CROSS-party MSPs have united to call for greater borrowing powers for Holyrood during times of crisis.

The unanimous call covers all devolved governments and comes from the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Constitution Committee.

The 11-member panel is convened by the SNP’s Bruce Crawford, with Murdo Fraser of the Conservatives as deputy. Other members include Labour’s Jackie Baillie and Patrick Harvie of the Greens.

In its pre-Budget scrutiny report, the committee says that without having its own day-to-day borrowing powers, the Scottish Government has to rely on policy decisions taken at Westminster when trying to work out its own response to the pandemic.

It says that allowing greater borrowing through the National Loans Fund could enable all devolved governments to better tailor their respective spend and policy responses.

While the report agrees the fiscal framework – which is due for review next year – has protected the Scottish Budget from a UK-wide economic shock, it says there is a clear “imbalance” in how the framework operates during a crisis.

It is now recommending that the Treasury considers opening up borrowing powers to help support moves like business rates relief. Continuing that policy without Barnett consequentials would, the committee said, be “very challenging” for Scotland.

The move has already cost almost £1 billion this year.

Crawford said: “Our report has the benefit of being unanimously agreed by all members on this committee. Our findings are very much evidence-based and based on the committee’s detailed examination of the fiscal framework over a number of years.

“The report therefore has weight and authority.

“This is a serious contribution that seeks to improve the fiscal framework and the architecture of governance across the devolved nations.”

Crawford, who will stand down at the next election, went on: “The committee recognises the enormity of the economic and fiscal challenge facing the Scottish Government in preparing next year’s Budget. At the same time the committee welcomes the extent to which the fiscal framework has protected the Scottish Budget – as it should – from the impact of the UK-wide economic shock caused by Covid-19.

“But the committee also notes that the extent of the economic shock has highlighted an imbalance, or ‘asymmetry’, in how the fiscal framework operates in an emergency situation.

“On the one hand, Scotland has benefitted significantly from the unprecedented peacetime levels of UK Government borrowing both in terms of UK-wide economic measures and from Barnett consequentials in devolved areas. However, without its own borrowing powers to fund day-to-day spending, the Scottish Government is largely constrained by UK spend and policy decisions when determining its own Covid-19 related spending and policies.

“It is on this basis that the committee recommends that in the short-term, and without any presumption in relation to the outcome of the review of the Fiscal Framework, HM Treasury should give further consideration to providing the devolved governments with greater access to borrowing via the National Loans Fund in emergency situations such as the current crisis.

“This could allow the devolved governments to tailor their own spend and policy response to the pandemic and economic recovery in Scotland depending on how this evolves differently from the situation in England.”