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Ministers must be transparent on spending £755m ScotWind cash, says watchdog
Audit Scotland said ministers must explain how they will use the funds, warning the capped-pricing scheme may not deliver value for money.
- Audit Scotland urged the Scottish Government to be more transparent regarding the £755 million raised from the ScotWind leasing scheme, warning that determining full value for money will take years.
- Auditor General Stephen Boyle described ScotWind as a "high risk and reward" approach, noting that no single business case was ever made for the leasing round.
- Ministers have already taken £96 million of ScotWind funds without demonstrating how it supported net-zero goals, while it remains unclear how the Scottish Government intends to use the remaining £507 million.
- Scottish Labour and the Scottish Liberal Democrat parties accused the government of selling Scotland's seabed "on the cheap" and using the cash to "plug budget gaps" rather than investing in the economy.
- Energy Minister Stephen Gethins defended ScotWind as a "success story" delivering investment and jobs, with the government committed to establishing a ScotWind Wealth Fund during this Parliament.
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12 Articles
SNP Government banked £755m in seabed sell-off but won't say where it is going
John Swinney has told he must be transparent about where the money banked from selling off Scottish seabeds to wind farm developers will be going amid a £5bn Budget black hole.
·Glasgow, United Kingdom
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources12
Leaning Left5Leaning Right1Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Left
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Left
50% Left
L 50%
C 40%
Factuality
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