Britain to set out cost of Scottish vote

The British government will set out what it describes as positive arguments for Scotland remaining in the 307-year-old union with England and Wales by outlining the prohibitive cost of independence.

The report by the Treasury on Wednesday will suggest that an independent Scotland’s fiscal deficit in 2016 to 2017 may be more than 50% higher than the Scottish government’s forecasts, and that potential oil and gas revenues may have been overstated. The report sets out what the British government considers inaccuracies in Scotland’s childcare proposals.

“The Scottish government’s numbers simply don’t add up,” the Treasury said. “Their costing is worse than just wishful thinking.”