LABOUR peer George Foulkes has urged Boris Johnson to stop the Scottish Government spending money on a future independence referendum. 

But the plea was rejected by the Conservatives, who told the Lord that Scottish ministers were "accountable to their own legislature and electorate for their actions."

Last week, Kate Forbes set aside £20 million in her resource spending review for a vote on the constitution. 

She defended the funding saying it was to allow the SNP to deliver on their manifesto commitment to hold a referendum. 

In the House of Lords on Wednesday, Lord Foulkes asked the UK government to monitor “the expenditure of the devolved authorities to ensure that they are not spending money on reserved areas”. 

The Cumnock Baron - who was a minister under Tony Blair -  asked Stephen Greenhalgh, the Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up if he agreed that “devolution means that devolved authorities should be spending money only on the devolved areas and that any spending on reserved areas would be improper?” 

Lord Foulkes added: “So will the government now consider monitoring the expenditure of the devolved authorities to ensure that they are not spending money on reserved areas like the Scottish government who are spending money on the constitution? £20 million, including employing civil servants to prepare for a referendum and breaking up the United Kingdom? 

“Shouldn't this be on the agenda for the next meeting between the Prime Minister and the First Minister?”

Lord Greenhalgh told peers: “I take the point that the Lord has made now on a number of occasions.

"It's clearly an important issue to maintain the union. The devolution settlement sets out responsibilities that fall within devolved and reserved competence. 

“Scottish ministers are accountable to their own legislature and electorate for their actions including further expenditure decisions.”

The SNP's Mhairi Black said Labour leader Anas Sarwar should make clear if he agreed with his Lord.  

She said: "This exposes Labour’s real attitude to Scotland – they want to clip Holyrood’s wings rather than give Scotland new powers, and Anas Sarwar should make clear whether he agrees with Lord Foulkes.

“An unelected Labour peer is telling a Tory Prime Minister, who Scotland has rejected time and again, to curb the democratically elected Scottish Government's power and funds. Westminster is not working for Scotland, indeed, it is actually working against it.

"It is these funds that are mitigating cruel Westminster policies like the bedroom tax, which is protecting over 70,000 households in Scotland.

"This makes clear what Labour's priorities are, and Scotland's voice is not one of them."

At last week's First Minster's Questions, Nicola Sturgeon insisted that spending £20 million on holding a second independence referendum was “a really good investment”.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross asked the SNP leader why she was willing to spend millions on a vote on the constitution “in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis”.

But the First Minister said that the referendum will give “the people of Scotland an opportunity to choose a better future at this particular moment in time”.

It's not the first time Lord Foulkes has called on the UK government to have a more hands-on approach when it comes to devolution. 

Last year, the peer called for the UK Government to “rein in” Holyrood’s spending in reserved areas.