Budget Bill set to clear final hurdle at Scottish Parliament

Yahoo

25-02-2025

The SNP's Budget Bill is set to clear its final parliamentary hurdle, as MSPs prepare for the stage three vote on the tax and spending plans.
The Scottish Parliament is expected to pass the 2025-26 Budget when MSPs vote at the end of business on Tuesday.
The Scottish Greens and the Scottish Liberal Democrats have reached separate agreements to back the Budget, while Alba MSP Ash Regan has also confirmed she will vote for it.
Scottish Labour has said it will abstain on the Budget Bill, while the Conservatives are expected to oppose it.
Ahead of the vote, First Minister John Swinney highlighted a £10.5 million investment in the Budget to help GPs prevent cardiovascular disease.
He said: 'As we take action to shift the balance of care from hospital settings to the community, it is imperative that we increase capacity in primary care.
'That's why the Budget increases investment in all primary care disciplines to deliver essential reform and make it easier to see your GP.
'This increased investment will make it more likely that health issues are picked up quickly and dealt with earlier.
'I know that access to GPs is a key issue for many people across Scotland. We have listened and we are taking action – and this Budget will deliver the investment to increase capacity and make it easier for people to get appointments.'
Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Craig Hoy said: 'The Scottish Conservatives will be the only party showing common sense and voting against this dire and damaging SNP Budget.
'This is the last chance to stop the Nationalists' latest tax-raising Budget on hard-pressed Scots, which at the same does nothing to boost growth or curtail their wasteful spending.
'In the aftermath of the UK Labour Government's disastrous Budget with its national insurance attack on jobs, Scotland urgently needed to see a different approach from the SNP.'
Scottish Labour finance spokesman Michael Marra said: 'This Budget is only possible because the UK Labour Government delivered a £5.2 billion uplift to Scotland's budget – resulting in the largest budget settlement in the history of devolution.
'We will not stand in the way of the UK Labour Government's record funding for Scotland reaching the front line of our public services.
'The SNP looks set to pass this Budget, but they have failed to take the opportunity to transform public services and make them fit for the future.'
Both the Greens and Lib Dems sought to showcase the funding they had secured in their deals with the SNP.
Green MSP Ross Greer said his party had secured a trial of a bus fare cap and expanded free school meals, contrasting this with 'the antics of Scottish Labour, who asked for nothing and got nothing'.
Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the Budget contains a 'wide range' of his party's priorities, including drugs and neonatal withdrawal services.
He said: 'Ultimately this is just the first step in unpicking years of damage wrought by the SNP.'