SCOTTISH unions warned First Minister John Swinney today that “the Scottish government does not get a free pass” on cuts after he cautioned Labour against them.
Mr Swinney called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to raise the cap on public-sector borrowing at next week’s autumn Budget.
He also demanded compensation should employers’ National Insurance contributions rise.
“If employers’ National Insurance contributions go up in the United Kingdom then that will have to be paid for by public-sector bodies,” he said.
“And unless public expenditure goes up to an extent to compensate for that and more, we’re actually no better off as a consequence.”
Heeded or not, those calls will soon give way to work on the Scottish government’s own draft Budget due for publication on December 4.
Asked if his government would once again freeze thresholds for higher income tax bands to net more cash as wages rise, Mr Swinney refused to rule it out.
“I’m not going to rule anything in or out about the Budget,” he said.
“We’ve obviously got a process to go through which is hugely influenced by the outcome of the UK Budget process.”
Scotland’s leading trade union body the STUC warned it has grown “sick of the excuses” from the Scottish government.
It said its tax proposals, which could net the Scottish government more than £3 billion in extra revenue every year, have been sidelined in favour of cuts.
STUC general secretary Roz Foyer warned: “While much will depend on the decisions taken by the UK chancellor in her upcoming Budget, the Scottish government doesn’t get a free pass.
“Tax powers, however marginal, are devolved for a reason. It’s up to ministers in Holyrood, not Westminster, to make best use of them.
“The STUC and civic groups across Scotland have grown sick of the excuses from the Scottish government.
“The time to tax wealth and re-evaluate our property so that we may introduce far more progressive forms of local taxation has long since come.
“Freezing tax rates may raise revenue at the margin, but it is not a long-term strategy to tackle inequality and raise the investment needed to fix our public services.
“We implore the Scottish government to finally make good on their promises to deliver for Scotland and introduce a Budget that builds wealth, prosperity and optimism from the ground up with working people front and centre of any wellbeing economy.”
