For every pound the UK government earmarks for the English, according to an economic think tank, it gives the Scottish an extra 30 pence.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) report says that almost all of the 30 percent gap is down to the controversial Barnett formula.
That formula is a fixed way of divvying out money among the UK’s devolved governments for certain services. However, critics say the formula is trapped in historic differences in spending and is too inflexible.
According to the IFS, the spending gap is increasing.
It claims, however, that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s government plans to use money earmarked for the pandemic for other policies—including those central to her re-election manifesto.
“Excluding temporary COVID-19 funding, the Scottish government has over £1.30 per person to spend on public services this year for every £1 of spending per person on comparable services in England," David Phillips, associate director at the IFS, said in a statement.
“This is almost entirely due to funding received from the UK government via the Barnett formula, with less than 2p of the gap due to the Scottish Government’s borrowing and higher income taxes.”
He said that despite tax hikes in Scotland, tax incomes have risen only slightly due to the weak performance of the economy.
Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes blamed the spending gap on a decade of “unrelenting” austerity under the Conservatives.
“The formula is also slow at responding to changes in relative population size, which further disadvantage England where the population has grown most quickly.”