The UK Chancellor announced on Wednesday in the House of Commons that Scotland would receive £52 billion by 2028/29, marking what he called the largest settlements in real terms since devolution began. Northern Ireland and Wales were promised £20 billion and £23 billion respectively during the same period.
The UK Government had previously valued Scotland’s 2025/26 block grant at £50 billion, so the new pledge represents about a 4% increase over four years. Labour stated this means Scotland will get an average extra £2.9 billion during the spending review.
The announcement also included funding for projects such as £750 million for a supercomputer in Edinburgh and £250 million for the Faslane nuclear base. However, the Poverty Alliance warned that these investments hide cuts to everyday spending.
Scotland’s Finance Secretary, Shona Robison, responded sharply, saying the Scottish Government had been “short-changed.” She said the settlement only provides 0.8% real growth annually for Scotland’s overall block grant, which is less than the average for UK government departments.
Robison explained that if Scotland’s day-to-day funding had grown in line with overall UK spending, it would have had £1.1 billion more over the next three years. She added that the UK Government’s failure to fully fund employer National Insurance increases and proposed cuts to support for disabled people would hurt vulnerable groups, pushing 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into poverty.
Robison also criticized the lack of clear funding details for the Acorn carbon capture project in northeast Scotland. Labour only announced a total of £9.4 billion for UK carbon capture and storage over the spending review period without specifying amounts for Scotland.
She said it was disappointing that despite media briefings, clarity on Acorn’s funding was still missing. Robison noted that the Scottish Government had made many requests to the UK Government about spending priorities and ending funding that bypasses devolved powers but had limited engagement.
She added that local growth funding, which was meant to replace European Structural Funds, would again come directly from Whitehall, bypassing devolved governments.
The Scottish Government will review the details and provide a formal response on June 25 as part of its Medium Term Financial Strategy.
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