SCOTTISH Labour leader Anas Sarwar was left red-faced after the First Minister mocked him for “not doing his homework” over claims the Government was trying to “clip the wings” of Audit Scotland.
Sarwar accused Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Government of cutting the budget of the public body in order to hide government failures.
However, the FM fired back that it was “basic stuff” that Sarwar had missed - pointing out that Audit Scotland’s budget is set through the Scottish Parliament.
The Glasgow MP was left embarassed in the chamber by the exchange, after the First Minister pointed out that the figures contained in the Government’s spending review were only illustrative.
It comes after an Audit Scotland report published on Thursday revealed some Covid-19 funding had remained unspent, but that the overall budget was managed effectively.
Sarwar chose to focus on this during FMQs, specifically on the funds being used to build reserves, stating it was the “equivalent of taking a payday loan and putting it in your current savings account”.
He added: “This isn't the first time that Audit Scotland have highlighted this government’s incompetence. As is typical with this SNP government there's a culture of contempt for anyone who dares ask a difficult question or exposes an inconvenient truth, even whether it's one of your own, they close ranks and get a slap on the wrist instead.”
The Scottish Labour leader then claimed that in the face of “uncomfortable truths of financial management” SNP figures are openly discussing “clipping the wings of Audit Scotland”.
Watch as Nicola Sturgeon slates Anas Sarwar for failing to do 'basic homework' at #FMQs pic.twitter.com/kGxEDkcQqN
— The National (@ScotNational) June 16, 2022
He continued: “They've already cut their budget by nearly a fifth since they came to power and the Spending Review makes it clear there are years and years of cuts to come.
“Isn't it the case that Nicola Sturgeon is cutting Audit Scotland’s budget because it makes it harder for them to do their job, it makes it harder for them to expose this government’s failures and it makes it easier for her to get away with it.”
The First Minister quickly fired back: “Oh dear, I thought Anas Sarwar would have done the basic homework before coming to this chamber. I've got some news for Anas Sarwar on that point. The Scottish Government doesn't actually set the budget for Audit Scotland.
“Audit Scotland is independently funded through the Scottish Parliament.”
The chamber then erupted into laughter from the SNP benches, forcing the Presiding Officer to intervene, telling MSPs that they surely “all want to hear this”.
The FM joked: “I’m not sure Anas Sarwar will want to hear this but I want him to.”
She then pointed out that the spending review figures for Audit Scotland are illustrative and “don’t replace the independent processes whereby this parliament scrutinises and determines the budget of Audit Scotland”.
The FM added: “That’s just basic stuff that I would have thought a leader of an opposition party might have known.”
The Scottish Government managed its overall Covid-19 budget “effectively”, the Audit Scotland report found, but some funding still remains unspent.
Some £15.5 billion was allocated for Scotland’s Covid-19 response between 2020-2022, of which an estimated £11.8bn was spent between March 2020 and December 2021.
More than 300 announcements on Covid-19 spending were made at Holyrood between March 2020 and March 2022, Audit Scotland said.
Recommendations from the independent auditors include improving the transparency of public finances in order to support any scrutiny on funding and spending measures brought in to mitigate the pandemic’s impact, as well as reflecting on the financial decision-making processes.
