Scottish Budget Live: Shona Robison to reveal decisions on income tax band and spending cuts
Join The Scotsman's politics team as we bring you updates and breaking news on today's Scottish budget announcement - including anticipated decisions in income tax bands and government spending.
Scottish budget 2023
Welcome, one and all!
Welcome to The Scotsman's coverage of today's Scottish budget announcement.
Deputy First Minister Shona Robison is due to deliver the budget from 2pm onwards, with key decisions on income tax bands and government spending cuts set to feature prominently.
Any tips or observations, as always, email [email protected]
Row with Westminster
Rishi Sunak has said the Scottish Government shouldn’t be raising taxes during the cost-of-living crisis.
The SNP Government is widely expected to include the introduction of a new income tax band in the budget.
One proposal that Humza Yousaf’s Government is understood to have been looking at is a new rate of tax of 44 per cent for those earning between £75,000 and £125,000.
Scotland is already the highest taxed part of the UK. You’ve just seen a very clear direction of travel set out by the UK Government in the recent Autumn Statement, where we delivered the biggest set of tax cuts for people and businesses in decades, since the 1980s.
SNP challenged to support farmers
The SNP must ensure farmers north of the border get more financial support, a Treasury minister has said.
Laura Trott urged the Holyrood Government to ensure cash intended for agricultural support is spent for this purpose.
In 2022, the Scottish Government was awarded £33 million following a 2019 UK-wide review into fair allocation of farming support.
But it did not add the funding to its agriculture budget, amid other spending pressures.
The National Farmers Union in Scotland has campaigned for the extra funding to be added to agricultural spending for the 2023/24 budget.
In the House of Commons, Liberal Democrat Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael said the deferral of the spending had led to “frustration felt by many farmers and crofters in Scotland”.
He asked Ms Trott: “What will she do in the future to ensure that where money is given for the express purpose of supporting Scottish agriculture that it is in fact used for that purpose?”
The minister replied: “The SNP Government have yet to clarify when this ring-fenced money will be returned and I hope they will do so this afternoon at the (Scottish) Budget.”
SNP economy spokesman Drew Hendry soon after sought to question the UK Government’s support for farmers in England.
He said: “The UK Government’s attempt to overhaul the EU subsidy scheme have left English farmers 35% to 50% worse off in cash terms than in 2020.
“Given the minister’s remarks that whilst the Scottish Government has sought to protect our farmers’ payments, can she guarantee that the UK Government will not try to undermine their payments and devolution by backdoor use of the Internal Market Act?”
Ms Trott responded: “I note that he didn’t answer my question or indeed the honourable gentleman’s (Mr Carmichael’s) question about when the ring-fenced money is going to be returned.”
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle intervened to say questions are “normally to the minister”.
The Treasury minister continued: “Very good point, but I still maintain that he does need to clarify this.
“Also I would point out that it is obviously up to the Scottish Government if they would like to at any point top-up the amount that goes to Scottish farming and I would encourage them to do so this afternoon at the Budget.”
Five things to look out for
Humza Yousaf is struggling to balance the books in the face of a £1 billion black hole in the Scottish Government’s finances.
The First Minister and his deputy, Shona Robison, have yet to conclude discussions with SNP and Green ministers ahead of the Budget on December 19. Insiders say it is proving difficult to “square the circle” amid a grim financial backdrop.
The Scotsman's political editor, Alistair Grant, has looked at the five key areas Scottish Minsters must consider.
Death and taxes
Political correspondent Rachel Amery has been taking a look at the proposed new income tax band for higher earners.
The STUC has claimed this new income tax could raise around £92 million.
However, the Fraser of Allander Institute has already watered down this claim, saying it will only bring in around £39m.
Robison bites back
The Prime Minister has got “a bit of a cheek” to comment on the Scottish Government’s tax and spending plans, the deputy first minister has said.
Shona Robison, who is also Scotland’s finance secretary, accused Rishi Sunak of “deprioritising” public services south of the border and cutting spending.
It comes after Mr Sunak said it would be “disappointing” to see tax rises in Scotland.
Soon...
The afternoon session of the Scottish Parliament has got underway, meaning we'll be hearing from Shona Robison any minute now.
It begins
We are underway. Deputy First Minister Shona Robison begins by describing the UK as a "stagnation nation", but says Scotland is performing strongly.
Robison says Scotland does not have control over all of the fiscal levers it needs.
Devolution has brought many benefits, but it has also exposed quite how beholden we are to the decisions of Westminster. We are fighting Westminster austerity with one hand tied behind our back.
