SNP Government in £1bn underspend after accusing Westminster of austerity
The figure was contained in the Government’s annual accounts for 2024/25.
John Swinney’s SNP Government has recorded a £1bn underspend despite accusing Westminster of continuing austerity.
The figure was contained in the Government’s annual accounts for 2024/25.
Swinney’s administration spent £56.3bn last year - £1bn less than the total budget.
It comes after the SNP Government claimed the UK Government had not provided sufficient funding.
Swinney said this year: “Last summer, the Labour Government was elected on a commitment to end austerity, to deliver change. And what have the Labour Government done?
“The Labour government have delivered a continuation of austerity."
Labour MSP Michael Marra said: "This damning report lays bare the scale of SNP financial mismanagement and the chaos looming on their watch.
“The UK Labour government decisively ended austerity and provided a record funding settlement for Scotland, but Scots aren’t feeling the benefit of this money.
“The SNP has left £1 billion unspent while frontline services struggle, and another £1 billion disappeared straight into its budget blackhole.
“The truth is the SNP cannot be trusted with your money and we cannot afford a third decade of this financial mismanagement."
SNP Finance Secretary Shona Robison said: “These unqualified accounts show that the Scottish Government has once again demonstrated the firm grip we have on the public finances - despite the continued impact of inflation, pressure on public sector pay and wider geopolitical instability.
“In order to balance the budget whilst prioritising funding to protect public services and support the most vulnerable, consequential funding was carefully applied, emergency spend controls were introduced and savings measures were implemented.
“The Scottish Government cannot overspend on its Budget and - as we do every year - we left a small underspend in 2024/25.
“There is no loss of spending power to the Scottish Government and our effective and prudent financial management means every penny has been reallocated for the current financial year so it is spent where it is needed most.”
Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “Although the Scottish Government reported a £1 billion underspend this year, it did so from a combination of additional funding from the UK Government and one-off savings.
"A forecast gap of nearly £5 billion remains between what ministers want to spend on public services and the funding available to them.
“The Scottish Government needs to prepare more detailed plans setting out how it will close that gap by the end of the decade.”
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