Finance Secretary Shona Robison has unveiled the Scottish Government’s budget for the next financial year.
Focusing on child poverty eradication, healthcare improvement, and sustainability, here, we provide an overview of the key measures:
Tax Changes
- Income tax rates will remain frozen until 2026.
- No new tax bands for the rest of this parliament.
- Basic and intermediate rate thresholds will increase by 3.5%.
Council Tax and Local Authorities
- Local authorities can raise council tax without a cap.
- An additional £1bn in government funding for councils.
- Local authorities will receive over £15bn to support services—a record allocation.
Social Security & Benefits
- Mitigation of the two-child cap starting in 2026.
- Continued winter heating payments for older people.
- £6.9bn in social security spending, including the Scottish Child Payment.
- £800m more for benefits in 2025-26.
NHS and Social Care
- A £2bn increase in frontline NHS spending, raising total health and social care funding to £21bn.
- £200m to reduce waiting times and improve capacity, aiming to end 12-month treatment waits by 2026.
- Expansion of the Hospital at Home service, eye procedures, and hip replacements.
- Funding for new health facilities, including the Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh, Belford Hospital in Fort William, and Monklands Hospital in Airdrie.
Justice and Policing
- £4.2bn for justice, including £1.62bn to maintain police numbers.
- £3m to address retail crime such as shoplifting.
- £347m to develop prisons in Glasgow and Inverness.
- £159m for community justice services to promote alternative interventions.
Housing and Homelessness
- £768m for affordable housing development, delivering over 8,000 new properties.
- £4m for homelessness prevention and pilot programs.
Climate and Environment
- £4.9bn dedicated to tackling climate change, lowering emissions, and protecting nature.
- Almost £90m for woodland and peatland conservation.
- £190m to promote walking, cycling, and resilient public transport systems.
- Expansion of the electric vehicle charging network.
Education
- A 3% real-terms uplift for education and skills, maintaining teacher numbers and supporting school infrastructure.
- Increased support for primary school breakfast clubs.
- A 3.5% increase in higher education funding while protecting free university tuition.
Other Key Spending
- £6m for the National Islands Plan, supporting resilient island communities.
- £34m uplift for culture funding in 2025-26.
- £660m for rural economies, including support for farmers and crofters.
- Over £2.6bn for public transport to enhance bus, rail, and ferry services, including free bus travel for asylum seekers.
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