NICOLA Sturgeon said the sooner Scotland's finances "are out of the hands of Tories at Westminster, the better" as she faced questions from Stephen Kerr about the Scottish Government's four-year Resource Spending Review.
Following a Scottish Conservative opposition debate on the review on Wednesday, Kerr described how public services were facing "drastic spending cuts".
The plan aims to stave off what the Institute for Fiscal Studies predicted could be a £3.5 billion spending shortfall by 2026/27.
Budgets for the police, prisons, justice, universities and rural affairs are all set to fall by around 8%, while spending on enterprise, tourism and trade promotion is set to fall by 16% in real terms over the next four years.
Kerr asked Sturgeon if she agreed with the Scottish Police Federation that the review was "good for criminals".
The First Minister said she didn't before explaining to Kerr that the amount of cash the Scottish Government can spend is largely decided by the Tories in London.
"This Government has supported more police officers, and we have one of the lowest rates of recorded crime in this country since 1974, a 41% reduction in crime since this government took office," said Sturgeon.
"I am delighted that the Tories keep getting up in this chamber and talking about public spending because it gives me the opportunity to remind them that the amount of money this Government has to spend is largely decided by Tories at Westminster.
"That’s what’s wrong with the situation. This year, a budget that is lower in real terms by more than 5% and is projected to continue to be constrained, notwithstanding the rate of inflation hitting 10%.
"The sooner this Government is in charge of its own finances and gets them out of the hands of the Tories at Westminster with independence, the better."
