Scotland Appeals For More UK Funding Over Virus Impact

Scotland's government on Tuesday warned of "deep cuts" to public services unless it gets extra borrowing powers to help it deal with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak

Edinburgh, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Jun, 2020 ) :Scotland's government on Tuesday warned of "deep cuts" to public services unless it gets extra borrowing powers to help it deal with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

The devolved administration in Edinburgh is allowed to undertake capital borrowing of up to 3 billion ($3.8 billion, 3.3 billion Euros), and resource borrowing of 1.75 billion.

But finance secretary Kate Forbes said that was not enough, given the pressures caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, which has stretched existing budgets.

"With a global pandemic raging, fast decisions on public spending are required and it is critical that we have borrowing powers and greater financial flexibility to respond effectively," she wrote in The Scotsman newspaper.

"Otherwise, the only way the Scottish Government will be able to fund our ongoing response would be to make deep cuts to other public services." Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have devolved administrations, with control over a range of local services, including education and health.

The finance ministry in London has so far provided some 4 billion for Scotland during the pandemic -- a tenth of the Scottish government's annual budget.

Forbes, though, said the funding was not enough and it would have to make up the shortfall from its own pocket, meaning less money available for frontline services.

"While we have been able to re-prioritise some existing budgets, it is becoming increasingly difficult without impacting on vital public services," she added.

"The devolved arrangements were not designed for a health emergency and an economic crisis of this scale." Britain's finance ministry has rejected calls for further funding and pointed to its "unprecedented" package of support for individuals and businesses hit by the pandemic.

Scotland relies heavily on tourism for revenue but the nationwide lockdown has hit revenues and led to hundreds of job cuts.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said stay-at-home measures were likely to be eased further from June 18, allowing more businesses to resume operations.