The SNP, led by Nicola Sturgeon (pictured), won a landslide election victory north of the border this month after vowing to oppose austerity measures

England has suffered deeper spending cuts than Scotland during the economic downturn, a shock report has found.

The SNP won a landslide election victory north of the border this month after vowing to oppose austerity measures.

But Scotland has already been cushioned from the worst effects of public spending cuts compared to England, a study by the House of Commons Library reveals.

A generous funding formula means that Scots have benefited for years from much higher public spending than the English.

But the gap, which stood at £1,496 per head in 2010, had widened to £1,841 in 2013 and was still £1,597 per head a year later. Spending has fallen in both nations, but has dropped further and faster in England.

The lavish funding of Scotland means Scots benefit from a range of public services free of charge, including prescriptions, long-term care for the elderly and university tuition fees – all of which attract hefty charges in England.

The new figures will fuel the debate about whether England gets a fair deal from the current spending settlement.

Ministers will publish plans to devolve further powers to Edinburgh in a new Scotland Bill in tomorrow's Queen's Speech.

The proposals will include measures to give the Scottish Parliament greater power to raise its own resources through income tax and VAT.

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Former Tory Cabinet minister John Redwood said the funding settlement also had to be tackled if ministers want a lasting new deal.

Mr Redwood said: 'There has to be a new formula and a new settlement, and there will be. There is a high level political agreement, but we still need to hammer out exactly how much grant Scotland continues to get. There is an opportunity now to completely renegotiate the financial settlement with Scotland.

Former Tory Cabinet minister John Redwood (left) said the funding settlement had to be tackled and fellow Tory Peter Bone (right) said it was a growing source of resentment in his Wellingborough constituency

'There is an issue of fairness here. The English feel they would like some of the free services Scotland has but we can't afford. It has got to change, and it will.'

Fellow Tory Peter Bone said the funding gap with Scotland was a growing source of resentment in his Wellingborough constituency.

'In the East Midlands, the gap with Scotland is more than £2,000 per person,' he said. 'My constituents simply do not understand why that should be – they pay the same taxes as the Scots, so why do they receive so much less in return?

'We have heard a lot from the SNP about austerity up there, but they have been protected from the worst of it by the English. It is unfair and wrong, and it needs to be addressed or the resentment will continue to grow.'

Under the discredited Barnett formula introduced by Labour in 1978 Scots receive 10 per cent of the money handed out by Whitehall, despite having little more than 8 per cent of the population.

England has suffered deeper spending cuts than Scotland (pictured, Edinburgh) during the economic downturn, a shock report has found

The report found that spending per head in Scotland fell by 4 per cent in the four-year period. But spending in England fell by 5.4 per cent, while in London it plunged by 11.1 per cent. Average spending in Scotland is now almost a fifth higher than in England.

The contrast with some English regions is starker still. Scots now benefit from spending that is almost a third higher than in the south-east of England – an average gap of £2,519 per year.

The figures cover all identifiable public spending including pensions and benefits, health and education. The report acknowledges the figures are not a 'precise measure' but suggests they give a good 'broad overview' of the gap on spending.

In the run-up to the 2010 election David Cameron indicated the Tories would scrap Barnett and phase in a fairer deal.