Scotland plans to issue £1.5bn of its own bonds – ‘kilts’ rather than gilts

If re-elected in May, the Scottish government intends to issue a total of £1.5bn of debt during the next parliament. Photograph: ImageGap/Getty

The Scottish first minister John Swinney has said Edinburgh is on track to issue its own government bonds, nicknamed “kilts”, after the country was given the same credit rating as the UK.

Two ratings agencies Moody’s and S&P Global gave Scotland a score of Aa3 and AA respectively, echoing their judgment for the UK as a whole.