As we reported last week, the Scot ministers aren't happy about the £68.8m that culture secretary Jeremy Hunt splashed on the rollout of fibre optic tech in Scotland.

The country's cabinet secretary for infrastructure and capital investment, Alex Neil, grumbled that he was "disappointed" with the investment from the UK government, arguing that the money handout fell short of expectations.

Scotland contributes a little more than 8 per cent of UK revenues according to the latest figures. The £68.8m that Hunt assigned represented just under 13 per cent of the total £530m available, a fifty per cent markup on what the Scots should have got on a pro rata basis.

It's just another expression of the Barnett Formula. Nothing particularly new that Scotland gets a higher percentage of government expenditure than it's contribution to UK GDP. It's to do with need rather than equivalence. Mind you, bitching about it doesn't seem a very smart thing to do.

Jon

winging moaning Scots

Is winging some new kind of torture designed especially for dealing with moaning Scots?