SCOTLAND faces an "impossible choice" between not funding further essential coronavirus measures or "making deep cuts", the SNP Finance Secretary has said. 

Kate Forbes said the pandemic and the UK's exit from the EU had placed unprecedented pressure on the Scottish Government's resources. 

She repeated her calls for Scotland to be given greater financial powers to help it deal with the economic consequences of the outbreak. 

Speaking in Holyrood, Ms Forbes said: "The Covid outbreak as well as EU exit has placed unprecedented challenge upon the Scottish Government's resources, and in the absence of additional fiscal powers, consequentials and reprioritisation of spending remain the only funding sources available to us. 

"We've already undertaken significant reprioritisation to date of around £600 million, so without additional UK Government funding or flexibilities, we face the impossible choice of either not funding further essential Covid spend, and thus harming recovery, or making deep cuts to other areas of expenditure which will similarly undermine the recovery and directly impact the people of Scotland. 

"And it is an impossible choice that we've been put in."

Ms Forbes said Scotland will do everything in its power to maintain funding for key public services. 

She said: "We will use every power and every penny at our disposal."

It followed a question from SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson, who asked whether the Scottish Government is concerned about a budget shortfall this financial year as a direct result of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.