DEREK Mackay has dismissed Tory claims of a billion pound budget windfall for Scotland, and says the Chancellor has left the Scottish Government with £2 billion less to spend.

Despite promises of Barnett consequentials swelling the Scottish Government’s coffers by around £950 million, Mackay said ministers in Edinburgh still had less in real terms in 2019/20, than they did in 2010/11 when the Tories came to power.

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But the Scottish Tories claimed the budget was good for Scotland.

And the party’s interim leader north of the border, Jackson Carlaw, said Philip Hammond’s decision to raise the 40p higher rate threshold to £50,000 in England, compared to the 41p higher rate at £43,431 in Scotland, should force Mackay to start cut taxes for Scots.

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During his budget, Hammond also pledged to increase income tax-free personal allowance to £12,500.

He also announced £150m for Tay Cities Deal, and committed to progressing Borderlands and Ayrshire Growth Deals, and to start negotiations for a Moray Growth Deal.

Hammond also unveiled a freeze in duty on Scotch Whisky, and promised there would be no tax hikes for the oil and gas industry.

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Scotland would also benefit from a UK-wide £10m “technology fund” for the fishing industry, he said, to be spent over three years on technology and safety.

Responding, Mackay said the budget had claimed to end austerity, but had failed to do so: “According to this budget, the Scottish Government’s resource block grant from the UK Government – the money we are able to invest in day to day public services – remains almost £2bn lower next year compared with 2010-11.

“This budget falls a long way short of delivering for Scotland.”

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The finance secretary added: “The reality of today’s budget is that Scotland continues to be hit by UK austerity and the decision to leave the EU.

“I have consistently argued for a better settlement for Scotland, and this budget does not reflect that.”

Carlaw disagreed: “With tax cuts being delivered south of the border, the case for yet more SNP tax rises next year in Scotland is simply unsustainable. Nicola Sturgeon must rule it out, now.

“The Chancellor has today said that austerity is coming to an end. We now need to see an end to the SNP’s high-tax agenda, replacing it with a plan to support jobs and grow the economy.”

“The Chancellor has called Derek Mackay’s bluff, and now he has nowhere to hide,” he added.

In Dundee, there was mixed reaction to the UK Government’s funding announcement for the city deal.

Hammond’s commitment to pay £150m came days after the Scottish Government pledged £200m.

Local MP Chris Law said he had expected the Treasury to match the Scottish Government’s offer.

“Whilst any investment in Dundee and the wider region is more than welcome, the UK Government’s failure to match the Scottish Government’s investment is a failure to match the region’s ambitions, and short-changes the people of my city,” he said. Law added: “This is yet further proof that the UK Government does not have the best interests of Dundee at heart.”

According to reports in The Courier, a UK Government source said they were only funding projects in reserved areas that “create jobs and work for the economy, not on some arbitrary figure from the Scottish Government.”