Billions ‘wasted’ in Westminster could fund millions of Scottish nurses
More than £50bn has been “wasted” by the UK Government that could have funded millions of nurses or built over 110 hospitals in Scotland, according to the Scottish National Party (SNP).
Analysis by the party claims that £55.6bn of central funding has been lost to fraud, cancellation of some of the HS2 rail project and unusable protective personal equipment (PPE) during the pandemic.
“It’s time to stop wasting taxpayers’ money and invest in our public services”
Amy Callaghan
Specifically, the SNP said that the UK Government had lost £21bn to fraud and £9.9bn on unusable PPE since 2020, which on its own could have been used to build 60 mid-size hospitals in Scotland.
Meanwhile, £24.7bn had been spent on the troubled HS2 rail project, which the SNP argued could have funded over 800,000 newly qualified band 5 nurses or new full-time police constables in Scotland.
The analysis also suggested that the cost of just the cancellation phases of the HS2 project – £2.2bn – could have funded around 73,000 nurses or police constables, or built four new hospitals in Scotland.
The figures on Westminster spending from the SNP come as Scotland has over 4,000 nursing and midwifery vacancies.
The party’s health spokesperson, Amy Callaghan, said: “The Tories have a long, disgraceful record of wasting taxpayers’ money through incompetence and failed projects, showing complete disregard for people’s hard-earned money and our vital public services.”
Ms Callaghan argued that, after overseeing 14 years of austerity, the Conservative Party had shown that they were “completely out of touch and cannot be trusted with the public purse”.
She added: “These figures should serve as a wake-up call to the next UK government – it’s time to stop wasting taxpayers’ money and invest in our public services.
“Whilst Scotland remains tied to Westminster, we need a strong group of SNP MPs who can be trusted to represent Scotland’s interests and priorities in the UK parliament.”
A spokesperson for the UK Government said the analysis was a “mischaracterisation of government spending”.
They said: “The Scottish Government is receiving a record £41bn per year settlement from the UK Government and has significant tax, borrowing and welfare powers to deliver for the people of Scotland.
“During the pandemic, the UK Government acted quickly to procure vital PPE, competing in a global market where demand massively outstripped supply in order to save lives and protect the NHS.
“Since autumn 2021, we have invested more than £1bn to detect and crack down on public sector fraud and error, including launching the public sector fraud authority, which saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds in its first year alone.”
