Scottish government announces spending cuts worth £500m – UK politics live-ZoomTech News

Right here is Jessica Elgot’s report from Tom Tugendhat’s Tory management marketing campaign launch this morning. She says he declared that folks will “by no means vote for a celebration that they’ve stopped taking critically”.

The Scottish authorities has set out its proposed cuts in a letter from Shona Robison, the finance secretary, to the Scottish parliament’s finance and public adminstration committee. It’s here.

That is what she says about why financial savings are wanted.

Within the 2023 medium-term monetary technique, I up to date parliament on the challenges we face over the medium-term, the forecast hole between funding and spending, and our fiscal technique for managing the general public funds. This required powerful and decisive motion by the 2024-25 Scottish finances to enhance the underlying sustainability of our public funds.

Since then, pressures on public funds have additional grown, and I’ve needed to take tough selections to stay on observe to steadiness the Scottish authorities’s finances.

Pay continues to be a big driver of in-year pressures, with potential prices of as much as £0.8bn past our finances on this monetary yr alone. While I welcome the UK authorities’s acceptance of the pay evaluation physique suggestions, because the Scottish Fiscal Fee be aware of their fiscal replace revealed on 27 August, we face important uncertainty over funding that we’ll obtain from the UK authorities forward of the UK Finances.

With a comparatively bigger public sector in Scotland, assembly the price of pay offers above our finances assumptions place appreciable pressure on our funds. The UK authorities have introduced that the upcoming finances will likely be “painful”, with the chancellor making clear that UK authorities funding will likely be tightly constrained, putting additional uncertainty over the funding we are going to obtain. I’ve made it clear that austerity is just not the reply; that public providers have to be protected, and that funding is essential for progress.

Alongside pay, different prices have emerged which might be tougher to plan for however have to be funded, similar to in demand-led actions like authorized assist, police and hearth pensions and the prices of lodging for Ukrainian displaced individuals. Like the remainder of the UK, we additionally proceed to face a big well being and social care backlog arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and an extra surge in Covid and respiratory circumstances.

In her assertion to MSPs, Shona Robison, the Scottish authorities’s finance secretary, steered she is not going to be utilizing the powers she has underneath devolution to extend earnings tax to take away the necessity for cuts. She mentioned:

On the appliance of taxation we will solely go to this point, given the scope of our devolved tax powers.

Elevating important additional income would require substantial reform to the tax system or additional devolution of powers.

These will take time and depend on the UK authorities. It’s subsequently important that we purpose to develop the financial system and the tax base to assist a sustained circulate of revenues over time.

The Scottish authorities is because of announce its finances on 4 December. It has important powers to fluctuate earnings tax charges, and in Scotland there at the moment are five different income tax rates, in contrast with three in the rest of the UK. The Scottish system is extra progressive.

The Scottish authorities should make cuts price £500m, Shona Robison, the finance secretary has mentioned.

As PA Media studies, outlining the degrees of financial savings, Robison mentioned £188m will likely be discovered throughout authorities, together with by reducing lively journey funding, £65m by re-purposing money from different initiatives and round £60m by already introduced spending controls.

As much as £460m from the ScotWind leasing spherical will even be used, Robison mentioned, within the hopes it received’t all required to be spent.

Robison warned of additional powerful selections, saying:

As we glance forward, it’s clear that additional important motion will likely be wanted to reset the general public funds onto a sustainable path.

The chancellor has made clear that UK authorities funding will proceed to be tightly constrained. The prime minister has additionally made clear the tough selections to return.

Robison additionally mentioned the present monetary scenario going through the Scottish authorities was “not sustainable”. She mentioned:

If the Scottish authorities doesn’t act, spending will proceed to outstrip obtainable funding.

This isn’t sustainable and difficult selections will likely be required.

Annual financial savings alone is not going to tackle this. All members of parliament should withstand this problem within the calls for they make in the course of the finances course of.

The Scottish authorities’s total budget for 2024-25 is about £60bn.

Greater than 5,000 kids in England with particular academic wants and disabilities (SEND) waited between one and two years for an area authority choice on their software for an schooling, well being and care (EHC) plan to be accomplished, in accordance with new figures launched at present.

An extra 90 kids needed to look forward to greater than two years, regardless of there being a statutory requirement for native authorities to situation a plan inside 20 weeks of a request or affirm a choice to not inside 16 weeks.

The figures, revealed in a parliamentary written answer, reveal that 62% of selections by native authorities on whether or not or to not situation an EHC plan took as much as six months final yr, 31% took between six months and a yr, and 6% between one and two years.

An EHC plan is a authorized doc which units out a baby or younger individual’s particular academic wants and the assist they require. The figures had been revealed forward of three debates this week within the Home of Commons on assist for kids with SEND.

The minister for college requirements, Catherine McKinnell, mentioned:

These figures present that kids with particular academic wants and disabilities and their households are sometimes being left in limbo for much too lengthy.

