Chancellor Rishi Sunak announces £2.4bn of new funding for Scotland for 2021/22
Chancellor Rishi Sunak today unveiled a Spending Review for the whole of the UK as he laid out plans to help every corner of Scotland to build back better and fight coronavirus.
The Chancellor announced that Scotland will receive £2.4bn of new funding from the UK Government in 2021/22 through the Barnett formula for devolved areas such as health and social care, education and housing.
This is double the £1.2bn new funding provided for 2020/21 at the 2019 Spending Round.
It is also in addition to the £8.2bn guaranteed to the Scottish Government in 2020/21, above the funding allocated at the Spring Budget earlier this year, in the face of the coronavirus and its impact on the economy.
Scotland will also receive a significant boost from more than £100bn of capital investment across the UK in 2021/22, improving connectivity and productivity.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said:
This Spending Review will help people in every corner of Scotland.
It will provide billions of pounds to fight coronavirus, deliver the peoples’ priorities and drive the UK’s recovery.
The Treasury is, has been, and will always be the Treasury for the whole of the United Kingdom. And this is a Spending Review for the whole of the United Kingdom.
Speaking after the Chancellor delivered the UK Government’s Spending Review, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said:
The UK Government’s Spending Review delivers for all parts of the UK at this challenging time. Never before has the strength of the Union, and the role of the UK Treasury, been more important.
The UK Government pledged to bring funding decisions back from Brussels, and our plans for a new UK Shared Prosperity Fund will deliver on this promise. Communities across the UK have been hit hard by Covid, so I welcome the Chancellor’s announcement today of £220 million in additional funding in the coming financial year. This will be delivered by the UK Government across the UK, working in partnership with local authorities and communities.
We made a commitment to maintain funding for our vital rural and coastal communities and are fulfilling that through £570 million to support farmers and our rural economy, and £14 million to support Scottish fisheries. Additional funding for broadband will help boost the economies of some of Scotland’s most remote communities.
Accelerating the Tay, Moray, Borderlands and Islands growth deals is great news. It will help support jobs and drive economic recovery across swathes of Scotland.
The new UK Infrastructure Bank will help support our post-covid economic recovery. A billion pounds for our net zero climate change target will ensure the UK remains a world leader in climate action, ahead of us bringing the world to Glasgow for COP26 next year. And the new counter-terrorism operations centre will help keep people in all parts of the UK safe from global threats.
The Scottish Government will receive an additional £2.4 billion in Barnett Consequentials. This is over and above the £8.2 billion they have already been allocated since March this year. This additional funding will help support jobs and public services in Scotland while we fight the pandemic.
The UK Government will continue to do all it can to support people in all parts of the United Kingdom.