By Bill Heaney
Scottish Labour will end the culture of financial secrecy and open the books to public scrutiny, the party has pledged today.
Ahead of Scottish Labour’s annual conference, Scottish Labour finance spokesperson Michael Marra has unveiled the party’s proposed Charter on Fiscal Transparency with key principles that would underpin any future Scottish Labour government’s approach to public finances.
Scottish Labour has promised that any future Scottish Labour government would publish whole-of-government accounts for public scrutiny – something Audit Scotland has long called for in order to improve transparency.
Taking aim at the SNP culture of secrecy and waste, Mr Marra said that Scottish Labour would undertake genuine, strategic reform and would work with a UK Labour government to prioritise value for taxpayers’ money.
As part of the drive to end the culture of secrecy, Scottish Labour has promised to fulfil all commitments to the Scottish Fiscal Commission – in contrast to SNP failings – and will publish accurate and accessible budgetary information.
Included in the charter is Scottish Labour’s longstanding policy to deliver fair funding for local government with an independent Barnett-style formula to stop Councils being short-changed by the SNP.
The announcement comes amid a chaotic Scottish Government budget, which was corrected following mistakes and criticised by the IFS for painting a “seriously misleading” picture of local government finance.
Scottish Labour slammed the SNP’s “financial mismanagement and economic failure” and pledged to unlock Scotland’s potential in order to rebuild public finances.
Speaking ahead of Scottish Labour conference, Scottish Labour finance spokesperson Michael Marra, pictured right, said: “For too long, Scots have not had a government at Holyrood that is committed to value for money or to transparency.
“From bottled recycling schemes to frozen infrastructure projects, public money has been frittered away by the SNP while a shroud of secrecy has been thrown over government finances.
“Enough is enough – in a cost-of-living crisis, Scots know all too well the need to get value for money. They deserve a government that is committed to doing the same.
“Years of financial mismanagement and economic failure has left Scots poorer and public finances at breaking point.
“The SNP is using income tax as a sticking plaster for economic growth, leaving Scots paying more and getting less in return.
“That’s why Labour is today giving the people of Scotland a cast-iron commitment that a future Labour government will open the books and deliver value for money.
“Labour will unlock Scotland’s economic potential and put growth first, because a strong economy is the foundation of strong public finances.
“Change is possible – and with Labour, the age of waste, secrecy and economic chaos will end.”
The principles of Scottish Labour’s Charter on Fiscal Transparency will be to:
1. Prioritise value for taxpayers’ money
- Work in partnership with a UK Labour Government’s Office for Value for Money to avoid waste, achieve better outcomes and get value for taxpayers’ money.
- Take independent advice before making strategic industrial or financial interventions on behalf of the taxpayer.
2. Restore fiscal transparency to the heart of the Scottish Government
- Publish whole-of-government accounts for Scotland.
3. Publish accurate, accessible Budget documentation
- Publish the Budget and all accompanying documentation in one user-friendly location on the Scottish Government website.
- Publish accurate Budget comparison figures, to allow tracking of changes in Government spending.
- Publish consistent presentation of figures through the Budget, revisions and outturns.
- Work with independent experts to improve the comparability and accessibility of Scottish Budget data.
4. Publish a financial strategy for public sector reform
· Setting out steps to ensure our public sector is fit for purpose and ready to meet the challenges of technological, demographic and climate change.
5 Fulfil all commitments to the independent forecaster
· Supply all required documentation to the Scottish Fiscal Commission in accordance with agreed protocol.
6. Improve the financial information accompanying legislation
- Scottish Labour will not issue blank cheques or uncosted legislation
- Rules on Financial Memoranda will be updated and enforced
7. Deliver fair and transparent funding for Local Government
- Transparent, accurate and timely communication of budgets to local government
- Ensure that when the Scottish budget increases, so too do those of local government.
Scottish Labour’s Empowering Communities paper proposed an independent funding mechanism for local government: “Given past experience of the Scottish Government’s approach to budget setting for local government, Scottish Labour believe this process must be done independently.
Once established, the independent process would set local government budgets for a three-year period, with the necessary room for forecasting errors and UK budget changes.”
https://scottishlabour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Empowering-Communities.pdf
The IFS has said the Scottish Budget “gives a seriously misleading picture” of local government finances:
https://ifs.org.uk/publications/scottish-budget-tax-and-spending-2024-25
Between 2013-14 and 2023-24 the Scottish Government budget rose by 8.3% while Local Government funding rose by 4.3%: https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/ResearchBriefings/Report/2023/1/31/569041b1-b5ab-4274-b3a7-c5ed870079d0-1#84d15ba0-cd88-4ea1-9c27-e3d0de9a2dac.dita
The Scottish Budget pledged £5 million to Clyde Gateway only to privately tell them this was an error. The error was not corrected on the Scottish Government website until after it was reported.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/snp-printing-error-blunder-leaves-31874690
The Scottish Fiscal Commission received key budget data from the Scottish Government more than a week after its deadline:
The Scottish Government failed to supply a public sector pay policy to the Scottish Fiscal Commission, despite two extensions to the deadline. This left the SFC estimating a policy that accounts for half of the Scottish Government’s total resource budget.
Audit Scotland has repeatedly called for greater transparency in Scottish Government spending and a full public sector account:
- “Greater government financial transparency needed” (2022) https://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/news/greater-government-financial-transparency-needed
- “The continuing absence of a full public sector account reduces the transparency and accountability over public spending, assets and liabilities in Scotland.” (2023) https://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/uploads/docs/report/2023/s22_231116_scottish_consolidated.pdf