17 September, Tuesday, 2024
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HomeSourcestelegraph.co.ukHunt's budget was generous to Scotland, but not good enough for the...

Hunt’s budget was generous to Scotland, but not good enough for the ungrateful Sturgeon

Chancellor doled out a fair amount of pre-Christmas largesse to the UK’s devolved legislatures in his Autumn Statement

In the midst of all the economic gloom and doom, it would appear that there ain’t no gratitude, either. In his rush to get back to the political centre-ground, which is becoming ever-more crowded with each day that passes, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said there was at least some good news.

Many Tory MPs may well have been concerned about his tax plans, but on a brighter note there was a fair amount of pre-Christmas largesse being doled out to the UK’s devolved legislatures.

Thanks to significant increases in health and education spending, as well as the inflation proofing of pensions and benefits, what’s called “consequentials” under the Barnett formula – i.e. a fixed proportion of Treasury cash being spent in England – will be due to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In Scotland’s case that amounts to £1.5 billion, with Wales getting £1.2 billion and Northern Ireland £650,000 and all of that was on top of £4.2 billion which is heading the way of Scottish shipyards for the building of five new frigates.

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