Chancellor this week pledged a new era
of security and national renewal as she delivered a Spring
Statement to kickstart economic growth, protect working people
and keep Britain safe.
Scottish Secretary has welcomed her measures, including a £2.2 billion
increase in the UK-wide defence budget for 2025-26, on top of
£2.9 billion announced at Autumn Budget.
Mr Murray said:
We are living in an increasingly insecure world, and the extra
£2.2 billion for defence – on top of the £2.9 billion announced
at Autumn Budget – will make Britain stronger and safer. This is
a huge boost for Scotland's world-leading defence sector, which
delivers Scottish economic growth and more highly-skilled jobs.
The increase will also mean better homes for our military
personnel and families, including the thousands based in
Scotland.
Today's announcements underpin the great strides being made by
the UK Government in achieving stability in our public finances.
There have been three interest rate cuts since the general
election. Next week the increase in the minimum wage will mean a
pay rise for hundreds of thousands of workers in Scotland and our
employment rights legislation will deliver the biggest upgrade in
workers' rights in a generation.
The Spring Statement also delivered an extra £28 million for the
Scottish Government. That is on top of their £4.9 billion extra
from the budget, creating a record £47.7 billion settlement for
25/26, announced at the Autumn Budget. This is the biggest budget
settlement in the history of devolution and an end to austerity.
The Scottish Government must now use that wisely - to improve
Scotland's failing public services.”
This latest defence boost builds on the Chancellor's recent visit
to Babcock in Rosyth where she also announced that UK defence
exporters would benefit from a £2 billion increase to UK Export
Finance lending capacity.
Her Spring Statement underlines that growth is at the heart of
the UK Government's Plan for Change with £13 billion of
additional capital spend allocated alongside the defence funding
boost.
It follows the Budget in the autumn where it was announced that
the Scottish Government will be provided with a £47.7 billion
settlement in 2025/26 – the largest in real terms in the history
of devolution. This includes an additional £3.4 billion through
the Barnett formula, with £2.8 billion for day-to-day spending
and £610 million for capital investment.
The measures announced this week top up these Barnett
consequentials by a further £28 million in 2025/26.
The Scottish Government continues to receive over 20% more per
person than equivalent UK Government spending in the rest of the
UK, translating into over £8.5 billion more in
2025-26. Block Grant funding from 2026-27 onwards will be
confirmed at Phase 2 of the Spending Review, which concludes on
11 June 2025. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury will meet with
his counterparts from the devolved governments to discuss their
priorities ahead of its conclusion.
