Gers figures: Scotland's public spending deficit rises by more than £5 billion
There was an estimated deficit of 11.7 per cent of GDP in 2024/25, compared to 5.1 per cent for the UK
Scotland’s public spending deficit has risen by more than £5 billion as North Sea oil and gas revenues dropped for the second year in a row.
The latest annual Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (Gers) report shows there was an estimated deficit of 11.7 per cent of GDP in 2024/25, compared to 5.1 per cent for the UK.
Gers looks at spending levels and the amount raised in revenues through taxation. Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said Scots benefit from higher public spending than the UK average, at £2,669 more per person north of the border, an increase of £358 on the previous year.
Labour accused SNP ministers of “reckless financial vandalism”, while business leaders called the widening deficit “disappointing”.
In 2024/25, Scotland had a net fiscal deficit of minus £26.5 billion, an increase of £5.1 billion from the previous year.
The Scottish Government said falling North Sea revenue - which declined by £0.8 billion in 2024/25 to £4.1 billion - had contributed to the deterioration.
But its report adds: “The difference is primarily explained by movements in non-North Sea revenue and spending, with Scottish revenue growing more slowly and Scottish expenditure growing more quickly than the UK.”
SNP Finance Secretary Shona Robison told journalists: “The increase in the deficit in Scotland doesn’t reflect the Scottish Government’s management of public finances.
“In fact, Gers itself shows that for the fourth year in a row, devolved revenues have grown faster than devolved expenditure. In the limited areas where we have control, we are therefore delivering sustainable public finances.
“Instead, Gers reflects the fact that the current UK Government has continued with the economic mismanagement of its predecessors.”
Revenue in Scotland grew by 1.5 per cent in 2024/25 to £91.4 billion. Spending increased to £117.6 billion, up from £111.4 billion in 2023/24.
“As a share of GDP, public spending remained at historically high levels in 2024,” the report notes.
Gers is prepared independently of Scottish ministers, and its figures have long been a focus of debate when it comes to the finances of an independent Scotland.
Ms Robison said the decisions taken in Scotland “are helping support sustainable public finances”.
She added: “Scotland’s public finances are better than many other parts of the UK, with the third highest revenue per person in the UK, behind only London and the South East.
“The Gers statistics reflect only the current constitutional arrangements – of Scotland as part of the UK – and not an independent Scotland with its own policy, decisions on defence spending and the economy.
“Gers allocates Scotland a population share of reserved UK spending rather than accounting for real expenditure. For example, UK defence expenditure is listed as £5.1 billion, but only £2.1 billion was actually spent with industry in Scotland in 2023/24.
But Mr Murray said the figures underlined “the collective economic strength of the United Kingdom and how Scotland benefits from the redistribution of wealth inside the UK”.
He added: “By sharing resources with each other across the UK, Scots benefit by £2,669 more per head in public spending than the UK average. It also means that devolved governments have the financial heft of the wider UK behind them when taking decisions.
“That means more money for schools, hospitals and policing, if the Scottish Parliament chooses to invest in those areas. People in Scotland will rightly expect to see better outcomes.”
He took aim at the Scottish Government’s support for full fiscal autonomy, broadly defined as full control over taxes and domestic expenditure, excluding defence, foreign policy and security.
Mr Murray said this would mean a funding gap of more than £14 billion for SNP ministers to manage, leading to “turbo-charged austerity and economic chaos”. Ms Robison dismissed this as “nonsense”.
Scottish Labour finance spokesman Michael Marra said: “These figures have laid bare the reckless financial vandalism of this SNP Government.
“The SNP has already blown a hole in Scotland’s finances and its full fiscal autonomy plans would make a bad picture worse.
“Scotland is benefitting disproportionately from Labour’s game-changing investment in public services, but this money is being squandered by an incompetent SNP Government. The SNP cannot be trusted with public money.”
Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Craig Hoy said the figures highlighted “the huge, and rising, union dividend that Scots enjoy thanks to being in a strong United Kingdom”.
He said: “Every single person in the country is almost £2,600 better off because we are part of the UK.
“If we lost that - as we would if the SNP achieved their goal of Scottish independence - it would have a catastrophic impact on the nation’s finances.
“Things are bad enough already, because the SNP Government continues to squander their positive financial settlement through mismanagement and waste, but losing the UK funding model would mean even more eye-watering tax hikes and public spending cuts for hard-working Scots.”
He said the report also underlined “the importance of North Sea oil and gas to Scotland’s fiscal security, and the economic lunacy of the Labour Government’s block on new drilling”.
Susan Murray MP from the Scottish Lib Dems added: “The Scottish Government’s own statistics have once again left the nationalists in a shambles.
“This is the bottom line that Nicola Sturgeon and co cannot get away from: Scotland gets a good deal out of being part of the UK.
“Even before you factor in centuries of cultural ties, mutual aid, shared defence and common values, Scotland gets to spend more money than it would do if it went it alone.
“Let’s put arguing over the constitution to bed and get to grips with fixing the NHS, restoring Scottish education to its rightful place and fixing Scotland’s creaking infrastructure.”
Alastair Cameron, chair of pro-UK campaign group Scotland in Union, said: “As part of the UK, Scotland has billions of pounds of extra money for vital public services like the NHS and schools.”
Michelle Ferguson, director of CBI Scotland, said: “The fact that Scotland’s fiscal deficit has widened again in the latest Gers figures will be disappointing news for firms and households alike. Healthy public finances are essential to delivering high-quality public services, which in turn support business confidence, investment, and the skills base Scotland needs to grow its economy.”
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