The system is creaking on the seams following years of neglect, and with out motion would solely deteriorate additional, given the rising variety of households needing assist.

We are going to work as shortly as attainable to make sure there may be simpler early identification and assist to provide each little one the most effective begin in life, together with by offering new on-line coaching to early educators.

No less than 5 of the seven leftwing Labour MPs who had the whip withdrawn in July after rebelling in a vote on the two-child profit cap have been commenting on social media concerning the choice to restrict some arms gross sales to Israel. Whereas all of them need the federal government to go additional, some have been making an effort to sound constructive concerning the announcement.

That is from Zara Sultana, who is just not giving the federal government a lot credit score.

Yesterday it was confirmed an Israeli F-35 fighter jet – made partly in Britain – was instrumental in a current assault on a “protected zone” in Gaza, killing 90 individuals.

Hours later the UK authorities refused to droop licences pertaining to F-35s.

ALL arms gross sales to Israel should finish.

Apsana Begum adopted an analogous message in the Commons yesterday. And Imran Hussain was not over-enthusiastic in a post yesterday, though he mentioned David Lammy had acted “rightly”.

The International Secretary’s evaluation of arms gross sales licenses to Israel concludes there’s a “clear danger” that the Israeli army could also be utilizing UK arms to commit violations of worldwide legislation in Gaza, and he’s rightly suspended a lot of licenses in consequence.

However when violations embrace killing assist employees and attacking ambulances, bombing refugee camps, and destroying civilian infrastructure with the deaths of over 40,000 Palestinians, the UK must observe international locations like Canada with a full suspension, not a partial one.

However John McDonnell, the previous shadow chancellor, tried to sound extra constructive. He posted this message yesterday.

A big step ahead & congratulations to all who’ve campaigned for an finish to arms gross sales to Israel. Nonetheless this can be a first step & we now have to to look at the element of the remaining licenses to carry a few whole finish to arms gross sales to a rustic committing conflict crimes.

And Richard Burgon described the move as a “welcome first step”.

Boris Johnson and others opposing the suspension of some arms gross sales to Israel needs to be clear:

The UK public desires an finish to arms gross sales to Israel.

Arms licenses should finish if there’s a danger of violating worldwide legislation.

Extra motion is required however this can be a welcome first step.

Some or all of those MPs will likely be hoping to have the Labour whip restored sooner or later, and that most likely explains why their tone is just not as essential because the assertion issued by the Unbiased Alliance, the group of 5 unbiased MPs who had been principally elected as pro-Palestinian campaigners. Jeremy Corbyn, the previous Labour chief who’s their most outstanding member, has posted it on X.

Within the assertion the 5 MPs say it’s “past shameful” that it has taken the UK so lengthy to simply accept that Israel could also be in breach of worldwide legislation. That is primarily a criticism of the Conservatives, who refused to droop arms gross sales after they had been in workplace, however it’s also an implicit assault on Labour, which delayed saying the Israelis is likely to be utilizing British arms in breach of worldwide legislation till yesterday and remains to be avoiding taking sides on whether or not conflict crimes positively are or are usually not being dedicated.

Authorized problem to UK’s coverage on arms gross sales to Israel continues regardless of partial ban announcement

Dan Sabbagh

A authorized problem to the Labour authorities’s arms to Israel coverage is continuous regardless of David Lammy’s announcement of a partial suspension of weapons exports, although it’s anticipated to refocus on the legality of constant to permit the sale of elements for F-35 fighters and the consistency of the federal government’s place.

Phillippa Kaufman KC, showing for al-Haq, a Palestinian human rights group, and the World Authorized Motion Community, mentioned on the excessive courtroom the organisations wished to proceed with a judicial evaluation throughout a procedural listening to . She mentioned they wished “to backside out” why the UK says it can not exclude some F-35 elements in jets that are offered to and utilized by Israel in its bombing marketing campaign towards Hamas in Gaza.

The lawyer additionally mentioned that the marketing campaign teams wished to problem the failure by the UK to find out whether or not the extraordinary bombing in Gaza, which has contributed to the deaths of 40,786 Palestinians, was in breach of worldwide humanitarian legislation due to the excessive proportion of civilian casualties.

Lammy had instructed MPs yesterday, Kaufman mentioned, that “in lots of circumstances, it has not been attainable to succeed in a determinative conclusion on allegations concerning Israel’s conduct of hostilities”. However she instructed the courtroom on Tuesday morning that that represented “exactly the strategy we submit is improper in legislation”.

As a substitute, in suspending arms gross sales, Lammy argued yesterday that Israel may fairly do far more to make sure lifesaving meals and medical provides attain civilians in Gaza and that the UK authorities was “deeply involved by credible claims of mistreatment of detainees”.

