Scottish Budget 2025-26

This week saw the Scottish Budget for 2025-26 presented to the Scottish Parliament by Finance Secretary Shona Robison. 

The Finance Secretary outined how the budget will deliver progress for the people of Scotland, with a record increase in frontline NHS spending, and plans to lift 15,000 children out of poverty by mitigating the UK Government’s two-child limit from 2026.

The Scottish Government have maintained direct support of agriculture and will invest £660m to support farmers, crofters, land managers and rural communities. A full breakdown of Rural Affairs, Land Reform & Islands budget is online and some highlights include: 

• Continued  support to our island communities through increased investment of over £9 million, supporting vital infrastructure projects through our Islands Programme, publishing a new National Islands Plan, helping communities navigate higher costs of living with the Islands Cost Crisis Emergency Fund and progressing the Carbon Neutral Islands project.
• £35.5 million will help to fund the restoration of more than 15,000 hectares of degraded peatland and £53 million will be invested to create more than 11,000 hectares of woodland across Scotland.
• Over £660 million for rural communities to support the crucial contribution of Scotland’s farmers, crofters and the wider rural economy

Delivering the budget the Ms Robison said:

“I am proud to present a budget that delivers on the priorities of the people of Scotland.

“Parliament can show that we understand the pressures people are facing. We can choose to come together to bring hope to people, to renew our public services, and deliver a wealth of new opportunities in our economy.

“This Budget invests in public services, lifts children out of poverty, acts in the face of the climate emergency, and supports jobs and economic growth.

“It is a budget filled with hope for Scotland’s future and I look forward to working with all parties in Parliament to secure agreement around its provisions.”

The 2025-26 Scottish Budget also includes:

• £6.9 billion total investment in social security, including the Scottish Child Payment
• Almost £4.2 billion across the justice system in 2025-26, including £1.62 billion for policing to support capacity and capability, £881.1 million for prisons, including £347 million for the prison estate to deliver HMP Glasgow and HMP Highland, and £159 million for community justice services to support the wider use of community interventions
• Over £2.6 billion towards public transport to support bus, rail and ferry services and increases the dedicated funding available to the four councils operating their own ferry services to £50.3 million
• Almost £90 million to protect, maintain and increase our woodlands and peatlands, to restore more than 15,000 hectares of degraded peatland and ensure the creation of more than 11,000 hectares of woodland across Scotland
• A £34 million uplift for culture in 2025-26, building on the £15.8 million increase in the last Budget to take the total incremental increase in culture funding to almost £50 million – the halfway point in our commitment to increase funding to culture and the arts by £100 million more annually by 2028-29
• Protection for free tuition and a 3.5% increase in total investment in Higher Education, compared to a 3.08% increase in university funding in England
• Community Led Local Development (CLLD) will see a proposed budget of £9 million for financial year 2025-26. 

Stages of the Scottish Budget Bill

Once the Budget Bill is introduced, it must go through 3 stages:

• Stage 1: There is a debate in the Chamber on the general principles of the Bill
• Stage 2: Changes to the Bill can be suggested by Scottish Government ministers. These are considered by the Finance and Constitution Committee
• Stage 3: MSPs decide on any further changes proposed by Scottish Government ministers and vote on whether to pass the Bill.

Passing of the Scottish Budget Bill

The Budget is still subject to parliamentary approval and will only be confirmed should there be sufficient votes to support it.  There is a therefore the possibility that numbers could change – and should any additional commitments arise during the Budget passage with costs in 2025-26, these costs would need offsetting against reductions elsewhere.

If the Budget Bill is passed and receives Royal Assent, it becomes an Act. The Scottish Government aims to have the Bill passed by the end of February each year so it’s ready for the start of the new financial year in April. 

From April, the Scottish Government and other public bodies start to put in place the spending commitments set out in the Act. Scottish Parliament committees will look at the impact of how the budget is being spent and how money should be spent in the future. This work feeds into their continuous all year budget scrutiny work.

More details

Access the budget at Scottish Budget 2025-26 - gov.scot

Access the Finance Secretary Shona Robison statement at  Scottish Budget 2025-2026: Finance Secretary's statement - 4 December 2024 - gov.scot