In today’s budget the Scottish Government has:
No say on corporation tax;
No powers to mandate the real living wage for all;
No ability to consider windfall levies on excess profits;
And no options on wealth taxes like capital gains tax.
Shona Robison announces a new "advanced" tax band for income between £75,000 and £125,140, taxed at 45p. The top rate will now be set at 48p.
Together, Robison says the tax changes will raise £82m.
School meal debt cancelled
The Scottish Child Payment lifts children out of poverty - and stands as an example for anyone looking to form the next UK Government of the action that can be taken if you are true to your values.
Presiding Officer, we will continue to deliver free school meals for all children in Primary 1 – 5 and special schools. And we will invest £43 million in estate upgrades to support the delivery and expansion of free school meals.
This includes extending the roll-out of Free School Meals for Primary 6 and Primary 7 children in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment, providing more children with access to healthy meals during the school day.
Presiding Officer, due to Westminster mismanagement of our economy, too many households are worrying about debt. With our limited powers there is only so much we can do. However, where we can step in, we will.
That is why I am pleased to confirm we will provide Local Authorities with £1.5 million to cancel school meal debt, removing a worry hanging over families up and down the country who are struggling to make ends meet.
Money for the environment
£2.5bn for public transport, "includes investing more than £425 million in bus services through our Network Support Grant, and our concessionary travel schemes for under-22s, and Older, and Disabled people".
£1.6bn for rail to support passenger rail services.
£220m in Active Travel "as we continue increasing our investment in walking, wheeling and cycling".
£358m "to continue to accelerate energy efficiency upgrades" and installation of clean heating systems.
£129m to maintain and restore peatlands.
We are currently providing farmers and crofters with the most generous package of support anywhere in the UK. We will also provide additional funding to support them to transition to a new support framework. In November, I wrote to the NFU Scotland President to reiterate my commitment that the funds that had been released to support the cost of living crisis would be returned in full, to be spent on the right agricultural priorities at the appropriate time.
NHS Scotland
It is evident from the Autumn Statement, the UK Government have no intention of funding pay uplifts for staff in England. Instead, as many independent analysts have said, we are looking at deep, real terms cuts to public services across Scotland.
We choose to take different choices in Scotland.
That is why we are delivering an increase of over £550 million to NHS frontline Boards - a 4.3% uplift, taking their total investment to over £13.2 billion.
That’s above real terms protection for the NHS in Scotland, in the face of UK Government austerity and real terms cut to the NHS in England
Liz Smith leads the questioning
The Scottish Conservative's Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, Liz Smith, is leading the questioning of the Deputy First Minister.
She beings by saying the SNP cannot keep blaming Westminster for Scotland's financial woes:
We can't see any acknowledgement anywhere, none whatsoever, of the Scottish Government's responsibility for the current fiscal circumstances in Scotland.
Indeed, there was a complete abdication of responsibility for the running of the Scottish economy, not just for this financial year, but for the last 16 years.
And that's not only disingenuous, it will not wash with the public.
Labour's criticism
Labour's Michael Marra is on his feet now, describing the budget as "a chaotic budget from an incompetent government".
"Tax cannot and should not be used as a substitute for economic growth," he says, before detailing the problems of NHS Scotland, and asking Robison to admit Scotland is lagging behind England & Wales.
"I take it what Michael Marra is saying is that Labour would not want the extra £82m [the government's estimated extra income from the tax rise] for public services," Ms Robison says.
Adds the SNP will leave Labour to "whinge from the sidelines like they always do".
Transport funding
A commitment to increase spending on active travel to £320 million as part of the SNP-Scottish Greens’ power-sharing deal has fallen £100m short in next year’s Scottish Budget.
Finance Secretary Shona Robison told MSPs on Tuesday that £220m would be allocated in 2024-25 “as we continue increasing our investment in walking, wheeling and cycling”.
Scottish Green Party reaction
We will be judged for decades to come by the efforts we make right now to tackle the climate crisis. That’s why it is right that we are spending a record £4.7bn on climate and nature initiatives in Scotland.
This money will create employment across the country, building on the good news earlier this week that jobs in our renewable energy sector have already grown from 27,000 to 41,000 in a single year.”
Tough choices were inevitable for this budget, given the hand we were dealt by the abysmal UK Government. Despite the serious limitations of devolution we have delivered a budget which prioritises people and planet, building the fairer, greener Scotland which we were elected to deliver.
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