Spending on measures to counter the COVID-19 pandemic has reached
just over £4 billion, Scottish Government figures reveal.
The total includes a comprehensive £2.3 billion package of
support for business, a £620 million boost for health services
and £358 million extra to maintain transport services.
Details are contained in an exceptional summer budget revision
laid before the Scottish Parliament today.
The spending has been largely funded by a consequential rise in
the block grant of more than £3.5 billion resulting from extra UK
Government COVID-19 spending, and £112 million of consequentials
received following the last UK Budget. A further £255 million has
been re-prioritised from within existing departmental budgets.
Finance Secretary said:
“These figures demonstrate the scale and breadth of our response
to this unprecedented situation, with support extending into most
aspects of Scottish life and every part of our country.
“I must stress that this is a snapshot of spending to date. The
situation is still developing and further action will be
required.
"We have very limited room for manoeuvre within our own budget,
which is why I will continue to make the case to the UK
Government for an increase in both funding and flexibility to
allow the Scottish Government to respond fully to this crisis.
"Significant budget challenges lie ahead and work is underway to
ensure that Scottish Government resources are targeted at
stimulating a safe, swift and sustainable recovery for our public
services and our economy.
“We have produced this additional budget revision to
provide complete transparency about how our COVID-19 response
funding is being spent and where it is coming from. It will be
many months before a full picture emerges and a further update on
the funding position will be provided in the autumn.”
Background
The budget revision allocates £4.01 billion of expenditure in
response to the Covid-19 emergency. This is offset by £255
million in re-prioritisation of existing expenditure and a
reduction of £972 million of Non Domestic Rates Income, leaving a
net increase of £2.78 billion in the Scottish Government’s
2020-21 budget, from £49.25 billion to £52.03 billion.
Extra spending is spread across eight Scottish Government
portfolios. These are Communities and Local Government (up a net
£1,64 billion), Health and Sport (up £620 million), Transport,
Infrastructure and Connectivity (up £230.3 million), Economy,
Fair Work and Culture (up £145.8 million), Education and Skills
(up £85.8 million), Social Security and Older People (up £38.2
million), Rural Economy and Tourism (up £15.5 million) and
Finance (up £5 million).
The Summer Budget Revision
document is available online.
