Salmond thwarted on guns and tax

ALEX Salmond suffered a double blow yesterday as it emerged Westminster was blocking two of his party's key Holyrood ambitions.

The UK government has ruled out providing any financial assistance to the SNP administration's plans to replace the council tax with a local income tax. And demands for the Scottish Parliament to be able to introduce its own firearms legislation have been dismissed, as Westminster is ruling out a review.

The SNP had banked on retaining the current £400 million a year which the Scottish Government gets in council tax rebate from Westminster. But the UK Work and Pensions, Secretary, James Purnell, said there was no justification for Westminster to help fund the radical reform. It has been claimed a 3p local income tax rate would leave councils nearly £1 billion short of the sums they currently take from council tax. The SNP had been banking on the £400 million Westminster rebate would help plug the gap.

But Mr Purnell said: "They are basically asking us to subsidise them for having a different system. That would seem to me to be pretty hard to justify. If they are promoting a system which is income-related and based on the ability to pay, then there is no need for a benefit on top of that. They can't have it both ways."

A spokesman for the Scottish Government's finance secretary, John Swinney, said: "Hopefully, once Mr Purnell has had the opportunity to read our consultation document on local income tax very shortly, he will understand the issues.

"The council tax benefit is Scotland's money. It's part and parcel of the system of locally raised tax to help fund local government services."

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, has triggered an angry row by dismissing calls for a review of the gun laws and turning down an invitation to co-host a firearms summit with Scottish justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill.

Mr MacAskill, who has vowed to press ahead with the summit, accused Mrs Smith of "complacency" – a claim the Scottish Secretary, Des Browne, described as a "gross distortion".

Mr MacAskill said: "I'm disappointed our invitation has been rejected and concerned that the Home Secretary says a review isn't needed now, when the most recent figures revealed that firearms casualties in Scotland rose by 25 per cent in a year – one in three of them children."

However, Mr Browne said the SNP administration at Holyrood was more interested in "grievances and arguments" than the priorities of government.

FREE CARE FOR THE ELDERLY UNDER THREAT
FREE personal care for the elderly could be drastically cut across Scotland because councils cannot afford to keep up with demand.

According to a confidential report by the Confederation of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), commitments to the flagship policy – introduced in 2001 – cannot be met due to an ageing population and rising costs.

It concludes that unless more government funding is forthcoming, local authorities will need to ration or limit the care available.

Help with preparing meals at home, and the introduction of "eligibility criteria" that could see care denied to those with moderate or low needs, are under discussion.