Finance Ministers criticise Treasury’s spending cuts
24/08/2015
Finance Ministers in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have claimed that the UK government is making spending cuts “too fast and too far”.
The joint statement on spending has been issued by Scotland's Deputy First Minister John Swinney, Arlene Foster of the Northern Ireland Executive and Jane Hutt of the Welsh government. It claims that continuing austerity measures are posing a risk to public services. The three ministers have now called for a meeting to discuss the matter ahead of the forthcoming spending review.
The letter says that last month’s budget included elements that would affect them, yet they had no consultation on the matter.
The letter to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Greg Hands, says:
"The three devolved administrations share the view that the UK government's ongoing austerity plans, reflected in both the in-year spending reductions announced on 4 June and in the Summer Budget, continue to reduce public spending in the UK too fast and too far, and present unnecessary risks to our public services.
"We also share the view that the UK government's plans were developed and communicated in an unsatisfactory way, with neither advance notice nor apparent consideration of the implications for the devolved administrations."
A Treasury spokesperson has claimed that the Treasury regularly meets with the ministers, and that the government’s long-term economic plan is working.
Need financial advice?
If you have any personal finance questions related to this news article, then please contact our financial advisers. You can get in touch by asking a question online, calling us on 0800 092 1245, or by arranging a visit.
Share this..
Related stories
MPC almost unanimous over rate freeze
The Bank of England's monetary policy committee voted 8-1 to keep interest rates at 5.5 per cent at January's meeting. According to the minutes of the meeting, only David Blanchflower voted against the move citing the need to address the fears of retailers over diminishing sales. The bank will meet again to decide rates on February 7th, with analysts anticipating that the mpc will cut rates in the...
Read MoreConfidence is the factor we need to monitor!
Over the last few months we have seen an array of contradictory economic indicators, many of which have been reviewed and adjusted at a later date, but at the end of the day is the situation regarding the UK economy any clearer? The simple answer to this is no. While retail sales will ultimately mark the end of the UK recession one of the main factors we need to monitor and review on a regular...
Read MoreIs $180 billion enough to bail out the money markets?
News of a joint effort between the Bank of England, the ECB and the Fed saw $180 billion pumped into the worldwide money markets in an attempt to keep the wheels of commerce turning, but is it enough? Can $180 billion really end the problems of recent times?
While the figures being mentioned today are literally out of this world to the person on the street, in terms of the money mar...
Bank governor signals rate hold
The Bank of England seems unlikely to raise rates, following comments made to MPs by its governor.Addressing the Treasury Select Committee yesterday, Mervyn King said that it was a priority for the Bank not to exacerbate the UK's current economic slowdown - a situation that might be worsened by any increase in the base rate of interest.Analysts have speculated that the Bank might make the move due...
Read MoreIs the retail price index fall a help or hindrance?
As we covered in one of our earlier posts, the Retail Price Index (RPI) is still in negative territory and as a consequence we will see Rail season-ticket prices fall across the UK from January 2010. While a negative RPI, which effectively means that prices are falling, is still a good thing for UK consumers it can and will cause havoc in the business arena.
In general terms it is v...