Secretary of State for Scotland reaction to GERS figures publication
The latest Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) publication was released today.
The GERS publication series provides estimates for Scotland’s fiscal balance and today’s release covers the period of 2011/12.
In response to today’s publication Michael Moore said:
“The rise in oil revenues is welcome and shows that the UK’s regulatory and tax regime is supporting the industry to get the most out of North Sea oil and gas. In the last Budget we announced a package of measures which will secure billions of pounds of extra investment in the UK Continental Shelf.
“While the sector is valuable to our country the past decade has shown that the price of oil can be extremely volatile from year to year. This underlying volatility can be much better managed inside the larger UK where oil and gas revenues represent a smaller percentage of overall tax revenues. Being part of a broader UK provides the stability and support that allows the industry to flourish.
“The GERS figures are also a reminder of just how important UK Government spending is in Scotland. In this year the UK Government spent more than £25 billion paying the pensions of our elderly, supporting those looking for work and protecting our national security.”