The Scottish Government's funding per person is almost 30 per cent higher than the English equivalent, according to The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), as reported by the BBC and the Times

The IFS said this was mostly due to the Barnett Formula that allocates spending to the devolved administrations.

This meant that the Scottish Government was not subject to most of its share of cuts to local government funding that were imposed as part of the coalition Government’s austerity drive.

As a result, although Scotland’s total budget this year will be two per cent lower per person than it was in 2010-11 this is a smaller fall than that seen in England over the same period.

The IFS report also found the Scottish Government had used temporary COVID-19 funding to pay for some permanent policies such as extending free school meals and free bus travel.

Full articles:

The Times - Funding flaw gives Scotland 30% more cash for public services

The BBC - Scotland public funding '30% higher' than England