THE VAT which the UK Government has finally agreed to stop collecting from Scotland’s police and fire and rescue services will go into their budgets in full, Finance Secretary Derek Mackay pledged yesterday.
As agreed by Chancellor Philip Hammond, Police Scotland will be able to reclaim £25 million and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) will have £10m refunded next year, with £20m of additional investment going to the police to protect revenue budgets.
In addition there will be £5.5m for the SFRS as it undergoes what it has called “transformation” to a modern service. It remains to be seen what will happen to the years of VAT already paid by Police Scotland and SFRS.
SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor asked if Mackay would pursue the £140m of VAT the UK Government have already taken.
Mackay replied: “Yes, of course we will pursue the UK Government for this sum.”
Scottish Labour’s spokesperson on Fire and Rescue issues, Claire Baker MSP, said: “Outside the Scottish Parliament this morning Denise Christie of the FBU [Fire Brigades Union] said that ‘we risk our lives every day but fire appliances are sitting idle because staff have been cut’. Firefighters have told me that the VAT recovery is not enough to plug the gap in their service. There is £5.5m for transformation but it is feared this will mean closure of stations and the loss of front-line firefighters. Can he guarantee that this Budget won’t mean that?”
Mackay replied: “Annabelle Ewing is the appropriate minister and will continue to engage with the FBU over the ongoing transformation in the fire service, but I see the extra money that we are allocating to the Fire Service as a good thing. Maybe the Labour Party should welcome that extra money.
“There is of course also the extra spending power that comes from the ability to reclaim that VAT that they couldn’t do before. So, greater spending power and more resources – and hopefully we can deliver a transformation that keeps Scotland safe and appropriately support the firefighters that do a fantastic job.”
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