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| Scottish independence: Prof Patrick Dunleavy makes £200m start-up claim | Scottish independence: Prof Patrick Dunleavy makes £200m start-up claim |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| An independent Scotland would face £200m of immediate start-up costs, it has been claimed. | An independent Scotland would face £200m of immediate start-up costs, it has been claimed. |
| Prof Patrick Dunleavy gave the figure in a report commissioned by The Sunday Post. | Prof Patrick Dunleavy gave the figure in a report commissioned by The Sunday Post. |
| A spokesman for the First Minister said the UK Treasury's previous £2.7bn figure had been "blown out the water". | A spokesman for the First Minister said the UK Treasury's previous £2.7bn figure had been "blown out the water". |
| However, Willie Rennie, leader of the Scottish Lib Dems, said Alex Salmond had to "come clean" on the cost of independence. | |
| Prof Dunleavy, from the London School of Economics, said an independent Scotland could have to spend between £150m to £200m on new administrative structures to replace existing UK bodies. | Prof Dunleavy, from the London School of Economics, said an independent Scotland could have to spend between £150m to £200m on new administrative structures to replace existing UK bodies. |
| Although an independent Scotland could share UK bodies during the transition to independence, it would have to build its own systems by 2021 to the cost of hundreds of millions of pounds, he claimed. | Although an independent Scotland could share UK bodies during the transition to independence, it would have to build its own systems by 2021 to the cost of hundreds of millions of pounds, he claimed. |
| However, he added that a hostile approach from the UK government in post-Yes negotiations could "greatly add" to the cost. | However, he added that a hostile approach from the UK government in post-Yes negotiations could "greatly add" to the cost. |
| The key points from the paper include: | |
| Prof Dunleavy's latest work comes after he dismissed the UK Treasury's use of his research to calculate £2.7bn of start-up costs as "ludicrous". | |
| 'Utterly demolished' | 'Utterly demolished' |
| A spokesperson for the First Minister said Prof Dunleavy's findings "totally vindicate" the Scottish government's position. | |
| He said: "Their figure of £2.7bn has been blown out of the water by Prof Dunleavy. | He said: "Their figure of £2.7bn has been blown out of the water by Prof Dunleavy. |
| "The Treasury estimate has been exposed as a total and utter fabrication, and we now demand an immediate retraction. | "The Treasury estimate has been exposed as a total and utter fabrication, and we now demand an immediate retraction. |
| "The No campaign's arguments have been totally and utterly demolished, and we now need a retraction both from the Treasury and the No side." | "The No campaign's arguments have been totally and utterly demolished, and we now need a retraction both from the Treasury and the No side." |
| He added: "The set-up costs, which Prof Dunleavy estimates at £200m, would be offset against the scope that he has pointed out for efficiencies from better delivery of services." | He added: "The set-up costs, which Prof Dunleavy estimates at £200m, would be offset against the scope that he has pointed out for efficiencies from better delivery of services." |
| 'Come clean' | 'Come clean' |
| However, Mr Rennie has called on the First Minister to "come clean" over set-up costs for an independent Scotland. | However, Mr Rennie has called on the First Minister to "come clean" over set-up costs for an independent Scotland. |
| He said: "These eye watering figures cannot be dismissed as inconsequential by Alex Salmond. | He said: "These eye watering figures cannot be dismissed as inconsequential by Alex Salmond. |
| "People will find it difficult to understand why the nationalists want to spend billions of pounds on offices, quangos and administration rather than schools, hospitals and colleges." | "People will find it difficult to understand why the nationalists want to spend billions of pounds on offices, quangos and administration rather than schools, hospitals and colleges." |
| He added: "The First Minister says he is incapable of providing an estimate of costs of the policies he doesn't like even by a quarter of a billion pounds either way. This report now puts further pressure on him to come clean." | He added: "The First Minister says he is incapable of providing an estimate of costs of the policies he doesn't like even by a quarter of a billion pounds either way. This report now puts further pressure on him to come clean." |