Scottish Budget 2021-22 announced

Significant new investment to drive economic recovery, bolster public services and support families underpins the Scottish Government’s spending and taxation plans for the coming year.

Presenting the Scottish Budget 2021-22, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes today announced support for jobs and skills totalling around £1.1 billion.

Job creation is a priority, with measures including a commitment to launch a new Green Workforce Academy to help people secure work in the low carbon economy, a £100 million Green Jobs Fund over the next parliament,  £7 million towards making Scotland a world class hub for digital business and an additional £125 million for the Young Person’s Guarantee.

The budget also proposes:

• £98.2 million to improve Scotland’s digital infrastructure and deliver access to high quality broadband and mobile coverage.
• a new £55 million programme to support town centres and community-led regeneration projects
• doubling the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund, helping tourist attractions and local communities make improvements to cope with increased visitors
• an additional £27 million to expand woodland creation and the associated infrastructure, supporting green jobs

Ms Forbes said:

 “This budget is being delivered in exceptional circumstances as we continue to battle a pandemic that has shaken our society and economy to the core, and as we face the harmful impacts of Brexit.

 “It promotes innovation and reform, new beginnings, new directions. And while it continues to target support in the immediate term, it also tracks a course over the next year to build a fairer, stronger and greener country.

 “To help drive our green economic recovery I am providing the stability and certainty that businesses have asked for through the most competitive reliefs packages in the UK. There are innovative measures to promote sustainable growth and we are investing more than £1 billion in jobs and training.

 “The budget sets out a distinctive Scottish pay policy that again supports the lowest paid, charting a different course to the ill-judged pay freeze announced by the UK Government. It also bolsters our health service, delivers more affordable homes, provides additional childcare places and helps young people into work.

 “Throughout these dark times we have never given up hope. This budget seeks to build on that hope and, by focusing on how we rebuild and renew our country, make the light at the end of the tunnel shine that bit brighter.”

Background

 The Scottish Budget 2021-22 document is available online.

 Full details of the budget are available at www.gov.scot/budget