David Cameron has pledged that a suggested £4 billion spending cut for Scotland is “not on the horizon”.
The Prime Minister was responding to a letter from First Minister Alex Salmond, who pressed No 10 on a House of Commons backbench members’ report.
It recommended the Barnett formula, which calculates how much Scotland gets as a share of the UK budget, “must be replaced as a priority” in the event of a No vote next September and spending north of the border cut.
However, in his letter, Mr Cameron said: “The Autumn Statement illustrates a very clear benefit of the UK instead of Scotland having to cut public spending in response to the more than £3 billion decline in the oil and gas receipts forecast for the next three years, the Scottish Government will instead see its budget rise by more than £300 million over the same period.
“Our priority remains reducing the deficit and ensuring a secure economic future for the whole of the UK.
“Despite the difficult decisions we have had to take, the Autumn Statement means that cumulatively since the Spending Review of 2010, the UK Government will have increased the Scottish Government’s budget by more than £2 billion,” he added.
“Your request for guarantees in perpetuity about the future is quite astonishing; I can no more bind future UK Governments than you can bind future Scottish Governments.
“What I can say is that reform of the Barnett formula is not on the horizon. Indeed, the only immediate threat to Scotland’s funding is a vote for independence.”
Mr Salmond had also sent a copy of “Scotland’s Future”, the Scottish Government’s White Paper on independence, to Downing Street alongside his letter.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last night claimed the Prime Minister had “let the cat out of the bag” with regards to Scotland’s future funding.
She said: “He has admitted he is unable to give any guarantees on what will happen to Scotland’s budget in the event of a No vote despite demanding absolute guarantees on every aspect of a future independent Scotland.
“His comments on what is ‘on the horizon’ for the Barnett formula give the game away completely because it is what is just over the horizon that people should be concerned about, and the PM himself is on record as saying Barnett is ‘coming to the end of its life’.”