date, that would be one thing, but we have no idea when a new UK Government is likely to do a Budget.

“We don’t know how long it will take to form a government after the election, we don’t know then how long a new government will decide it needs before it puts a Budget forward. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking.”

The Scottish Government has in recent years published its Budget proposals in December. These are scrutinised by MSPs before being voted on in February ahead of the start of the new financial year in April.

Bruce Crawford, convener of the Parliament’s Finance and Constitution Committee, acknowledged it was a “very challenging situation”.

He said the committee had considered if the Scottish Budget should be set before the UK publishes its financial proposals.

While members had agreed to write to Mackay setting out that the Budget should still take place after the UK statement, MSPs recognise “some circumstances that might still emerge after the UK election will mean that will not be possible”.

Sturgeon spoke of her “intense frustration”. She said while some preparatory work is being done for the Scottish Budget, this is taking place “completely in the dark” because ministers lack key information from the UK Government.

The First Minister said: “We don’t know what the UK Government’s tax announcements are going to be, we don’t know what the Office for Budget Responsibility’s tax, social security and economic forecasts will be. Without that information, to be blunt, we don’t know how much money there is going to be in the Scottish budget next year, so we just have an inability to have a meaningful Budget process.

“We are getting on with doing the preparation but we are doing that completely in the dark at the moment.”