Progress for Scotland, by Scotland
The 2025-26 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.
Setting out the Budget to Parliament, Finance Secretary Shona Robison said the government had listened and would now act on the priorities of people, businesses and organisations across the country – delivering progress for Scotland, by Scotland.
The 2025-26 Budget includes:
- a record £2 billion increase in frontline NHS spending taking overall health and social care investment to £21 billion to reduce NHS waiting lists, making it easier for people to see their GP, and progress the Belford Hospital, Monklands Hospital and Edinburgh Eye Pavilion projects
- funding for universal winter heating payments for older Scots, and investment to allow the mitigation of the two-child cap from 2026
- tax choices that freeze income tax rates, increase the Basic and Intermediate rate thresholds to put more money in the pockets of low and middle-income earners, and provide business rates relief for hard-pressed local pubs and restaurants
- a record £15 billion for local government to support the services communities rely on and £768 million to provide 8,000 more affordable homes
- £4.9 billion of action on the climate and nature crises to lower emissions and energy bills, protect the environment, and create new jobs and opportunities
- a real-terms uplift of 3% for spending on education and skills to maintain teacher levels and invest in school infrastructure, as well as new funding to put more breakfast clubs in primary schools
- a £34 million uplift for culture in 2025-26
The Finance Secretary 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.”
Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026 – gov.scot
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
- over £660 million for rural communities to support the crucial contribution of Scotland’s farmers, crofters and the wider rural economy
- 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
- £6 million for the National Islands Plan to deliver infrastructure projects designed in partnership with islanders to support successful and resilient island communities
- 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
Ben Macpherson MSP has welcomed the Scottish Government’s budget commitment to provide significant additional funding for the Granton Waterfront regeneration project, with a long-term agreement to be formalised in 2025.
Having spoken regularly about Granton in the Scottish Parliament this year, and previously, to promote the area as a strategic development site for Edinburgh and Scotland as a whole, Ben Macpherson MSP is delighted that the Scottish Government has committed financial support to significantly progress the City of Edinburgh Council’s ambitions plans.
The budget statement by Shona Robison MSP included: “I can confirm today that we will be working with Edinburgh City Council to unlock over 800 new, net zero homes at their Granton development site.”
In the Scottish Parliament, during the Budget statement and question session, Ben Macpherson MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith said: “As the local constituency MSP, I believe passionately in the significant potential for the development of Granton Waterfront to help tackle Edinburgh’s housing challenges, to transform the northern part of our capital city for the common good, and to deliver economic growth, new opportunities and multiple positive benefits for existing communities and our country more broadly – that’s why I have worked constructively to highlight all of this to Ministers, and am therefore delighted and grateful that the Finance Secretary has committed to working with City of Edinburgh Council to deliver 800 more homes.
“Can the Finance Secretary say more about the Scottish Government’s commitment to the development of Granton Waterfront – as a strategic site – and the positive impact this will deliver for the people of Northern Edinburgh and Scotland as a whole?”
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Shona Robison MSP, replied: “Ben Macpherson is absolutely right, the Granton Waterfront development is a big deal for Edinburgh, and we will work with Edinburgh Council over the coming months and hope to announce a deal on the detail early in the 2025-26 financial year to support this multi-year project.
“And I talked in my statement about it unlocking 800 new net-zero homes of mixed types and tenures but also sustainable transport links and placemaking initiatives.
“This can be a gamechanger for Edinburgh and I am very acutely aware of the housing need in Edinburgh, and I think this will go a long way to helping as part of this solution.”
Ben Macpherson MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, added: ““This is a very significant step forward towards tackling Edinburgh’s housing emergency and realising all of North Edinburgh’s remarkable potential.
“I have passionately and consistently supported the regeneration of Granton Waterfront throughout my time as the MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, and have worked to be a constructive link between the Scottish Government and the City of Edinburgh Council in this collective endeavour.
“The vacant and derelict land in Granton has the potential to be transformed into a new residential hub and a destination to visit for locals and tourists alike – just like in Dundee and other waterfront cities across the world. It is fantastic that the Scottish Government has committed to this vision and given pivotal financial backing to make it happen!
“Edinburgh continues to face significant, various housing challenges and building more affordable homes is crucial in helping to tackle this. With Scottish Government support, the development plans for Granton will deliver transformational change to benefit the local area and the wider economy.
“It has been a consistent priority since my election to promote and deliver more affordable housing in Northern Edinburgh – as well as accompanying infrastructure and facilities in the area, like cultural and creative hubs, opportunities for small businesses to thrive, and key services such as schools and health centres – and I look forward to seeing the development of Granton benefit the people of Edinburgh in the years ahead, and the additional investment and opportunities that will be created.”
