The Scottish Government’s blueprint for independence has cost more than £1.3 million, it has been revealed.
More than 100,000 copies of Scotland’s Future which First Minister Alex Salmond has said outlines what would happen in the event of the SNP being voted in as the first government after a Yes vote have been ordered since it was launched last November, according to Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Critics said it is a waste of taxpayers’ money but ministers insist the document will inform voters ahead of September’s ballot.
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said: “Alex Salmond himself admitted in the Scottish Parliament chamber that this is a document containing SNP propaganda, and it’s utterly ridiculous that he should be sanctioning taxpayers’ money for this.”
Liberal Democrat MSP Jim Hume said: “We all know the SNP will say anything to achieve independence. What we didn’t know is how much we are paying for them to say it.”
Labour’s Drew Smith added: “Scots will rightly want to know why more and more taxpayers’ money continues to be spent on party-political propaganda which has already been overtaken by events in the real world.”
Ms Sturgeon said: “The huge level of interest in Scotland’s Future makes clear that voters want access to information that will allow them to make an informed decision on September 18.”
Approximately £75,000 was spent producing the document, £350,000 on printing, £375,000 on distribution, £450,00 on a public information advertising campaign and £60,000 on a 44-page summary of the white paper.
It can be downloaded for free at scotgov.publishingthefuture.info/publication/scotlands-future