Chamber and committees

Pensions in an Independent Scotland makes clear that expenditure on social protection is currently lower in Scotland as a share of GDP than in the UK as a whole.

I refer the member to the answers provided on page 386 of the Scottish Government’s White Paper Scotland’s Future: your guide to an Independent Scotland and in particular the answer provided to question 30.

The arrangements for moving from a transitional period of shared delivery to a completely independent Scottish delivery system would be the subject of negotiation between the government of an independent Scotland and the government representing the rest of the UK.

The Expert Working Group report gives good basis for those negotiations and any further work that the Scottish Government would want to do in advance of those negotiations.

Pensions in an Independent Scotland sets out clearly that under 2010-based Office of National Statistics/National Records of Scotland population projections, and without further action being taken, the total dependency ratio in Scotland will rise slightly above the dependency ratio in the UK in the early 2030s, although this picture has improved slightly following updated 2012-based projections. As the paper also points out, the UK pensioner population is projected to rise more quickly than the Scottish pensioner population over the long term.

The Scottish Government will enter negotiations with the UK Government following a vote in favour of independence to agree arrangements for the transition to independence, including shared service arrangements where appropriate. The First Minister and Prime Minister signed the Edinburgh Agreement in October 2012, in which the Scottish and UK Governments agree to work constructively together in light of the outcome of the referendum. We expect negotiations on transition to be entered into in the spirit of the Edinburgh Agreement and it will be in the interest of both countries to reach agreement quickly and constructively.

The Expert Working Group on welfare’s first report confirms the Scottish Government’s view that Scotland is well positioned to deliver benefit payments, including pensions, to people living in Scotland following independence. It also finds that all delivery options are possible in an independent Scotland.

Further Information can be found in the Scottish Government’s white paper Scotland’s Future: your guide to an Independent Scotland.

The Scottish Government has set out in its paper ‘Pensions in an independent Scotland’ a clear and unambiguous commitment on the pension responsibilities it will take on under independence. It also recognises that there would be a need for negotiation with the UK Government as part of the associated transfer of assets and liabilities.

As stated in our paper on Pensions in an Independent Scotland, it would be for a future Scottish Government to work with the pensions industry in Scotland, and all other stakeholders on the design of a Scottish equivalent of the National Employment Savings Trust.

Social Protection is currently more affordable in Scotland than the rest of the UK as a proportion of tax revenues and GDP. For example, figures from 2011-12 show that 38% of Scottish tax revenues were spent on social protection, compared with 42% for the UK as a whole.

All countries face long-term fiscal challenges associated with aging populations Scotland wouldn’t be immune to this. However, Scotland will face any long-term challenges from a starting point of having a relatively stronger fiscal position than the UK as a whole and, with the economic levers available under independence, there will be the opportunity to grow and diversify the Scottish economy.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-17825 on 9 December 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.