Scotland's top civil servant has been asked whether John Swinney deliberately ignored official guidance over his claim that Scots will lose their pensions. Labour has written to Joe Griffin, the Permanent Secretary, to ask if officials intervened after the First Minister told MSPs: "We are now going to lose our pensions".
Labour questions official advice
In a letter to Griffin, Scottish Labour MSP Claire Baker asked: "Did Scottish Government officials advise the First Minister that his public presentation of the pension figures was inaccurate, misleading or liable to give a false impression of the effect of the policy? If so, did he reject or depart from that advice?"
Baker added: "In light of the First Minister's misleading statements to parliament, have the civil service advised him to correct the record? If not, can you set out why?" She said she would be "surprised, given the impartial nature of the civil service, if no advice had been given to the First Minister in this regard", and that it "would be a sign of disrespect to the civil service and Scotland's parliament if this advice was ignored".
Swinney refers row to independent advisers
Swinney last night admitted he had informed independent advisers, who determine if Scotland's ministerial code has been breached, over the deepening row. He confirmed they would be "able to review this issue and to initiate an investigation … should they feel it is merited".
The pensions remark was made after Andy Burnham's pledge to axe the Triple Lock. Burnham has pledged that from 2030, after the next general election, the UK state pension will rise each year by either 2.5 per cent or inflation, depending on which is highest. The PM also insisted it would "hold its value relative to earnings over time".
Funding and backlash
The UK Government says this would reduce projected spending on pensions by £15bn a year by the end of the 2030s, rising to £50bn a year by 2050, with the savings used to revolutionise the care sector in England. Such a move could see billions more in funding handed to the Scottish Government as a result of the Barnett Formula, which SNP ministers would be free to spend as they wish.
But Swinney has claimed the pensions reform would "take up to £4bn from Scotland's pensioners" by 2050, adding that "this would mean in real terms every pensioner in Scotland being almost £2,000 worse off in 2050". This calculation ignores the likely increases in Scottish Government funding which would flow north as a result of Burnham's reforms.
Russell Findlay, the Scottish Conservatives leader, said: "The fact he's now been forced to alert the independent advisers looks like he knows he's in the wrong and is desperately trying to cover his back. I hope the advisers reach the obvious conclusion that Swinney did mislead pensioners and force him to set the record straight." The Record asked the Scottish Government for comment.
