Exclusive:Scottish Government £1bn underspend 'a stab in the eye' for councils, says UK minister

Health minister Zubir Ahmed said the SNP Government money could go far “at the time when they're hollowing out local government services”.

The SNP Government’s annual accounts for 2024/25 recorded a £1bn underspend - despite John Swinney accusing Westminster of continuing austerity.

When asked about the underspend on a visit to the University of Glasgow, Mr Ahmed said: “I would like to say I'm surprised, but I'm not.

“Alongside the £5bn black hole they seem to have created simultaneously, it is just further evidence of complete economic mismanagement.

“Over 18 years of SNP government, and the people that feel it most are the people I used to see and still see in my NHS practice who are waiting for hip replacements, knee replacements, hernia operations, access to outpatients.

“It's probably one of the reasons that economic mismanagement, why more people in Glasgow are waiting two years for for treatment in the whole of England, I think every institution they have touched has been worse now than it was 20 years ago, and I think that's why we need a new direction.”

When asked what £1bn could do for the NHS in Scotland, the Glasgow South West MP said: “It certainly could do a lot.

“I can't sit here and give you the exact figures of how many nurses and doctors and how many operations it could generate.

“But the very fact that, in a population in a country of five and a half million people, they leave that much money unspent at a time where there are many services crying out for spending.

“Not only the NHS, but if you take housing in my constituency, a specific problem in social housing, if you look at the state of our roads, if you look at issues that are blighting us in terms of antisocial behaviour and fly tipping, in my constituency, there's so much that can be done.

“And actually, to be honest, you know, at the time when they're hollowing out local government services, this is a really, a stab in the eye for local government colleagues, as much as anything.”

First Minister John Swinney’s Government spent £56.3bn last year. This was £1bn less than the total budget.

The SNP has overseen several council tax freezes since coming to power in 2007. Some local leaders have said this has made it harder to deliver services.

Mr Swinney had said earlier this year: “Last summer, the Labour Government was elected on a commitment to end austerity, to deliver change. And what have the Labour Government done?

“The Labour government have delivered a continuation of austerity."

The Scottish Government has a forecasted £5bn spending blackhole by the end of the decade - with about £2bn coming from rising social security.

Scotland’s auditor general Stephen Boyle said that the SNP administration currently lacks a plan to fill this shortfall.

He said the underspend was due to a £2.2bn increase in UK government funding and one-off savings.

Finance Secretary Shona Robison said: “This fundamentally misunderstands how the Scottish budget must operate. The Scottish Government cannot overspend on its Budget and - as we do every year - we left a small underspend last year of around 1.7% of our overall budget.

“There has been no loss of spending power with every penny of funding now allocated to the current financial year.”