BUDGET REACTION:
Responding to today’s Budget statement by the Finance Secretary, John Dickie, Director of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland, said: “The Finance Secretary is absolutely right to mitigate the two-child limit in the absence of abolition at UK level. It’s a pernicious policy that pushes 15,000 children into poverty in Scotland alone.
“Investing in social security for families is key to delivering on the First Minister’s number one priority of eradicating child poverty.
“The devil will be in the detail and families really can’t wait until 2026 to see their incomes boosted, so an above inflation increase to the Scottish child payment is still needed in the meantime.
“But there is no question this is the right focus for prioritising spend. We need the UK government take the same approach to investing in family benefits as a matter of utmost urgency.”
CHILD POVERTY ACTION GROUP
COSLA
Responding to today’s Scottish Government draft budget, Poverty Alliance chief executive Peter Kelly said: “The two-child limit is a huge injustice that has no place in a compassionate society – because every child matters and every child should get support they need.
“We welcome the Scottish Government’s proposals today, and we hope that the UK Government works positively and quickly to get this extra support to households with children. We hope it adds to the pressure to scrap the two-child limit across the UK.
“With record numbers of children in temporary accommodation, additional investment in affordable homes and homelessness prevention is necessary and welcome. But we know that more social homes are needed to tackle the housing emergency in Scotland – meeting that challenge requires further investment.
“Many of our members have called for the Scottish Government to make up the difference for pensioners who have had Winter Fuel Payments taken away from them. They will welcome today’s plans.
“We have worked directly with people who are forced to live on a pittance by the unjust UK asylum system, and we supported their campaigns for free bus travel. It is welcome that the Scottish Government have allocated to funding to that proposal, which will increase their freedom to build a life beyond poverty and take part in society. We hope this is the start of a move to provide bus passes to more people – starting with those eligible for benefits.
“But we can do more. There are around 240,000 children in poverty in Scotland. We need to go further and faster if we are going eradicate child poverty.
“That means more immediate support through the Scottish Child Payment and using our powers over tax and investment to build a stronger society for all of us – especially people in poverty.”
POVERTY ALLIANCE
SAVE THE CHILDREN SCOTLAND
SCVO
SCOTTISH HOSPICES
“Today @scotgov announced £768m to buy or build 8k affordable homes next year. It is a sign it’s taking the housing emergency seriously but it is only a reverse of previous cuts. As a result, it’s a cut in real terms as same money buys less now compared to two years ago.
“Though it is a step forward, 8,000 homes is a drop in the ocean compared to what is needed There are 243,000 people on waiting lists in Scotland. The last decades have seen the decimation of council housing because of a lack of funding, stock transfer and right to buy.
“This government needs to deliver more social housing by allocating greater funding for stock buy back and for social and council house building programmes, to ensure more people have a stable, secure, affordable place to live.”
LIVING RENT
We welcome the budget statement from the Scottish Government signalling the value it places on culture & the arts.
Culture is the beating heart of Scotland & this budget offers us all hope for a more stable, positive future.
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
Creative Scotland wholeheartedly welcomes the positive news of the substantial uplift for Culture, including Creative Scotland, in the Scottish Government’s draft budget announced today.
In 2025/26, Creative Scotland’s draft Grant-in-Aid budget from the Scottish Government will be £80m, up from £51.4m in the previous year. Included in this is an additional £20m, specifically for use in supporting the Multi-Year Funding programme and an additional £2m to support delivery of Screen Scotland’s strategy.
The Board of Creative Scotland will meet on 16 December to agree the final budget for Multi-Year Funding and a further update will be made following that meeting.
The final outcomes from the programme will be announced by the end of January.
Creative Scotland’s Chair, Robert Wilson, said: “Today’s draft budget announcement by the Scottish Government is enormously welcome. The major boost to Multi-Year Funding and other activities opens up wider opportunities, and we are grateful to the Scottish Government for this significant vote of confidence in Creative Scotland and the creative and culture sector.
“This is especially positive in the light of the long-term financial challenges the sector has been dealing with and will enable people and organisations to once again look forward with more confidence.”
CREATIVE SCOTLAND
Today’s budget released by the Scottish government is a “step in the right direction” but comes too late to ease the winter crisis already hitting some of the country’s A&Es.
This is the response from The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) following the budget announcement today – Wednesday 4 December 2024 – by Finance Secretary Shona Robison MSP.
The College has welcomed the announcement of £200 million to tackle delayed discharge, a key contributor to long A&E waiting times and a 25% increase in social care spending.
