Swinney pressed on whether taxes will rise to cover ‘soaring’ benefits costs

John Swinney has been challenged over whether his Government will have to raise taxes to pay for “Scotland’s soaring benefits bill” – with Tories raising concerns that spending on social security is “unsustainable”.

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay challenged the First Minister on the issue in the wake of warnings of a £2 billion “fiscal gap” in spending on devolved benefits by 2030.

Raising the issue at First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood, the Tory challenged his SNP rival to set out how this would be paid for.

He said comments from Justice Secretary Angela Constance that the money will come “from the people of Scotland” would “send a shudder down the spine of every single taxpayer in Scotland”.

Mr Findlay demanded: “How much exactly will the SNP raise taxes to pay for their £2 billion benefit black hole?”

Mr Swinney said issues around tax will be dealt with as part of the Scottish Government’s budget process – telling Mr Findlay there will be “an opportunity for the Conservatives to engage in the Budget process to discuss these issues”.

But the SNP leader said if the Tories believe spending on benefits is too high, Mr Findlay should set out where cuts should be made.

He told the Conservative: “It’s not good enough to come here and talk about the ‘soaring benefits bill’ and then not say whose benefits are going to be taken away.

“One of the undertones of Mr Findlay’s question here is whose benefits does he want to take away?

“We hear all of this rhetoric, but when it comes down to the hard specific realities of whose benefits are getting withdrawn, Mr Findlay has got no answers.”

Mr Swinney stressed that benefits help “some of the most vulnerable people in society”, as he insisted his Government will not cut the payments.

He said: “The issue Mr Findlay raises essentially comes down to, are we prepared to follow the benefit policies of the United Kingdom, which involve cuts to support to people with disabilities, some of the most vulnerable people in society, and my Government will do no such thing.”

The comments came in the wake of a report from public spending watchdogs at Audit Scotland on Thursday which said the Scottish Government has no plan to fill a £770 million funding gap in its disability benefits.

It said the Scottish Government’s approach to the adult disability payment (ADP) – which has replaced the personal independence payment for disabled people in Scotland – is leading to higher take-up, with lighter touch award reviews also contributing to additional costs.

Auditor General Stephen Boyle said: “Adult disability payment is a lifeline for thousands of people in Scotland. It is also the clearest example of how the Scottish Government’s commitment to making the social security process less onerous has come at a cost.

“Given that the gap between available funding and ADP spending is forecast to grow significantly, the Scottish Government needs to set out how the gap will be managed over the medium-term, and how this will impact on the lives of disabled people.”