Public Finances: Scotland

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 5:48 pm on 3 February 2016.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of David Mundell David Mundell The Secretary of State for Scotland 5:48, 3 February 2016

The position set out in the Daily Record reflects the reality. If the population of the rest of the UK were to rise at a faster rate than Scotland’s, that would cause an increase in demand on public services such as schools and hospitals in the rest of the UK, which would need to be funded. How could it be fair that those services be denied the funding required to sustain them because part of the income tax growth was being transferred to the Scottish Parliament? What would people in Carlisle, Newcastle or Liverpool say if their local services were not able to keep up with demand because the Scottish budget was being increased?