Covid: Scotland to receive an extra £220m from Treasury

Scotland is to receive a further £220m from the UK government to help tackle Covid-19.

The Scottish government has made repeated calls for more money from the Treasury as Omicron numbers rise.

The extra funding follows discussions between the devolved nations and the UK government.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the announcement but said it appeared to be an advance on money that would have come to Scotland anyway.

Her spokesperson also said she was "incredulous" that neither the prime minister nor the chancellor attended a meeting of the Cobra committee with the devolved nations on Sunday.

Ms Sturgeon has been pressing the Treasury for more financial support as the Covid cases continue to rise again, suggesting that she may go further with restrictions if it were possible to cushion the blow to businesses.

The UK government said the emergency funding was on top of the £220m announced earlier in the week, taking Scotland's total allocation to £440m.

Money has also been allocated to other devolved administrations, with the Welsh government receiving an extra £270m and the Northern Ireland Executive £150m.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: "Following discussions with the devolved administrations, we are now doubling the additional funding available.

"We will continue to listen to and work with the devolved administrations in the face of this serious health crisis, to ensure we're getting the booster to people all over the UK and that people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are supported."

This cash advance from the Treasury should allow the Scottish government to expand their Covid support scheme for struggling businesses, including bars and restaurants.

They have found £100m from within their own budget but acknowledge that much more will be required to compensate for the economic disruption caused by official advice to the public to cut social contact.

The initial £220m from the Treasury is not really available for that. It is an advance of Scotland's share of cash generated by new health spending in England and will be spent on health in Scotland too.

The further £220m is also an advance of money that will become due to Scotland as a result of extra spending in England. But this time it is based on spending that has not yet been allocated.

The Treasury is under pressure to come up with a support package for hospitality in England. It may be that the Scottish and other devolved governments have just received a down payment on that.

If the cash comes from spending in some other area, like health, and the Scottish government has already spent it on helping business, they cannot then replicate the health spending.

In the unlikely event there is no additional spending in England, the Scottish government would have to pay the money back.

Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the latest funding announcement from the Treasury but said it did not appear to be new money.

A spokesperson said: "The reality appears to be that this is not additional and is simply a form of 'advance' on funding that would have come to Scotland anyway. We are seeking urgent clarity on this."

"We need more urgency, greater clarity and faster action from the UK. The need is real and the need is now. In the face of the clear advice of public health experts, it is impossible to understand why the UK still refuses to act."

The Scottish government levelled similar criticism at the previous £220m funding announcement, saying it was money that had already been budgeted for.

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has asked for about £500m of immediate extra funding from Westminster, a figure based on the monthly costs of furlough and grants.

She said: "Ultimately this is about helping businesses right now that are struggling, but also knowing that when we need more support - because none of us can absolutely for definite know how this variant is going to play out - we know that we can access additional support for businesses."

Murdo Fraser, the Scottish Conservatives' spokesman for Covid Recovery, insisted the funding was "real, additional money that has not been previously identified or accounted for".

He told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "This is not an advance. It's very disappointing that rather than welcome this essential money that's coming from the UK government, we just hear the SNP attempt to stir up more grievance.

"It is money that will be available to the Scottish government to assist the many businesses and individuals who are really suffering because of the impact that guidance issued by the Scottish government has had."

Nicola Sturgeon warned on Friday that Omicron was now the dominant strain of the virus and a "tsunami" was beginning to hit Scotland.