SNP politicians are furious at Tory MPs claiming credit for ending VAT charges for Scotland’s police and fire services.

When Chancellor Philip Hammond stands up to deliver his Budget today, it is widely expected he will confirm plans to end the anomaly that has left Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue service as the only territorial forces unable to claw back VAT.

It’s also widely expected that he will say the U-turn is down entirely to lobbying by Scotland’s 13 new Tory MPs.

The SNP say this is absolute nonsense, pointing out that since the creation of Scotland’s single force they have asked questions in Westminster and Holyrood on the issue, held debates and put constant pressure on government .

All in all, the party say they have now made “139 calls for the UK Government to allow Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue to be able to reclaim VAT” .

Today’s Budget, they argue, will give “the Chancellor the opportunity to finally bow to years of SNP pressure”.

SNP MSP Ben Macpherson said the Chancellor should not just end the anomaly but refund the £140 million paid into the Treasury’s coffers by the services.

“The SNP has campaigned from the very beginning to end this unfair and unnecessary VAT levy – yet the Tories have been embarrassingly slow to act,” he said.

“Tory inaction and pig-headedness has cost our frontline emergency services £140m since 2013, despite the fact that the UK Government has already created exemptions for Highways England, the BBC and Academy schools.

“To end this injustice, however, not only should the VAT levy be dropped but the UK Government should also refund the £140m that Scotland’s police and fires services have already paid. If the Tories are prepared to right their wrong and allow our police and fire services to reclaim VAT in years ahead, how can they then justify keeping the money which has already been taken?”

A spokesman for the Scottish Tories said the party’s new MPs had been working hard on behalf of the services and deserved the credit. “In the short time they’ve been in place, the Scottish Conservative MP group have lobbied hard on the issue of VAT,” he said. “If there is a decision on this matter, they’ll be the ones to thank.”

Meanwhile, one proposal the Treasury has ruled out is the possibility of a universal basic income.

The SNP MP Ronnie Cowan wrote to Hammond last month asking him to consider the proposal, and to consider Scottish Government plans to fund a number of experiments to “inform parliament’s thinking for the future.”.

But over the weekend, the Treasury replied to say no.

Cowan said: “It’s disappointing but not surprising that the UK Government have completely dismissed basic income before even undertaking any research on the subject.

“This contrasts dramatically to the Scottish Government’s approach to look into the feasibility of a basic income by undertaking research and also working with local authorities who wish to pilot such a scheme.

“Only last week, I chaired a discussion at Westminster where the University of London City, through the European Social Survey, highlighted the growing awareness and support for basic income, throughout the world and across the political spectrum. Basic income is an idea which has been around for centuries but is becoming more prevalent with the increase in people working in the gig economy.”

Hammond is under pressure to make life easier for a lot of people today, but yesterday he was told the UK’s public finances are unexpectedly worse than predicted.

The Office for National Statistics said had Brexit pushed inflation up, forcing public-sector net borrowing to jump to £8 billion in October, above economists’ predictions of £7.5bn.