Treasury announces further £1.1bn Covid support funding for Scotland

The UK Treasury has announced a further £1.1bn of coronavirus support funding for the Scottish government.

It said this meant £9.7bn had now been allocated to Scotland through the Barnett formula since the start of the pandemic.

Ministers also confirmed the money can be spent now or carried over into 2021/22.

The Scottish government welcomed the funding but repeated calls for devolution of greater borrowing powers.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Steve Barclay said the UK government would continue to give the Scottish government the "resources and flexibility" to fulfil its responsibilities and support people, businesses and public services.

He added: "From the outset of this crisis, people and businesses in Scotland have been able to rely on the UK government.

"UK Treasury schemes such as furlough, support for the self-employed and business loans have helped to protect jobs and livelihoods."

The UK government said more than 900,000 Scottish jobs had been supported through the furlough and self-employed income schemes, while Scottish businesses had also received £3.4bn in loans.

The Scottish government pledged to set out its plans for the new cash within days.

A spokesman said: "This funding is welcome, however late the notification at this point in the financial year, and we will set out to parliament in the coming days our proposals for allocating these amounts as part of our on-going response to the coronavirus pandemic.

"The process again demonstrates, however, the shortcomings of the devolved funding arrangements, where we are only informed of Barnett consequentials long after the UK government's associated policy decisions have been made.

"Moreover, the Scottish government cannot borrow at its own hand to fund spending in response to Covid-19 or support the economy in the way that countries around the world have done."