'Difficult choices' over public sector pay claims - Greens

Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater was speaking ahead of the party's autumn conference this weekend

Ministers are facing "difficult choices" over public sector pay claims in the face of rising inflation, according to the Scottish Greens.

Co-leader Lorna Slater accused the UK government of failing to "inflation proof" the block grant despite the soaring cost of living.

She was speaking ahead of the party's autumn conference in Dundee.

The UK government previously said it had provided Holyrood with a record settlement.

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Ms Slater told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland the ability to offer pay rises was constrained by Scotland's financial dependence on Westminster - which she argued was a strong argument for Scottish independence.

As ScotRail staff begin an overtime ban she told the programme the train operator's nationalisation, which took effect in April, was an opportunity to improve services through investment.

Pressed on whether this should start by paying workers more than 5%, she said: "This is one of the things that is so frustrating about Scotland's current situation.

"We are dependent on the block grant from the UK government. Now the UK government have said they are not going to inflation proof that block grant.

"The money Scotland has is constrained by what we have from Westminster.

"If we were an independent country we would have more options available to pay people properly."

'Heading in the wrong direction'

Ms Slater said workers were "quite right" to demand fair wages but added the issue of public sector pay was a good example of where Holyrood was limited.

She said: "We want people to be able to have living wages, but as long as Scotland is dependent on this block grant from Westminster and as long as we have Tories there who are not only driving inflation but then saying they won't inflation proof the block grant, they won't provide that money, we are forced to make very, very difficult choices."

Earlier this week it emerged windier weather and new capacity has helped Scotland generate a record amount of renewable electricity.

Ms Slater told Good Morning Scotland the country was "really blessed" to have an enormous amount of renewable resource and described it as "the way out of the energy crisis".

She accused the UK government of "heading in the wrong direction" with its oil and nuclear commitments.

Ms Slater was also challenged about the rent freeze, which was fast-tracked through the Scottish Parliament's scrutiny process by tenants' rights minister Patrick Harvie, her fellow Greens co-leader.

She said the party - which has a power sharing agreement with the SNP - was proud of its role in delivering emergency legislation to freeze most rents until the end of March 2023.

Landlords and letting agents are seeking legal advice about whether the rent freeze in Scotland is lawful.

They have also warned it would exacerbate the acute shortage of properties available for rent.

But while Ms Slater accepted there were problems with accommodation, she said some rents in Edinburgh had risen by as much as 40% this year.

She added: "What we don't want is people losing their homes over the winter.

"We don't want people evicted into Scotland's cold winter, made homeless.

"We need to put more in place, more protection for tenants and this is something the Scottish Greens are really committed to."

The UK government previously said it had provided the Scottish government with a record £41bn per year for the next three years, the highest spending review settlement since devolution.

A spokesman added: "As a result, the Scottish government is receiving around £126 per person for every £100 per person of equivalent UK government spending in England over the next three years.

"We're also helping to tackle the rising cost of living, protecting eight million of the most vulnerable families with direct payments of £1,200 this year, and providing additional payments to pensioners and disabled people."