The Scottish Government’s Finance Secretary’s latest attempt to spin the GERS figures is both incorrect and misleading.The day the 2024-25 Government Expenditure & Revenue Scotland (GERS) figures were published, the Scottish Government put out a news release which included the following quote, attributed to Finance Secretary Shona Robison: “GERS allocates Scotland a … [Read more...] about Defence spending in GERS: anatomy of a myth
GERS
GERS 25: making Scotland pay for Starmer’s wars
It’s that time of year again. Merry GERSmas. The Scottish Government has published its annual report on revenue and expenditure in (and for) Scotland. What was once an almost festive affair in Scottish political circles (something that I likely had some hand in creating after my commentaries on the release went viral in 2015) has faded not quite down to the level of obscurity … [Read more...] about GERS 25: making Scotland pay for Starmer’s wars
Higher budget deficit driven by devolved spending
The estimates of Scotland’s net fiscal balance are out for 2024-25. As we previewed, there was deterioration of the fiscal balance, which is unsurprising given that the UK’s fiscal balance worsened during that year as well. Scotland’s estimated net fiscal balance was estimated to have been -£26 billion, or -12% of GDP, when including a geographical share of North Sea revenues … [Read more...] about Higher budget deficit driven by devolved spending
GERS 2023-24: The results are in!
The latest Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland 2023-24 statistics - that normally provoke a bitter and unrewarding spat over their significance for Scottish independence and/or the Union - came out on August 14 with little or no trace of late summer madness. These statistics set out three main things, write the FAI authors:The revenues raised from Scotland, from both … [Read more...] about GERS 2023-24: The results are in!
GERS 2020-2021: time for honest debate
GERS estimates the contribution of public sector revenue raised in Scotland toward the public sector goods and services provided for the benefit of Scotland. The estimates typically cause significant controversy, and our podcast from last year and our GERS guide highlight some of the usual areas of debate. These arguments are not going to go away, but the GERS figures present … [Read more...] about GERS 2020-2021: time for honest debate