First Minister Alex Salmond has only now received a reply from Tory Party leader David Cameron to a letter Mr Salmond wrote on 9 April, on the specific issue that the Conservatives are proposing to undertake a ‘needs assessment’ in relation to changing the Barnett Formula, with no commitment to seeking the consent of the Scottish Government before introducing a change to the funding arrangements for the Scottish Budget.

The First Minister had originally written to the Conservative Shadow Chancellor George Osborne on 1 April, seeking a commitment to such consent.

The Conservative Party’s intentions in government were first indicated at a meeting in London on 30 March, during a series of meetings the First Minister had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Shadow Chancellors of the UK parties.

The letter from Mr Cameron (dated 24 April, but only just received), merely says: “Thank you for your letter of 9th April, following your meeting with George Osborne and members of his team.  I understand that George has now replied to your letter and I hope that this is useful.”

However, the reply sent by Mr Osborne (dated 7 April) completely avoided the vital issue of consent.  It said in its entirety: “Thank you for your letter regarding the Scottish Budget.  I enjoyed our meeting and I hope we can continue this productive relationship in a spirit of mutual respect.”

Commenting on Mr Cameron’s letter, Mr Salmond said:

“To have these evasive, two-line letters from David Cameron and George Osborne on the vital issue of Scotland’s budget is clearly unacceptable, and shows a lack of respect for Scotland.  We know from the Scottish Government report that the Westminster cuts agenda is set to cost Scotland some £25 billion over the next 12 years – which is why we need to chart an alternative constitutional course for Scotland, and cut things we neither need nor want such as Trident, in order to protect our vital public services.

“David Cameron and George Osborne have now effectively confirmed that the Tories are proposing an extra cut over and above that just for Scotland, without the consent of the Scottish Government or people, and without any reference to the revenue raised in Scotland – such as the more than £40 billion of oil revenues flowing to the Treasury over the next few years.  It doesn’t even accord with the Treasury’s own Statement of Funding Policy for the devolved administrations.

“Scotland is in a stronger financial position than the UK as a whole.  The official Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) figures show that Scotland ran current budget surpluses in each of the three years to 2007/08, worth £2.3 billion in all. 

"In contrast, the UK recorded a deficit of £24 billion over the same period.  The only acceptable change to the Barnett Formula is full fiscal autonomy for Scotland, so that the Scottish Government – not Westminster – is responsible for all tax and spending north of the Border.”

1. Please see this section of the current version of the Treasury’s Statement of Funding Policy for the devolved administrations (October 2007).

Para 12.1: “Prior to making any changes to the Statement or the policies to which it applies, the Treasury will as far as is possible consult in good time with each Secretary of State and the devolved administrations, seeking their agreement, before such a change comes into effect.”