Dundee’s V&A museum of design has been given a multi-million-pound boost by George Osborne.
The Chancellor announced the additional funding during his Budget, which also included a promise to open discussions on an Edinburgh and South East Scotland Region city deal, which will see extensive investment in Fife.
But Mr Osborne blamed the “dangerous” global economic situation as he was forced to admit breaking one of his own key fiscal rules.
The key points of the Budget are:£5 million for Dundee V&A A city deal for Edinburgh which will include large parts of Fife A tax on sugary drinks The first £11,000 of people’s income will be tax free from April The threshold for people paying the higher, 40%, tax rate to increase to £45,000 A Lifetime ISA will give up to £1,000 bonus per year for savers under 40. Bonus cash will be taken back if withdrawn before 60 Freeze on fuel duty Oil & Gas tax cutsDelivering one of his most difficult Budgets yet, the Chancellor confirmed that debt will rise as a proportion of GDP this year.
However, he insisted the UK is “well placed” to handle the problems, and the pledge of eradicating the deficit would still be met by 2019/20 – thanks in part to another £3.5 billion of spending cuts.
The embarrassing admission came after Mr Osborne previously conceded that he had breached his own cap on welfare spending.
In a defiant speech to the Commons, the Chancellor insisted the government had kept UK plc “steady” by taking difficult action to bring the finances under control.
He also risked infuriating Tory backbenchers by using his platform to warn of the risks of leaving the European Union, saying the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) agreed with him that Brexit would generate significant “uncertainty”.
Mr Osborne said the government was still on course to record an overall surplus by 2019/20 – one of the targets he has set himself. He confirmed, however, that he would miss another key aim, for debt to be falling as a proportion of GDP this year.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has revised down its growth estimates for this year from 2.4% to 2%, while next year it is expected to be 2.2% instead of 2.4%.
Mr Osborne also said the independent watchdog had cautioned in its forecasts of the “risks” of leaving the European Union.
Setting out his determination to “act now so we don’t pay later”, he said the government would be seeking an extra £3.5bn of savings by 2019-20.
Mr Osborne also announced plans to cut Corporation Tax to 17% by April 2020, declaring: “Britain is blazing a trail. Let the rest of the world follow.”
Jeremy Corbyn said the Budget was the culmination of “six years of his failures” and has “unfairness at its very core”.
The Labour leader said the financial proposals fail on productivity, investment and in tackling inequality.
Mr Corbyn added that the Chancellor is offering tax cuts to the very wealthy while disabled people lose more than £1 billion.
Shares plummeted in Barr, the company which produces Irn Bru, after he announced the new sugar tax which will hammer the famous Scottish drink.
For full coverage and in-depth analysis, see Thursday’s Courier.