MIDLOTHIAN AND EAST LOTHIAN SET TO BE SHORT-CHANGED BY £10,666,759 DUE TO TORY ‘SMOKE AND MIRRORS’

HOUSEHOLDS IN MIDLOTHIAN AND EAST LOTHIAN TO BE SHORT-CHANGED BY £243.69

Midlothian is set to be short-changed by £4,942,097 and East Lothian set to be short-changed by £5,724,662 due to Tory smoke and mirrors over support for those struggling with the cost of living. This equates to £123.13 per household in Midlothian and £120.56 per household in East Lothian. 

Tory Chancellor revealed he would be providing Scotland with an additional £290m to help with the cost of household council tax bills.

However, Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has revealed that there is no additional money Scotland to help low-income families pay their council tax.

In a letter to Holyrood’s Finance committee Ms. Forbes reveals the Scottish Government was expecting to receive £852m from the Treasury but will instead receive £814m. Meaning the Scottish Government will have to find funds from elsewhere in its budget to cover help people in Midlothian and East Lothian pay their council tax bills.

Commenting, Colin Beattie said:

“It is scandalous they have tried to pull the wool over the eyes of people in Midlothian and East Lothian by claiming they would be providing extra cash to deal with the cost of living crisis, but instead are short-changing Midlothian and East Lothian by £10,666,759 and households by £243.69 each.

"Rishi Sunak made a huge fanfare about how Westminster was being generous to Scotland when the truth is that they have provided nothing extra at all.

"And again, the Scottish Government has to make good on another broken Tory promise by finding funds from its limited budget to help out hard-pressed families by cutting £150 off their council tax bills.

“This is real cash to deal with the cost of living crisis, not Tory smoke and mirrors. This trend is all too familiar to people in Scotland – when it comes to the Tories, all we get is cuts, not cash.

“This once again demonstrates that it is only with the full powers that independence would bring that we can provide support for those on the lowest incomes instead of having one hand tied behind our backs by relentless Tory cuts.”