Scottish Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee said new funds made available to the Scottish Government did not completely relieve financial pressures.

He said most of the extra £1.5 billion for the current financial year would be used to pay for already agreed public sector pay rises and that a relatively small part of that figure was available for capital spending in areas such as infrastructure.

On compensation for changes to national insurance, he said there were mixed messages.

“It seems that part of the British government is saying one thing, but Rachel Reeves, who is the chancellor, the boss at the end of the day, is saying another and that has already been included in the money that has been allocated to us .” he said.

“So it’s a big, big unknown.”

McKee refused to know what would be in the Scottish budget on December 4.

But when asked if he thought further tax increases in Scotland would be counterproductive, he said: “I think it’s a very important consideration.”