Scottish Budget: Shona Robison 2024 Scottish Budget in full
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00:00I am very proud to present a budget that delivers on the priorities of the people of Scotland.
00:15Over recent years, our nation has faced an unprecedented range of challenges—Covid,
00:20inflation, austerity and Brexit. Today, we can show that we understand the pressures
00:28that people are facing. We can choose to come together to bring hope to people, to renew
00:33our public services and to deliver a wealth of new opportunities in our economy.
00:39This budget invests in public services, lifts children out of poverty, acts in the face
00:45of the climate emergency and supports jobs and economic growth. It is a budget filled
00:51with hope for Scotland's future.
00:56The UK budget resulted in an increase in funding through the Barnett formula. That is welcome,
01:01but let us be clear. After inflation, it represents growth in resource spending—day-to-day spending
01:08to pay for services—of only around 1 per cent year on year. Substantial financial pressures
01:14therefore persist.
01:17In the face of a Tory cost-of-living crisis, I am proud of the pay deals that give Scotland's
01:23nurses, teachers and public sector workers higher salaries than in the rest of the UK,
01:29and I am proud of the increased social security spending that keeps people out of poverty.
01:36In one way, the UK Government has added to the pressures that Scotland faces with the
01:42increase in employers' national insurance contributions. That hike will add well over
01:47£700 million to the cost of delivering public services. Despite that, the UK Government
01:53seems to be saying that it will only reimburse less than half of that cost. It has accepted
01:59that it should pay, but it plans to shortchange our public services by hundreds of millions
02:04of pounds.
02:05Even now, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has an opportunity to do the right thing.
02:10Services in Scotland should not have to suffer. The Chancellor of the Exchequer should pay
02:14the full price for her own decisions.
02:23This Government has had to take difficult decisions to manage financial pressures. I
02:28set out in my statement in September that that included using some or all of Scotland's
02:33revenues. No one wanted to do that. That money was meant to be used for long-term investment
02:39to help to transform our economy. I was very clear that I did not want us to use that cash
02:46to fund day-to-day spending, and we have not.
02:51Members will be pleased to hear that Scotland has not been used up in this financial year.
02:56Instead, I am able to deploy more than £300 million of Scotland's revenues in 2025-26
03:04for exactly the kind of long-term investment that should be spent on. That £300 million
03:14will deliver substantial investment in jobs and in measures to meet the climate challenge—all
03:21of it an investment in the long-term success of our nation.
03:26Progress for Scotland is our promise, but we can only deliver progress for the people
03:32of Scotland if there is a willingness to work together across this Parliament.
03:38Over 100 proposals have come from members across the chamber, and I thank the Opposition
03:43for its constructive engagement. Others have emerged from the conversations that I and
03:48other ministers have had with people, businesses, organisations and communities the length and
03:53breadth of our land. We have listened, we have heard people and we are acting.
03:59This is a budget for Scotland by Scotland, and that is why I encourage all members to
04:04give it their support.
04:09Eradicating child poverty is our top priority. Policies such as the game-changing Scottish
04:16child payment and expanded funding for early learning and childcare are action in the face
04:22of need, but we want to go further. The budget will invest almost £800 million more in social
04:29security benefits than it did in 2025-26, putting money directly into people's pockets
04:36and ensuring that benefits rise by inflation.
04:40We recognise that having a warm, safe and affordable place to live is critical to tackling
04:46child poverty. Far too many families are still in temporary accommodation. Shirley-Anne Somerville
04:52has told me about the conversations that she has had with mums who feel the pain of
04:56bringing up their kids in inadequate accommodation. That is why we are going to ramp up action
05:02on housing by investing £768 million in affordable homes. That enables more than 8,000 new properties
05:11for social rent, mid-market rent and low-cost home ownership to be built or acquired this
05:17coming year, and it returns spending to a higher level than it was two years ago.
05:24Given the scale of the housing challenge, I will look at all the levers that are available
05:28for me to deliver. That is why I can confirm today that we will be working with the City
05:33Council of Edinburgh to unlock more than 800 new net zero homes at its grant and development
05:39site.
05:41Housing is just one strand of our work in tackling poverty. In education, we will provide
05:47£120 million to headteachers to support initiatives that are designed to address the poverty-related
05:53attainment gap. We will also work with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to
05:56expand free school meals to primary 6 and 7 children from low-income families, but we
06:01are determined to go further still.