The budget also included a £2 billion increase in frontline NHS spending to reduce waiting lists and improve access to GPs.
Dr Fiona Hunter, RCEM’s Vice Chair for Scotland said: “We welcome the government’s commitment to addressing many of the systemic issues that have plagued our health care system – its patients and staff – for far too long.
“RCEM has long campaigned for a sustained focus on tackling delayed discharge and improving social care capacity and this budget represents a step in the right direction. We are glad our call, and those of others highlighting this issue, have been answered.
“However, it has not come soon enough to ease pressures faced by A&Es who are working under extreme pressure to care for patients right now.
“We restate our commitment to working with the Scottish government to bring an end to this reality and #ResuscitateEmergencyCare in Scotland, for generations to come.”
The budget statement comes just one day after an Audit Scotland report revealed the number of people remaining in hospital because their discharge has been delayed – often due to a lack of social care capacity – is the highest on record.
ROYAL COLLEGE OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE
In response to today’s Scottish Government Budget, Debbie Horne, Scotland Policy and Public Affairs Manager at Independent Age said: “Older people across Scotland will be relieved to see the return of some help with winter energy bills through the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment from next year.
“For many not currently receiving Pension Credit, or those just above the eligibility, this money is desperately needed. Although not what they were originally due to receive, last week’s decision has been welcomed by older people in financial hardship across Scotland.
“It’s also good news that Scottish Social Security has been uprated with inflation, including entitlements that are important to older people, such as Pension Age Disability Payment and Winter Heating Payment. Many people in later life will be reassured that this has been confirmed.
“We are pleased to see that the Scottish Government is focussed on supporting renters. Over recent years both the number of older people renting privately and the proportion in poverty has risen. The increase in the Discretionary Housing Payment funding pot is an important lifeline to many older private renters, making up rent shortfalls, and the increased investment in social homes building should give tenants of all ages more security.
“However, it is concerning that the Scottish Welfare Fund, which can be a crucial safety net for older people when emergencies occur, such as needing help with food or heating costs, has not been increased.
“Generally, the older people in financial hardship that we speak to will feel heard by the Scottish Government today. However, we remain concerned about older people this winter. Going forward, the Scottish Government must continue to make decisions that improve the lives of older people in poverty.”
INDEPENDENT AGE
Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive, LGIU Scotland, said: “We know from our annual survey that local government finances in Scotland are hanging by a thread. One in four councils are afraid they won’t be able to pass a balanced budget next year. Three quarters are warning that they may not be able to do so within the next five years. Today’s Budget from the Scottish Government does not engage with the scale of that challenge.
“Local government may welcome commitments to the New Deal with Local Government continuing work on a fiscal framework and plans to deliver new revenue raising powers. However, they will be dismayed to see how much funding continues to be ring fenced.
“There is an increase in core funding in today’s Budget but it doesn’t cover the ever growing costs of core statutory services.
“The Scottish Government has responded to the concerns of councils and has removed the freeze on council tax rises, but the Cabinet Secretary’s expectation that record funding levels should mean councils do not need to put up council tax is too complacent.
“The truth is that even with the additional funding announced today, local authorities will still need to raise council tax and make cuts to services and will still edge closer to being unable to balance their books.”
LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFORMATION UNIT
Commenting on the Finance Secretary’s Budget statement this afternoon, Director of CAMRA Scotland Stuart McMahon said: “Pub goers and licensees will be raising a glass to the news that the Scottish Government are finally introducing help with the burden of business rates that have contributed to scores of pubs having to close their doors in recent years, and at a higher rate than elsewhere on these islands.
“Pubs are a vital part of our social fabric and it is right that they will now get the same 40% reduction in business rates that pubs in England get. It is also encouraging that pubs on island communities will continue to get a 100% reduction with their business rates.
“In order to make sure our pubs survive and thrive at the heart of our communities ministers must now commit to reforming the entire Business Rates system to make it fairer. The Scottish Government should level the playing field between online and bricks-and-mortar businesses and finally end the shocking overpayment that pubs have to cough up under the current system.”
CAMRA
Mary Glasgow, chief executive at Children First said: “The Cabinet Secretary says this budget will lift children out of poverty but given that Scotland faces a childhood emergency it is difficult to see how.
“The promise of jam tomorrow, in the form of mitigating the UK two-child cap does nothing to alleviate the plight of thousands of children and families across Scotland who are going hungry today.
“We called on the Scottish Government to invest in early help and support for families and to increase the Scottish child payment. It is disappointing that they have chosen to delay investing in children rather than taking immediate action. Children can’t wait.”
CHILDREN FIRST
