SNP WARN COALITION ‘DO NOT HIDE CSR FACTS’

Attention:  NEWS DESKS

            POLITICAL CORRESPONDENTS

SNP WARN COALITION ‘DO NOT HIDE CSR FACTS’

ANNOUNCEMENT MUST PROVIDE CLARITY

SNP Treasury Spokesman, Stewart Hosie MP, has today written to Chief Secretary Danny Alexander insisting that tomorrow’s CSR discloses fully where the Tory/Lib Dem spending axe will fall.

In his letter he asks the Chief Secretary to confirm, “when tomorrow’s CSR is published it will provide a detailed breakdown of precisely where the axe will fall.”

Commenting, Mr Hosie said:

“It is obvious that for Parliament to properly assess the full economic impact of the cuts, details of proposed closures, job losses and other cuts are properly presented.

“And as important as the scale of the cuts is where job losses and cuts will occur.

“There is a huge degree of anxiety among public sector workers, those who depend on their services and from the private sector businesses who are awarded public sector contracts.

“It must surely be right, that if the CSR does nothing else, it provide as much certainty as possible.

“The Government must not hide the details of their cuts.”

ENDS

Notes:

Please see below for the text of the letter.  

Dear Danny,

Comprehensive Spending Review

I am writing to ask you to confirm that when tomorrow’s CSR is published it will not only provide the headline DEL / AME figures for future years but importantly a sufficiently detailed breakdown of precisely where the axe will fall.

For your reference I have enclosed, the front page for the spending plans for each department from the 2004 and 2007 CSRs.

As you will see, and as I am certain you are aware, these provided a good degree of detail as to where spending increases were planned to occur.

It would be quite wrong if you were not to provide at least the same level of detail as to where the axe will fall this time around.

It is obvious that for Parliament to properly assess the full economic impact of the cuts, details of proposed closures, job losses and other cuts are properly presented.

And as important as the scale of these will be is where job losses and cuts will occur.

There is a huge degree of anxiety among public sector workers, those who depend on their services and from the private sector businesses who are awarded public sector contracts.

It must surely be right, that if the CSR does nothing else, it provide as much certainty as possible.

I apologise for writing so late with these concerns but I am sure you will appreciate it will not be possible to fully understand the impact of the full CSR package in Scotland (as well as Northern Ireland, Wales and the English Regions) if there is insufficient detail in tomorrow’s statement.

I look forward to any early answer.

Stewart Hosie MP