Scottish Government Budget to be published
The spending plans come against a £1.5 billion black hole in the country’s finances.
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Your support makes all the difference.Scotland’s Deputy First Minister is set to publish the country’s tax and spending plans for next year.
Shona Robison will address MSPs on Tuesday at Holyrood against the backdrop of a £1.5 billion black hole in the country’s finances.
Ms Robison – who also sits as the country’s Finance Secretary – said at the weekend her Budget will seek to protect people and public services despite the difficult financial situation.
During a visit to RAF Lossiemouth in Moray on Monday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it would be “very disappointing” if the Scottish Government chose to increase the tax divergence with the rest of the UK.
He told journalists: “Ultimately, it’s the Scottish Government that are responsible for their own finances – it’s already the highest-taxed part of the UK and obviously it would be very disappointing to see that tax burden continue to rise in Scotland.”
Reports in recent weeks have suggested Ms Robison is to announce a new tax band for higher earners – something First Minister Humza Yousaf said during the SNP leadership election he would be open to exploring.
Business leaders and opposition politicians, however, have warned against the move.
Asked about the Prime Minister’s comments, Ms Robison said: “What I would say to Rishi Sunak is he has got a bit of a cheek, pitching up in Scotland to say anything given his autumn statement is deprioritising public spending.
“To have a real-terms cut to the NHS in England is an astonishing position at a time when services are still recovering from Covid.
“Clearly that’s not something we can follow and wouldn’t want to follow.”
According to the Scottish Conservatives, changes already made to the tax system in Scotland mean the majority of people are paying more tax than elsewhere in the UK.
We hope the Scottish Government will take the pragmatic decisions needed to protect private sector jobs and commercial investment, and prioritise economic growth
The party’s finance spokeswoman Liz Smith said: “The median annual Scottish salary is almost £2,000 above the threshold at which Scots workers pay more tax than they would south of the border.”
A council tax freeze has already been pledged, with the First Minister using his inaugural speech to the SNP conference to announce the plans.
The Scottish Government has pledged to “fully fund” the freeze but there have been concerns raised about potential cuts to council services as a result.
Steven Heddle, the vice-president of local authority body Cosla, said on Monday: “Unless it is funded with additional money for each council that allows them to fund their planned council tax increases, then it is not fully funded, and it will be our service users who will suffer as a consequence.”
The Scottish Government will also have a decision to make on benefits, with Mr Yousaf having said in his run for the top job he would like to increase the Scottish child payment from £25 per child per week to £30.
The Child Poverty Action Group urged the Government to take the step, with director John Dickie saying: “Increasing the Scottish child payment to £30 is a cost-effective investment that would provide much-needed financial support to the lower-income families who get little if any benefit from the proposed council tax freeze.
“It would make a substantive impact and demonstrate the First Minister is genuine in his desire to shift the dial on child poverty.”
Reports have also suggested the Scottish Government will wipe debt accrued by some of Scotland’s poorest pupils on school meals.
Responding to a Government-inspired question at Holyrood, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said a one-off fund would be created to tackle the issue, with the Scottish Sun reporting the cash would wipe all such debt in Scotland.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, the First Minister later said: “Access to healthy and nutritious meals is vital to support children’s learning.
“Families should not be punished for struggling during a cost-of-living crisis caused by Westminster and Brexit.
“That’s why @ScotGov will provide funding to councils to help remove school meal debt.”
The Scottish Government has also been urged to take action for businesses, with Scottish Retail Consortium director David Lonsdale calling for a rise in business rates to be avoided, adding: “The First Minister has taken several positive steps over the last six months to improve the relationship with Scotland’s business community.
“This Budget will give businesses the opportunity to assess exactly how deep that commitment will run.
“We hope the Scottish Government will take the pragmatic decisions needed to protect private sector jobs and commercial investment, and prioritise economic growth.”
The Scottish Greens – the SNP’s Government partners – said the Budget is one for “people and planet”.
“Our Budget reflects core Green values,” said the party’s finance spokesman Ross Greer.
“We are protecting people and planet from Westminster and asking those with the deepest pockets to pay more than those on lower incomes, allowing us to fund key services like our NHS.”