Sturgeon on alert as radical new plan to force SNP to reveal ‘secret’ plans for taxpayers

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NICOLA STURGEON’S “secrecy” over SNP plans for taxpayer cash is set to be overhauled with a radical new bill.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said his party will introduce a new Member’s Bill at Holyrood under the name “Open the Books Bill”, aimed at making the Scottish Government’s finances more easily accessible and transparent. The new Bill was announced as the Scottish Tory Conference kicks off in Aberdeen on Friday.

The Bill proposes the Scottish Government publish an updated version of the Budget every three months with a statement from the Finance Secretary.

It would also mean the SNP produces a value-for-money analysis on any future ownership of private enterprise ahead of purchase.

It would also push the Scottish Government to publish regular reports on the funds it operates.

Mr Ross added: “Our Open the Books Bill would strengthen financial transparency and government accountability.

“Too often, the vast sums that the SNP have at their disposal is shrouded in secrecy.

“We’ve all seen SNP ministers insist that they’re skint, only to hastily find another hundred million to spend.

“Just this week, Audit Scotland highlighted serious flaws in the transparency of Covid business grants, caused by a lack of information.

“There is a pressing need to open the books so that taxpayers can get better value for money.

“We’re building the real alternative to the SNP, so we can end the secrecy that is holding Scotland back.”

Audit Scotland said earlier this week that it was “not possible” to conduct a comprehensive review of emergency spending by the Scottish government during the pandemic due to missing data.

The spending watchdog said there had not been enough focus on gathering data on how quickly applicants for emergency funding received money, nor how the cash had been distributed.

Approximately £4.4 billion was made available by the Scottish government in the period from March 2020 to October 2021.

When the Omicron variant hit Scotland, an additional £375 million was added in December 2021.

Audit Scotland said that when looking at funding destined for sectors of the economy handed out by organisations such as Scottish Enterprise, around a fifth of payments could not be paired with council area.

Auditor General for Scotland, Stephen Boyle, commented that “knowing where the money went matters”, despite the “exceptional circumstances” of putting the support schemes into action “at pace”.

He added: “To get future policy development and delivery right, it will be important for the Scottish Government to fully understand how funding was used to support specific businesses and groups over the last two years of the pandemic.”

Source: Express.co.uk

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