The spending review revealed how all the resources available to the Scottish Executive will be allocated over the three years, with the proposed additional 170m going some way towards helping Scotland improve on its poor reputation on sending too much of its waste to landfill.
The additional resources should also help Scotland improve upon its position at the bottom of the recycling league tables.
The Scottish Parliament’s finance minister, Andy Kerr said today: “For too long, we have consigned most of our waste to landfill. Our position at the bottom of the recycling league tables is unacceptable. Our firm commitment is to change that. And we will. But doing so needs significant investment and a change of culture.”
He continued: “As part of our commitment to sustainable development and environmental justice we have provided for an unprecedented increase in spending on waste management. We will invest an additional 170m to implement the national waste strategy over the next three years.”
However, waste will receive less than other public services, such as transport which the Executive says will raise spending over 1billion per annum by 2005 to 2006.
In the 2002 Spending Review, the Executive set out its spending plans for the three years from 2003 to 2004 and 2005 to 2006; this built upon the UK spending review which set out the total resources for Scotland as allocated from Westminster over the period. Today’s figures include Scotland’s own resources such as income from business rates, and thus give Scotland this boost in resources.
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