Implications of the Scottish Budget 2024-25

On the day before the UK Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023 in an unusual move the deputy first minister (DFM) Shona Robison wrote a letter to the Scottish parliament’s finance and public administration committee setting out current year funding reprioritisations. On 19 December she set out her Budget proposals for Scotland. Media commentary was rife in the lead up to the speech with the question of how the DFM was intending to plug the £1.5bn funding gap.

In this article I discuss all that was announced and what impact this might have on Scotland Scottish taxpayers and businesses and whether the funding gap was in fact plugged.

The letter

Let’s start with that letter (tinyurl.com/parlscotnovletter). While it is not entirely clear why the DFM chose to send it the day before the Autumn Statement Ms Robison set out...