06:04I can announce today that we will fund a new initiative that will deliver more breakfast
06:08clubs in primary schools across Scotland. To be called Bright Start Breakfast, that
06:14will make things that little bit easier for working mums and dads, while giving more of
06:19our kids a better start to their day. We will help some of the most vulnerable in our society
06:26with new funding of £4 million for homelessness and prevention pilots. Following engagement
06:32with disabled people's organisations, we are delivering more than £2.5 million to
06:36support actions within the disability equality action plan. All those steps will help people.
06:44I say to the chamber that, if we want progress on housing, learning, free school meals and
06:49breakfast clubs, this Parliament has to vote for it.
06:56We know how important public services are to the quality of life and the success of
07:02our nation, and none more so than our health service. Therefore, my biggest financial
07:06commitment today is to our NHS. Today's budget provides a record £21 billion for
07:15health and social care, which is an increase of £2 billion for front-line NHS boards—a
07:21record uplift. That money will make it easier for people to access general practitioner
07:27appointments, improve A and E and ensure that more Scots get the care that they need in
07:33good time. There is no public service that is more important, and there is no budget
07:39that has delivered a bigger vote of confidence in the NHS than this budget.
07:50Neil Gray has spoken to me about the pressures across the health service. We know that, for
07:54many people, their experience of the NHS is excellent, but for others, their experience
07:59falls short of what we would expect. I am investing almost £200 million in our plan
08:06to reduce waiting times and improve capacity, to reform the service and make it more efficient,
08:13and to remove blockages that keep some patients in hospital far too long.
08:19Because of today's record funding, our health service can reduce waiting times. By March
08:242026, no one will wait longer than 12 months for a new out-patient appointment, in-patient
08:29treatment or day-case treatment. The extra funding that we are providing will see more than 150,000
08:38extra patients treated as a result. Our record investment will also deliver additional support
08:44for GPs, which is targeted to address known pressures in relation to waiting times and
08:49prevention. That means that we can deliver on our commitment to increase social care spending
08:55by 25 per cent over this session of Parliament—a full two years earlier than planned.
09:02We will expand the hospital-at-home service with more than 600 extra beds. We will deliver an
09:08extra 20,000 cataract and other optometry procedures in the community, and that means
09:146,000 additional hip replacements or similar procedures each year.
09:19That record increase in spending will fund more dental training places, new specialist-long
09:25Covid nurses in clinics and more community-based support for teenage mental health.
09:32It is not just the day-to-day resource spending that will increase, though.
09:36We are also increasing health capital spending. That means that I can announce to the chamber
09:42that this budget will fund the replacement of the eye pavilion in Edinburgh,
09:47the Belford hospital in Fort William and Monklands hospital in Airdrie.
09:59If I might, cabinet secretary, I have previously called for no interventions or interruptions,
10:05and that is because we have a lot to get through this afternoon. I am keen that,
10:08when we move to questions, we will be able to save that time for members.
10:13Every single project is a priority for the people of Scotland, and every project is something that
10:18members of this chamber have called for. It is delivered by this budget and by the SNP Government.
10:24I say again that, if members want investment in GPs, dentistry, long Covid and young people's
10:30mental health, they have to vote for it. Many services, from schools to social care,
10:37are delivered in partnership with local government. Here, I will set a second
10:41record funding settlement. In 2025-26, the Scottish Government will increase
10:47local authority funding by more than £1 billion. It will take its total funding to over £15
10:54billion, including £289 million, to give real-terms protection to the general revenue grant.
11:02That will enable councils to deliver the services that people rely on. It will deliver the pay
11:08increases that are agreed for our teachers, social care workers, refuse collectors and more.
11:13Pay increases will go ahead only if Parliament backs the budget. Although it will be for councils
11:20to make their own decisions, with record funding, there is no reason for big increases in council
11:26tax next year. Scotland will only thrive as a nation if our youngest people are nurtured.
11:34I am therefore increasing spending on education and skills by 3 per cent over and above inflation—an
11:41uplift of £158 million. Our choices will see staff in early learning and childcare paid at
11:47least the real living wage from April. It will support the 1,140 hours of early learning and
11:53childcare for three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds. In a cost-of-living
11:58crisis, that funding frees parents to work and earn while giving kids the best start in life.
