Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Deidre Brock Excerpts
Wednesday 16th November 2022

(1 year, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Alan Brown Portrait Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)
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8. What assessment his Department has made of the impact of the reduction in the Scottish block grant on devolved finances.

Deidre Brock Portrait Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)
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9. What assessment his Department has made of the impact of the reduction in the Scottish block grant on devolved finances.

Martin Docherty-Hughes Portrait Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP)
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11. What assessment his Department has made of the impact of the reduction in the Scottish block grant on devolved finances.

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Alister Jack Portrait Mr Jack
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I must set the record straight: borrowing is available for both capital and revenue, and there is an emergency figure, as was available during covid. The hon. Gentleman raises a point about inflation. Rising energy costs and rising food prices, as a result of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine, have affected continental Europe and the United Kingdom. This is a global issue. The Bank of England is taking steps, and the Chancellor’s statement will take further steps tomorrow, to stabilise the markets. What we are very clear about is that we have put in place support for people through the household support scheme, the energy price cap and the £37 billion that the Chancellor announced earlier this year. As we have always said, we will protect the most vulnerable in society.

Deidre Brock Portrait Deidre Brock
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Public sector pay increases are a sensible way for a Government to help their citizens with a cost of living crisis, but the UK Government are denying devolved Governments the ability to do that by cutting devolved budgets. Would a better use of public money not be to shut down the Scotland Office propaganda unit and transfer its budget to the Scottish Government to help fund pay rises for tens of thousands of people in Scotland?

Alister Jack Portrait Mr Jack
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The hon. Lady and I have this discussion on many occasions, because this is one of the points that she is keenest to make in the Select Committee on Scottish Affairs. She knows the answer, which is that the Scotland Office’s spending on its communications pales into insignificance in comparison with the Scottish Government’s.