Swinney in radical spending move

The public sector is being squeezed because of spending cuts

The Scottish government is planning a radical shift in its spending priorities, BBC Scotland has learned.

It is understood that Finance Secretary John Swinney will announce plans to move some day-to-day spending to projects involving capital investment.

This will be in a bid to save jobs and promote economic growth.

Mr Swinney is due to outline his spending priorities for the forthcoming financial year before MSPs at Holyrood next Wednesday.

The possibility of a shift in policy is in line with views expressed by Professor Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Prize winning economist recently appointed to advise Scottish ministers.

As things stand, capital investment is due to face much tighter constraints than revenue, down 38% over four years.

BBC Scotland’s political editor Brian Taylor said that although taking day-to-day spending and using it on capital projects will add to the pressure on revenue spending, ministers believe that maintaining capital investment is vital to economic growth.

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