Letters / Smokescreen arguments
Given that I have already refuted, in the Shetland Times, Derick Tulloch’s attempt to reconfigure the SIC’s “worst funding deal of all councils” into something which isn’t the SNP Scottish Government’s responsibility, I’m surprised he has the face to put the same bogus argument here (Schoolboy error; SN 15/02/16).
My information on Holyrood’s annual funding from Westminster came from your article quoting SIC political leader Gary Robinson (SIC sets budget after ‘galling’ 5% cut,; SN 10/02/16):
“It’s hugely disappointing that a cash increase from Westminster has translated into a £350 million cut for local government in Scotland.”
So it isn’t my error, “schoolboy” or otherwise. Nor, indeed, is it one by councillor Robinson.
It’s simple; SIC’s funding has been cut in flat cash terms from £87Mpa to £82Mpa so we need to look at Scottish government funding in similar, “flat cash” terms:
Using the Scottish government statistics (Table 1.01) supplied by Derick, the flat cash figures are:
“TOTAL D.E.L. 2015/16 Funding = £30,141 million” and
“TOTAL D.E.L. 2016/17 Funding = £30,286 million”.
So Councillor Robinson’s statement is correct.
NB Derick quoted a “real terms” (inflation-adjusted) cut of one per cent for Scottish government funding by Westminster and we can go that route if he prefers however we would then need to include SIC’s cost inflation which would increase the size of their effective funding cut from 5.1 per cent to nearer 10 per cent.
Derick makes a second false assertion:
“It may have escaped John’s notice but the tax revenues from all of Scotland, including Shetland, and including the famed ‘extra-regio territories’ – the continental shelf, is not collected by Holyrood, but by his chums in the UK Treasury.”
I have no “chums in the UK Treasury” and it seems to have escaped Derick’s notice that my letter contained the following statement:
“Since the 1980s, over £100 billion in oil revenue have accrued to the UK Treasury from what, with independence, would be Shetland waters.
“It’s true, of course, the Scottish government has no control over that money and Westminster-driven austerity is partly the cause of previous cuts.”
Derick knows in his heart that the SNP has abandoned all hope of winning here and are simply sucking Shetland dry by forcing them to use oil reserves to fund day-to-day spending.
It’s instructive that the SNP has nothing better with which to defend their actions in Shetland than these desperate ‘smokescreen’ arguments.
Voters aren’t fools.
John Tulloch
Lyndon
Arrochar
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