Scottish Budget: The Other Key Areas at a Glance

An additional £1 million has also been allocated in 2013-14 to support Scotland’s elite athletes, aimed at building on the momentum provided by the Olympics, the Paralympics and the promise of Glasgow 2014.

There was also £6m allocated across 2012-13 and 2013-14 to deliver further improvements to Scotland’s cycling infrastructure, focusing on the Community Links initiative.

Sport minister Shona Robison also confirmed in parliament yesterday that the government will develop a Youth Sport Strategy to boost physical activity and participation in sport.

CULTURAL ASSETS

The Bannockburn Visitor Centre is likely to be at the heart of the SNP Government’s referendum drive in 2014, the 700th anniversary of the battle, and the attraction is to share a £1 million windfall awarded to Historic Scotland.

It is part of a drive to encourage the vital tourism sector which contributed £2.9 billion to the Scottish economy in 2010 – with a 5 per cent increase in visitor numbers over the year to March 2012.

Fresh investment of £1.5m in marketing to be carried out by the country’s national tourism agency VisitScotland this financial year was also set out by Mr Swinney.

The country’s cultural assets are seen as a huge strength which has been underlined by the success of the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, which has attracted over 2 million visitors since it re-opened.

CONSTRUCTION

The drive to kick start Scotland’s ailing construction industry was behind a £120 million investment in affordable homes and school-building set out by Mr Swinney.

An extra £80m will be ploughed into the country’s school-building plans, seeing the delivery of 67 new or refurbished schools, benefiting 69,000 pupils across Scotland. This is 12 more schools than originally planned.

There will also be further capital investment in affordable housing of more than £40m over the autumn of this year and throughout 2013-14.

Other areas have seen dramatic falls. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) will see its capital budget fall by £50m to £22.5m, while there is also a fall of £63m in the budget for new hospitals.

YOUNG JOBLESS

A scheme aimed at helping create 10,000 jobs for young people in the private sector was one of the most high profile announcements set out by Mr Swinney.

One of the key groups identified for priority are 18 to 24-year-olds who have been out of work for 3 to 9 months. Mr Swinney announced that he has put in place an initiative supported by £15 million of government funds, matched by European Structural Funds and employer contributions. It will be focussed on smaller firms.

There was also a further £17m for colleges, aimed at keeping student numbers at 2011-12 levels and provide necessary student support. But the National Union of Students says previous reductions mean that colleges will still mean a £34.6m budget cut.

GREEN FUNDING

A £30 million green funding package, including energy efficiency measures that will tackle fuel poverty and contribute to meeting climate change targets, was one of the key Budget announcements.

The package, over the rest of this year and 2013-14, will focus on supporting domestic households to improve home insulation, along with measures to increase energy efficiency in the public sector.

The money will also be used to establish an Energy Skills Academy

to support the creation of

national expertise in oil and

gas, renewables, thermal generation, and carbon capture and storage.

Further funding of £2.5m to fund 14 hybrid buses was also set out by Mr Swinney to continue the government’s policy of sustainable and active travel.

JUSTICE

Justice secretary Kenny MacAskill’s spending power has almost doubled as his departmental budget jumped to almost £2.5 billion.

The change is mainly down to the creation of the new national police and fire services which have shifted from the local government budget and added about £1.3bn to the justice portfolio in yesterday’s spending plans.

But victims of crime are set to lose out with the budget for Criminal Injuries Compensation falling by about 20 per cent to £20.5 million.

There is also bad news for the country’s court service which is seeing its budget fall by £3.7m. The Budget for Legal Aid is also falling by £6.5m after the legal profession voiced concerns that hikes in the cost of hiring a lawyer could see accused people decide to defend themselves in court and end up in jail as a result.