The Finance Secretary has demanded assurances from the UK Chancellor that there will be no more cuts to Scotland’s Budget.
Previous cuts have been “deeply damaging” and represent a failure to respect the system of devolution, under which the Budget is approved by Holyrood, John Swinney said.
With George Osborne due to make his Autumn Statement on Thursday, Mr Swinney has written to the Chancellor seeking the assurances.
Mr Swinney said: “Successive UK Budgets and Autumn Statements have undermined the Scottish Government’s ability to support economic revival, particularly through the significant cuts the Chancellor has made to capital investment over the spending review period and, in some cases, the in-year reductions he has made to the Scottish Government’s published spending plans.
“The UK Government retains the right to take money out of our Budget mid-year and has done so in the past.
“It is not only deeply damaging to our plans for investment and to our public services, such cuts completely fail to respect devolution and I have urged the Chancellor to assure me that there will be no such cuts in the future.”
Mr Swinney says he also urged the Chancellor to provide additional capital investment to help the economy recover.
The UK Government was also asked to improve access to finance for small and medium-sized firms and to invest in energy infrastructure to help the renewables sector.
“There remains a need for additional direct capital investment to support recovery, and it is vital to ensure small businesses have access to finance. There is also a need for serious investment in energy infrastructure over the coming years to help deliver renewable generation across Scotland and the UK,” Mr Swinney said.
Current proposals for reform of the electricity market “risk failing Scotland and the UK in a number of vital areas, and present a huge risk to UK security of supply as well as to investor confidence and our low-carbon ambitions”.
While there are now “promising signs of economic growth, the fact that Westminster is now forecast to borrow over £240 billion more between 2011-12 and 2015-16 than it initially planned in June 2010, underlines the failure of the UK Government’s approach to the economy”, Mr Swinney said.
“An independent Scotland could build a more sustainable economy by delivering an effective industrial strategy, boosting productivity and exports and increasing innovation and participation in the workforce.
“However, until Scotland decides on its future, it is essential that the Chancellor and the UK Government adopts a new approach to ensure that we see a sustained economic recovery, and that the benefits of this are widely shared.”