Authorities tips prohibit arms exports to international locations the place there’s a “clear danger” that worldwide humanitarian legislation will likely be breached and conflict crimes dedicated. Revised submissions on behalf of al-Haq and GLAN are because of be made by the tip of the month with proceedings persevering with into the autumn.

Ayman Safadi, the Jordanian international minister, has welcomed the UK’s choice to cease some arms gross sales to Israel. He posted this on social media.

The Uk did proper to droop some arms exports licenses to Israel. We urge an growth of this suspension and name on all international locations to impose a whole arms embargo on Israel. Until penalties are actual, Netanyahu is not going to finish his aggression on Gaza and the West Financial institution, and won’t cease violating worldwide legislation and threatening the safety of the entire area.

On the Downing Road foyer briefing this morning the prime minister’s spokesperson refused to simply accept that the choice to droop some arms gross sales to Israel was going to wreck diplomatic relations with the nation. Requested about Benjamin Netanyahu’s assertion this morning, the spokesperson wouldn’t interact with the declare that what the UK was doing was “shameful”. However he defended the choice and mentioned the UK remained a “staunch ally” of Israel. He mentioned:

Because the international secretary, we’ve got not taken this choice flippantly, however we do take our obligation to use export licensing legislation critically.

We stay a staunch ally of Israel. That’s why we took motion in April to shoot down Iranian missiles geared toward Israel, stopping important lack of life.

Our ambition is to see an finish to this devastating battle, and we’re working extensively with worldwide companions on progress in the direction of a ceasefire deal on either side.

The Division for Work and Pensions will change the way in which pension credit score is run to scale back the possibilities of eligible individuals not claiming it, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, instructed MPs at present.

In a press release to MPs in July, Reeves introduced that winter gas funds for pensioners, that are price as much as £300, will likely be means-tested this yr and solely paid to individuals receiving pension credit score (a profit for poor pensioners). In response to claims that many pensioners will be unable to afford to warmth their houses in consequence, the federal government has launched a marketing campaign to encourage take-up of pension credit score. Solely round two-thirds of people who find themselves eligble declare the profit (price on common £3,900 a yr), and in consequence around 880,000 pensioner households are thought to be missing out.

In response to a query concerning the danger of weak pensioners dropping out this winter, Reeves instructed MPs at present that the federal government was working with charities and native councils to make sure that people who find themselves entitled to say pension credit score do declare it.

She went on:

The DWP will even carry collectively the administration of pension credit score and housing advantages, in order that pensioner households at the moment receiving housing profit additionally obtain any pension credit score that they’re entitled to – one thing that the earlier authorities deferred for years regardless of understanding that the poorest pensioners had been lacking out.

Within the Q&A with reporters at his Tory management marketing campaign launch Tom Tugendhat, the previous safety minister, strongly condemned the federal government’s choice to droop some arms gross sales to Israel. He mentioned:

That could be a exceptional choice and will probably be a choice that has been heard not simply in Washington and Tel Aviv however around the globe as a result of if we aren’t keen to face by our allies when they’re actually discovering the our bodies of their murdered residents, what’s the level of an alliance?

As Patrick Butler studies, satisfaction in Britain’s historical past has fallen sharply over the previous decade because the nation has develop into much less nationalistic and jingoistic and extra reflective about its place within the fashionable world, in accordance with a report from the Nationwide Centre for Social Analysis.

Right here is Patrick’s story.

And here’s a chart from the report.

In an interview on the Right this moment programme this morning John Healey, the defence secretary, was requested if he regretted the truth that satisfaction in Britain’s historical past has fallen, and if it was a part of the federal government’s job to revive that satisfaction. Healey replied:

Sure, and sure. Sure, I remorse it. Sure, I feel it’s a part of our authorities duty to assist individuals see the issues that we must always all be pleased with. It’s very laborious to not really feel pleased with this nation once you’re sitting within the basement of the army headquarters on the Ministry of Protection. It’s very laborious to not really feel satisfaction, as I did when on Saturday morning at 5 o’clock I boarded a returning nuclear submarine within the mouth of the Clyde to speak to these submariners getting back from patrol, 24/7, 12 months a yr, serving to hold us all protected.

David Evans has introduced that he’s going to step down as Labour’s common secretary on the occasion convention. He took on the job, which includes main the organisational aspect of the Labour operation, in Could 2020 after Keir Starmer turned chief and wished to put in an ally within the publish, and Evans performed a signifcant half in enabling the occasion to go from hefty defeat to landslide victory over the course of a single parliament.

In a statement he mentioned:

It has been the privilege of my life to be common secretary for the Labour occasion. It has at all times been my plan to serve for one common election, and take the organisation from shattering defeat to being a celebration of presidency.

Now each have been achieved, it’s the proper time each for me and the occasion for a brand new common secretary to take over.

A brand new common secretary being in publish from the tip of this yr’s convention will give them the required time to steer the following chapter of change, taking on on the similar early stage of the political cycle that I did.