12:05In our schools, I have heard from Jenny Gilruth the challenge that many children face
12:09with additional support needs. I will therefore fund a £29 million ASN plan,
12:15delivering measures such as training so that more of our teachers can become ASN teachers.
12:20More widely, the budget can maintain teacher numbers at 2023 levels
12:25and continue improvements in our school estate, with new projects from Shetland and Orkney
12:30to the Scottish Borders. We will invest almost £4.2 billion across the justice system in 2025-26.
12:39That will maintain police numbers and continue policies that have seen
12:44levels of crime fall by 40 per cent since we came to office. I know from speaking to Angela
12:50Constance that a particular area of concern to retailers at the moment is shoplifting.
12:56Once again, we have listened and we are acting. That is why I am making an additional £3 million
13:00available to help tackle retail crime. On prisons, we will fund replacements for HMP Inverness and
13:08Barlinnie through the £355 million capital budget. As I have set out, investment in public
13:18services is a priority, but reform goes hand in hand with that. I am therefore establishing a
13:25£30 million fund to invest to save. It will fund the costs of reform, drive out efficiencies,
13:32improve productivity and ensure longer-term sustainability.
13:37I am also intent on putting pay on a sustainable footing. Our public sector pay policy,
13:44published today, sets out a fair but flexible approach. It will deliver an above-inflation
13:50increase of 9 per cent over the next three years, and it will do so flexibly, with management and
13:56unions free to agree how that increase is structured. That delivers progress on pay
14:02restoration and fairness to public servants and taxpayers alike.
14:09Scotland's biggest contribution to tackling the global climate challenge is, of course,
14:15our vast renewable energy resources, our innovation and our expertise.
14:21Simply put, we can help the planet while creating new jobs and opportunities here at home. I saw a
14:27great example of that at Logan Energy this morning. We will create opportunities for businesses
14:34and jobs for communities by allocating £25 million to support the creation of new jobs
14:40in the green energy supply chain in Scotland. To help people at home and work, £300 million
14:48will be invested in upgrading heating and insulation. That money serves two hugely
14:54important purposes. It helps us to reduce our carbon emissions while tackling fuel poverty.
15:01Lower emissions and lower energy bills are an investment worth making.
15:06Just as we are investing in tackling the climate crisis,
15:10we must also tackle the nature crisis. We will invest almost £90 million to protect,
15:15maintain and increase our woodlands and peatlands. We will make it easier for people to walk,
15:20wheel or cycle. We will invest in resilient and efficient bus services, with almost £190 million
15:26of funding. We will expand our electric vehicle charging network.
15:31I am happy to tell members that we will not simply match the calls for £4.7 billion invested in
15:38tackling the climate and nature emergencies. We will exceed it with an investment totalling £4.9
15:46billion. Eradicating child poverty is the Government's most important priority.
15:55We will do that by growing the wealth of our nation and by sharing that wealth more equally.
16:00A thriving economy is not an afterthought—it is an essential requirement.
16:05When discussing budget priorities with Kate Forbes, she told me about the discussions that
16:10she has had with investors and employers, big and small. We have heard about their ambition
16:15and we share it. Today, I am able to announce that we will invest £321 million in Scotland's
16:22enterprise agencies that support emerging tech, including AI and robotics, and in programmes
16:28such as our ambitious tech scaler initiative. We know that colleges, universities and the
16:34wider skills system make crucial contributions to economic growth, which is why, in the coming year,
16:41we will invest more than £2 billion in supporting them. We have listened to universities and are
16:46conscious that they must remain financially competitive with institutions in the rest of
16:51the UK. The Labour UK Government, rather shamefully, increased student fees to pay
16:57for a 3.08 per cent increase in university funding in England. Here, not only will we
17:04keep tuition free, but we will increase total investment in higher education by 3.5 per cent.
17:11Investment in infrastructure is critical to economic growth. Capital spend will total over
17:28£7 billion in the budget. A green reindustrialisation of Scotland is our ambition.
17:35After discussion with Gillian Martin, I can announce that we will use that capital funding
17:40to make a significant strategic decision to invest in this nation's green future.
