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First ministers to resist 'cuts' First ministers to resist 'cuts'
(about 1 hour later)
Gordon Brown is due to come under fire from the UK's first ministers over the Treasury's planned efficiency savings.Gordon Brown is due to come under fire from the UK's first ministers over the Treasury's planned efficiency savings.
The proposals aim to save £5bn over the next few years - but the Scottish Government said the move would cost it hundreds of millions of pounds.The proposals aim to save £5bn over the next few years - but the Scottish Government said the move would cost it hundreds of millions of pounds.
The concerns will be raised when Mr Brown sits down with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish first ministers at Westminster.The concerns will be raised when Mr Brown sits down with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish first ministers at Westminster.
But the prime minister is expected to demand that the savings are made.But the prime minister is expected to demand that the savings are made.
Alex Salmond, Scotland's first minister, has denounced the plan as "utter madness". Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has denounced the plan as "utter madness", but Jim Murphy, the Scottish Secretary, criticised him for trying to turn the meeting into a "squabble between London and Edinburgh".
A spokesman for Mr Salmond said the Scottish and UK governments had been able to agree on several spending policy areas, such as the acceleration of cash to fund major public infrastructure projects. Politicians seem to want to fight with each other, rather than fight the recession Jim MurphySecretary of state for Scotland
'Re-think' call The Holyrood and Westminster Governments have been able to agree on several spending policy areas, such as the acceleration of cash to fund major public infrastructure projects.
But the spokesman argued that to go ahead with the proposal during the current economic crisis could be disastrous - a view, he said, was shared by ministers in Wales and Northern Ireland. But Scottish ministers argued that to go ahead with the proposal during the current economic crisis could be disastrous - a view, they said, which was shared by ministers in Wales and Northern Ireland.
"There must be a re-think by the UK Government," he said. SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson said he was "very hopeful" the prime minister would listen to the arguments, adding: "It's not just about Scotland, it's about our neighbours in Wales and Northern Ireland too.
The Scottish Government is also calling for greater, and ultimately full, control over Scotland's finances. "We're going into this downturn, it is the wrong thing to cut back on key public services at this time."
The UK Government's plan, announced in the pre-Budget report, aims to help save the UK from a deep recession, but has taken the country's borrowing to record levels. The UK Government's efficiency plan, announced in the pre-Budget report, aims to help save the UK from a deep recession, but has taken the country's borrowing to record levels.
At the weekend, Chancellor Alistair Darling urged Mr Salmond to stop "blustering" and work out how to make the Scottish Government more cost-effective. 'Fiction as fact'
Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy has said the pre-Budget report would boost the Scottish economy by £2bn. Mr Murphy told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme the Scottish budget had more than doubled to £33bn since devolution, and accused Scottish ministers of putting forward a worst-case scenario and trying to "dress that fiction up as a fact".
BBC political correspondent David Thompson said the meeting will test whether the devolved administrations can put party politics to one side and work with Westminster to protect the UK as a whole from the global economic crisis. "The Scottish Government believes they're the only organisation in Scotland that can't cut out some waste and bureaucracy," he said.
"Politicians seem to want to fight with each other, rather than fight the recession. It's unfortunate that Mr Salmond, in this first meeting of its type, has chosen to turn this into a squabble between London and Edinburgh."
The Scottish Secretary said he wanted all the UK's administrations to join forces to tackle the recession, adding: "I want to see the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, the Northern Irish Assembly and, importantly, the UK Government all tighten their belts in the same way that families across Scotland are doing."
Present at the meeting with Mr Brown will be Mr Salmond, Mr Murphy, Wales's First Minister Rhodri Morgan and Secretary of State Paul Murphy, and Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and Secretary of State Sean Woodward.Present at the meeting with Mr Brown will be Mr Salmond, Mr Murphy, Wales's First Minister Rhodri Morgan and Secretary of State Paul Murphy, and Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and Secretary of State Sean Woodward.
The face-to-face meeting between Mr Brown and Mr Salmond will be the first in almost a year. It will come as the Scottish Government has stepped up calls for greater, and ultimately full, control over Scotland's finances.