SNP minister Kate Forbes admits government faces 'difficult decisions' on public finances

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Kate Forbes has acknowledged Scotland faces a "very difficult financial position" ahead of her resource spending review later today.

The SNP Finance Secretary will publish a multi-year programme for the first time since 2011. It comes after the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned that ministers face "tough decisions" over a projected budget gap of £3.5 billion in 2026/27.

The sum is the equivalent of 8 per cent of the Scottish Government 's projected budget for day-to-day spending in that year - or £640 for every person in Scotland.

The IFS said a substantial budget gap is likely and choices will have to be made between "axing, taxing or hoping for extra funding".Forbes revealed ahead of the review that it will include "difficult decisions".The MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch is due to update MSPs on Tuesday afternoon.Resource spending is classed as money spent on administration and the day-to-day delivery of services, such as school meals, bus passes and most public sector staff salaries.Speaking ahead of her statement, Forbes said: "The Resource Spending Review - which is not a Budget - will set out how we can best focus Scotland's public finances in the coming years to tackle child poverty, address the climate crisis, strengthen our public sector as Scotland recovers from Covid, and grow a stronger, fairer and greener economy."We are living in unprecedented times when it is necessary to be canny with our spending, and the Scottish Government is no different. "Within our resources and current powers, we have to make sure we are doing the best for households and businesses, in the midst of Covid recovery, a war which is affecting the global economy, and the cost-of-living crisis. "This review gives broad