The Scottish finance secretary is calling on the Chancellor to rethink “disastrous” benefits changes in his Budget on Wednesday.
John Swinney has written to George Osborne, challenging him to withdraw changes to housing benefit for those deemed to have spare rooms the so-called “bedroom tax”.
Mr Swinney criticised the Chancellor for choosing “austerity over investment in jobs and growth” as he demanded he provide more cash for capital investment.
He is also urging the UK Government to act on the distribution of European structural funds after it was estimated the amount of cash Scotland receives as part of this scheme could fall by about a third.
Mr Swinney also made fresh calls for responsibility for air passenger duty to be devolved to Scotland and for the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition at Westminster to do more to improve access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses.
Mr Swinney said: “The Chancellor has chosen austerity over investment in growth and jobs, and the cost has been the continuing deterioration in the public finances, prolonged recession and the downgrade of the UK’s credit rating.”
In his letter to the Chancellor, he said he was “particularly concerned” about the introduction of the under-occupancy penalty for housing benefit, saying this would affect more than 100,000 in Scotland.
He told Mr Osborne the policy was “unfair” and was “unlikely to deliver savings in real terms”, adding: “I therefore urge you to withdraw it now.”
But Labour finance spokesman Ken Macintosh claimed Mr Swinney could do more both for investment in Scotland and to reduce the impact of benefit changes.
Mr Macintosh said he was “disappointed” that 68% of the Scottish Government’s infrastructure projects did not yet have outline business cases.
In a letter to the Finance Secretary, the Labour MSP said: “If the SNP are to call for more capital for infrastructure investment in this Budget, it must be matched by commitment to get these projects off the ground as quickly as possible.”