Higher-than-expected public sector pay deals, social security reform and the SNP’s freeze on council tax have all contributed to putting pressure on the Scottish government’s budget, according to a new report from Scotland’s fiscal watchdog.
In a statement accompanying its latest fiscal report, the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) seems keen to remind Scots that the Scottish government bears most of the responsibility for the budget challenges it now faces. ‘While UK government policies contribute to the pressures on the Scottish budget, much of the pressure comes from the Scottish government’s own decisions,’ says the SFC.
The SFC did not set out to put a spanner in the works of the SNP’s grievance machine but has found itself doing so by default
Though that statement is a simple expression of fact, from a Scottish perspective it reads as unusually bold. This is because the SNP has, with some degree of success, carefully crafted a narrative of powerlessness when it comes to budget difficulties.
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