17:48I can announce today that we will almost triple our investment in offshore wind
17:52to £150 million next year. That money will help to leverage private investment of £1.5 billion
18:01in the infrastructure and manufacturing facilities that are critical to growing the sector. Capital
18:07funding of £150 million will accelerate our investment to support the offshore wind sector,
18:14underlining our commitment to invest up to £500 million over five years.
18:20Aberdeen is perfectly placed to become a global hub for green energy. To support that,
18:26we will establish a Scottish Government hub for offshore wind in the north-east
18:30to provide an additional route for industry to engage with our teams.
18:35More broadly, we will provide £100 million for digital connectivity,
18:39accelerating access to full fibre broadband. We will provide almost £1.1 billion to maintain
18:46and renew our rail infrastructure. £237 million will be invested to maintain and improve our ports
18:54and deliver a more resilient and effective ferry fleet. New rail rolling stock, new ferries and
19:01the electrification of the East Kilbride line will be an investment to keep Scotland moving.
19:08To ensure that our trunk road network is safe, resilient and efficient,
19:15we will invest £1 billion, including money to continue the dualling of the A9,
19:20which is a central priority for Fiona Hyslop and for all of us on the Conservative benches.
19:27Our capital programme allows us to tackle another issue that we have heard raised with us.
19:34I know that many people want to see their local high street thrive,
19:38so today I can announce that I will expand regeneration funding to £62 million,
19:43investing in towns and communities such as Dundee, Arbroath, Postle Park,
19:48Pilton, Drumnadrocket and Stranraer town centres.
19:52Our rural communities are also important, and more than £660 million will support the
19:59crucial contribution of Scotland's farmers, crofters and the wider rural economy.
20:06Mairi Gougeon has told me about the discussions that she has had with the farming community
20:10and their concerns about recent decisions by the UK Government. As asked for by farmers,
20:16we are returning in full the savings that were used in previous Scottish budgets through a new
20:21capital transformation scheme, with £20 million in 2025-26 and the remainder in 2026-27.
20:30The budget also increases the dedicated funding available to the four councils
20:35operating their own ferry services to £50.3 million. Alongside that is £20 million of
20:43capital funding for Orkney Islands Council and Shetland Islands Council.
20:48That one-off investment will enable them to sustain and improve inter-island connections,
20:54whether that means flights, ferries or—I know that members for the Northern Isles will be pleased
20:59to hear this—tunnels between islands. It will be for those communities to decide.
21:07The budget will support businesses and communities through the non-domestic rates system.
21:14We have listened to concerns in business, particularly hospitality,
21:18about significant financial pressures as a result of staff shortages,
21:23high energy prices and Labour's national insurance hike. I can confirm today that we will help.
21:30The small business bonus scheme, the most generous small business rates relief in the UK,
21:35will be protected. In addition, the budget will provide for 40 per cent non-domestic rates relief
21:42in 2025-26 for the 92 per cent of hospitality premises liable for the basic property rate,
21:51which is capped at £110,000 per business. In our islands, that relief will be 100 per cent.
21:58Outside of hospitality, I will also help by freezing the basic property rate at 49.8 per
22:04cent, which is the lowest such rate in the UK for the seventh year in a row.
22:11Thanks to the budget, more than 95 per cent of non-domestic properties will pay lower property
22:17tax than anywhere else in the UK, with more than £100,000 taken out of rates altogether.
22:29The latest Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts show that Scottish taxes will raise £24.6 billion
22:39in 2025-26, which is £777 million more than had been forecast in December 2023,
22:50due mainly to an increase in forecast income tax revenue. I am sure that members will be
22:56pleased to hear the good news that that increase is in part due to average earnings growing faster
23:03than in the rest of the UK. Overall, the tax decisions that we have taken
23:10have delivered £1.7 billion more in 2025-26 than if we had followed UK policies.
23:20I thank those with the broadest shoulders who are paying a little bit more, because they are
23:25enabling Scotland to spend more on the things that matter most—protecting and improving our NHS,
23:32growing the economy and lifting children out of poverty.
23:37The new UK Government has increased employers' national insurance contributions,
23:41a policy that the OBR has told this Parliament will fall mainly on employees' wages. It is
23:48estimated that that will take more than £2 billion out of the Scottish economy next year.
23:54In the light of that, I can confirm today that this Government will not introduce any new bans
24:01or increase the rates of Scottish income tax for the remainder of this Parliament.
