Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government comment about Government Expenditure & Revenue Scotland (GERS) figures: FOI release

Information requested

Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday Show radio programme on 18th August 2024, Shona Robison said this about the GERS figures released the previous week:

“90% of the notional deficit of course relates to UK government decisions, not Scottish Government decisions.”

Please provide the Scottish Government analysis which justifies this 90% statistic, including allrelevant internal correspondence and documentation, and any relevant spreadsheets.

Response

As set out in the Government Expenditure & Revenue Scotland (GERS) 2023-24 publication, the devolved public sector borrowed £2.3 billion in 2023-24, equivalent to 10% of the GERS net fiscal balance. All other borrowing for Scotland, equivalent to 90% of the GERS net fiscal balance, was undertaken by the wider UK Government.

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