The SNP has called Lib Dem Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander “a disgrace” after he refused to lift the limit on the amount of criminals’ cash that can be invested in Scotland’s communities, putting Treasury coffers first.
Alexander has written to the Scottish Government to say he is refusing to lift the cap of £30million, claiming to do so would have “implications” for the UK and “lead to a loss of revenue to the Exchequer”.
SNP Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said a re-elected Government will demand the scrapping of the limit and invest every penny into communities damaged by crime.
The SNP manifesto says it will negotiate with the UK government “to remove this limit and allow even more money seized from criminals to be invested in our communities.”
Reacting strongly to Danny Alexander’s refusal to lift the cap, Kenny MacAskill said: “Danny Alexander’s reply is a complete disgrace – another example of the Lib Dems putting the interests of the Tory Treasury in London ahead of the needs of Scotland’s communities.
“When it comes to ploughing ill-gotten criminal gains into youth and community projects in Scotland there should be no limit. But what Danny Alexander is saying is that once the total reaches £30million, the Tory Treasury will grab the cash – and he refuses to budge. It’s not on.
“If the SNP Government is re-elected next month, one of the first things we will do is demand that they scrap this limit so that we can divert more money from criminals into helping the communities they rip-off.”{jcomments on}
