UK "would have near-veto on independent Scottish budget" The SNP's plan to keep the pound after independence could leave London with a "near-veto" over economic policy in Scotland, according to a report. The Scottish economy would also be too reliant on North Sea reserves, which are diminishing, while oil prices are expected to fall to $70 a barrel by the end of the decade, Capital Economics said. But its report was branded "inaccurate and flawed" by the SNP government, which pointed to the claims the NHS bill could rise after independence - despite the fact health is devolved already. Richard Holt, the report's author, said if an independent Scotland continued to use the pound, the Bank of England would need to become the new nation's "lender of last resort," meaning it would bail out institutions such as Royal Bank of Scotland in the event of another financial crisis. "It is quite possible that in the negotiations over independence, the UK government would demand and get a near-veto over Scotland's government budget, just as it has now," he said. Scotland would be expected to accept responsibility for servicing and repaying a share of existing UK debt, but it would probably be the UK government that was ultimately liable to honour the debt. "Those pledges would surely only be given by the Westminster government if it continued to exercise a high degree of control over Scottish economic policy," Mr Holt said. But a spokeswoman for finance secretary John Swinney said: "This is a deeply flawed report riddled with ill-informed guesswork, unsubstantiated claims and basic errors. "It even includes the suggestion that independence will mean additional costs for "administration of the health service" - something which is already devolved and accounts for around a third of the Scottish Government's budget."