Spending on public services higher in Scotland, but may face greater cuts under independence

Total public spending was around 11% higher per person in Scotland than in the UK as a whole in 2011-12, the latest year for which official statistics are available. Within this, spending on benefits and tax credits was only a little higher in Scotland, but spending per person on public services was almost 17% above the UK average. Like the UK government, the government of a Scotland independent from 2016 would face difficult choices about how much to spend on public services. If it had to deliver a fiscal tightening equivalent to that planned by the UK government, spending cuts or tax rises of about £2.5 billion in today’s terms would be required during its first two years.