24:11I want to go further, because Labour has hit the pay packets of working people in Scotland
24:16and has decided to provide tax support for low- and medium-income earners.
24:21Although the UK Government has frozen all income tax thresholds, in Scotland the basic
24:27and intermediate rate thresholds will increase this year by 3.5 per cent, which is effectively
24:32twice the rate of inflation. That means that more of people's money will be taxed at the starter
24:43and basic tax rates. That also means that the majority of taxpayers in Scotland will continue
24:50to pay less income tax than in the rest of the UK. I can commit today that that will remain
24:59true until at least the end of this Parliament, although, as with the UK, thresholds for higher,
25:05advanced and top rates will be maintained at their current levels. Taking our tax and
25:11social security choices together, including on pension-age winter fuel payments, 60 per cent of
25:18Scots will be better off because they live in Scotland. That is what delivering for the people
25:25of Scotland looks like. Finally, on tax, the additional dwelling supplement rate next year
25:32will increase from 6 to 8 per cent, with effect from tomorrow, unless legal missives have been
25:37signed on or before today. We will match England by legislating to increase the standard rate of
25:43the Scottish landfill tax to £126.15 per tonne and the lower rate of £4.05 per tonne
25:51from 1 April 2025. We have listened to people in communities across our land,
26:00we have heard them and we have acted. We have heard, in particular, the concerns of the culture
26:05sector, which is rightly flagging the threat of the Tory cost-of-living crisis, inflation and
26:12Labour's national insurance hike posed to its future. However, the SNP Government will help.
26:18Earlier this week, Labour called on me to deliver a £25 million increase in the culture budget
26:24and to exempt music venues from non-domestic rates. I can announce today that, yes,
26:30we will provide NDR support to music venues, but I will not increase the culture budget by £25
26:36million. Instead, I will increase the culture budget by £34 million next year—another
26:45record increase. We are committed to increasing arts and culture funding by £100 million.
26:52After just two years, we are halfway there. Next year, subject to the normal budget processes,
26:58I aim to deliver a further £20 million increase. Taken with this year's rise,
27:04multiyear funding can be provided to cultural organisations across Scotland,
27:09which Angus Robertson has told me will be transformational for the sector. That includes
27:14our world-class Scottish festivals, whose budget we are doubling, and thousands of
27:19grassroots artists, who will also benefit from that support. I have one final announcement to
27:26make in the budget. Our first priority is to tackle child poverty. The two-child cap is a
27:35pernicious part of the UK welfare system. It was introduced by the Tories and has caused misery
27:42for children and families in Scotland. Many expected an incoming Labour Government to
27:48abolish the cap. We have waited, but Labour has not delivered. This SNP Government will.
27:55Just as with pension age winter heating payments, we will act.
28:01We will mitigate the two-child cap. The detailed work of building the system will start with this
28:07budget, but implementation requires the co-operation of the UK Government. It controls
28:13the Department for Work and Pensions, which means that it controls the data. We do not,
28:18but we have a year. We will work as hard as possible in 2025 so that we can start paying
28:23families as early as we can in 2026. That is more than reasonable, but there is no doubt that the
28:31cap will be scrapped. My challenge to Labour is to work with us, to join us in ending the
28:38two-child cap in Scotland and to give us the information that we need. Either way,
28:43let me be crystal clear. This Government is ending the two-child cap and, in doing so,
28:48will lift more than 15,000 Scottish children out of poverty.
29:00Let me summarise the measures that this SNP Government sets out today.
29:06Record NHS investment, money to reduce waiting lists and make it easier for people to see their
29:11general practitioner, tax choices that put money in the pockets of low- and middle-income earners
29:15and help out hard-pressed local pubs and restaurants, winter heating payments for older
29:21Scots, more affordable homes, investment in childcare and nursery education and more jobs
29:27and business growth, more breakfast clubs in our schools, £4.9 billion of positive climate action,
29:36a record increase in funding for local services, transformational increases in culture spending
29:42and an end to the two-child cap, lifting 15,000 children out of poverty. That is what the people
29:50of Scotland want and will vote for. The question is whether Opposition parties will, too.
29:58This is a budget that delivers progress for Scotland.
30:01It is a budget that delivers hope for Scotland, and I urge Parliament to support it.