Moray MSP Richard Lochhead comments on UK government funding plans that will see Moray lose out on £5million in promised funding
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MORAY MSP Richard Lochhead has claimed that the UK government are "short changing" Moray by more £5million.
The claim comes after Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes revealed that promised additional money to help low income families pay their council tax had not been received by the Scottish government.
In February, UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak committed to providing Scotland with an additional £290million in funding, to support those struggling with the rise of household bills.
In a letter to Holyrood’s Finance committee, Ms Forbes revealed that while the Scottish Government had been expecting to receive £852million from the UK Government Treasury, they will only receive £814million and will have to find funds from elsewhere to help people pay their council tax bills.
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead said: “It is scandalous they have tried to pull the wool over the eyes of people in Moray by claiming they would be providing extra cash to deal with the cost of living crisis, but instead are short-changing Moray by over £5million and households by £117 each.
"Rishi Sunak made a huge song and dance about how Westminster was being generous to Scotland when the truth is that they have provided nothing extra at all.
"And again, the Scottish Government has to make good on another broken Tory promise by finding funds from its limited budget to help out hard-pressed families by cutting £150 off their council tax bills.
“This is real cash to deal with the cost of living crisis, not Tory smoke and mirrors. This trend is all too familiar to people in Scotland – when it comes to the Tories, all we get is cuts, not cash.”
However, Moray MP Douglas Ross hit back: “It is rich of Richard Lochhead to say Moray is being short-changed when he has backed his party’s cuts to our council which have hammered local services year after year.
“Instead of ramping up the nationalist grievance machine, he should be calling on his ministerial colleagues to use the record funding they have at their disposal from the UK Government.
“There is a duty on all of us to support people through this cost-of-living crisis and that is how the people of Moray will be best served right now by their representatives.”
