Devolution: Tax & Spending

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Devolution: Powers

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Since the formation of the Scottish Government and Parliament in 1999, Scotland has had considerable powers devolved from Westminster.

The 1998, 2012 and 2016 Scotland Acts all saw its powers over public services, taxation and welfare benefits expanded.

The 1998 Scotland Act ruled that anything that was not explicitly written as reserved powers (ones still managed by the UK government), would automatically be a devolved responsibility (Scottish Parliament).

Devolved Matters	Reserved Matters
Health & Social Care	Defence
Education & Training	International Relations
Local Government	Currency
Police	Immigration
Environment	Most Business Regulation
Transport	Most Social Security Payments
Justice
Tourism & Economic Development
Economic Development
Sports and the Arts
Equal Opportunities
Housing

Devolution: Revenues and Expenditure

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Total revenues in Scotland are collected by the Scottish Government, Local Government and by the UK Government to pay for spending in each government. This includes assigned revenues, which are collected by the UK government and transferred to the Scottish Government.

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Total public spending in Scotland is made up of expenditure by the Scottish Government, Local Government (Devolved) and spending by the UK Government (Reserved) for the benefit of the people of Scotland.

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You can download the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) 2020-21 report and database below:

government-expenditure-revenue-scotland-2021-22.pdf1107.8KB

main-charts-tables-2021-22.xlsx363.4KB

The annual Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) report allows us to understand this mix of spending in Scotland. The Fraser of Allander Institute has a helpful guide on understanding the report.

A Guide to GERS (2020) | FAI

The aim of the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) report is to enhance public understanding of fiscal issues in Scotland. It is published every year by the Scottish Government with the upcoming report scheduled for publication on 26 August.

fraserofallander.org

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Knowledge Checkpoint: Describe the economic powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament

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Knowledge Checkpoint: Can you name some examples of policies demonstrating devolution in action?

What is GERS?

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GERS is an annual estimate of the Scottish fiscal position.

It provides a summary of how much revenue is raised in Scotland, how much the country pays for the public services consumed, and to what extent the revenues raised cover the costs of these public services (FAI).
GERS captures entire public sector spending in Scotland (FAI). It does this by measuring total spending for the benefit of the people of Scotland by the Scottish Government, Local Government and the UK government.

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Remember, the Scottish Government’s spending responsibilities include only devolved areas. Similarly, the UK government’s spending responsibilities include only reserved areas.