UK Government cutbacks

26/03In these difficult economic times people across Scotland are inevitably making adjustments to their budgets and are trying to maximise their value for money. It is entirely right that they should in turn demand that the same search for efficiency is conducted by elected representatives in their use of tax-payer money.

Yet there is a clear difference between genuine efficiency savings that release money to be reinvested in public services and wholesale funding cuts that threaten Scotland’s prospects of economic recovery. The Scottish Government is committed to managing public resources more effectively to generate savings of 2% every year. By being more efficient, there is then more money available to be put back into frontline services.

However, this approach is in stark contrast to the planned budget cuts proposed by the Westminster Government, who are calling for the Scottish budget to be cut by £500 million in each of the next two years. This will take vital money away from schools, hospitals and other public services at a time when our economy is demanding that investment. Where the Scottish Government is responsibly seeking greater efficiency to increase the resources available to help our economy, Westminster is intent on taking that money away from Scotland completely.

The UK Government’s ill-judged plans are causing immense levels of concern across the political spectrum. Even the Labour party in Wales and former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, have recognised the damage that Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling’s plans would do to devolved administrations, yet the response of Labour in Scotland has been a deafening silence. At a time when countries around the world are increasing the money being spent on public services and infrastructure to combat the recession, the UK Government’s planned cuts are simply the wrong decision at the wrong time.

At a time when all sectors of Scottish society should be coming together to oppose the damage that the UK Government’s plans would do, people will not be quick to forgive any Scottish politician who fails to stand up for Scotland’s needs.

An enduring friendship

I was delighted to recently welcome a group of pupils from Peterhead Academy and Spjelkavik Videregaende School to the Scottish Parliament. Their visit formed part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the twinning link between Peterhead and Aalesund in Norway. This link has seen many pupils from both sides of the North Sea visit their counterparts over the years, and four decades on the bond remains just as strong.

Yet for all there is a strong link between Peterhead and Aalesund, there are some striking differences between the economic challenges that Scotland and Norway currently face. Norway has a similar size of population to Scotland, has shared in the discovery of North Sea oil and has many historic links with our country. Yet just over 100 years ago, Norway declared its independence and began to make its own decisions.

By being able to run their own affairs, Norway is enduring the economic downturn in a far stronger position than either Scotland or the UK. In no small part, this is thanks to their ability to use their oil wealth as an economic ‘shock absorber’.

While Scotland’s oil wealth has been squandered by successive Governments in London, Norway’s independence meant that theirs could be invested in a fund for future generations. Given that this fund was only established in 1995, there is still time for Scotland to follow suit. With the power to make our own decisions, Scotland can ensure it is far better protected against future economic downturns.