Scottish Greens make climate spending priority
The Scottish Greens have put spending on the climate crisis at the heart of the Scottish Government’s spending review.
Working cooperatively in government, and in the face of a major squeeze on the Scottish budget by Westminster, the Greens have secured an uplift of almost a billion pounds in the climate budget, while ensuring that measures to tackle child poverty, including increasing the Scottish Child Payment to £25 per week, are protected as part of the resource spending review.
Commenting, Scottish Greens finance spokesperson Ross Greer MSP said:
“A totally misguided UK Government squeeze on Scotland’s budget, combined with the financial straitjacket placed around the Scottish Government, have forced some tough decisions on how budgets will be shaped over the coming years.
“Scotland lacks the tax and borrowing powers of a normal nation and the devolution settlement puts arbitrary limits on things like the size of the Scottish Government’s reserve and the amount which can be drawn from it each year. If this exercise has proven anything, it is how much Scotland is held back by Westminster.
“Despite these challenges the Scottish Greens have ensured that spending on climate action and tackling child poverty are top priorities at this difficult time.
“The only way Scotland can avoid having to fight this uphill battle against cruel and economically incompetent Tory governments time after time is by taking our future into our own hands as an independent European nation.”