Scottish Government publishes budget

The Scottish Government its budget for 2026-7 with £22.5 billion for social care and £15.7 billion for local government.

The new budget includes a cost-of-living package, with funding for families to trial a programme of activities in a range of primary schools between 3-6pm; free children's sporting activities over the summer and a breakfast club for every primary school by August 2027.

The budget covers free prescriptions, free eye examinations, removal of peak rail fares on Scotrail, free tuition fees for young Scots, free school meals for thousands of children, including all pupils in P1 to P5, and free bus travel for under-22s and over-60s.

Scottish Child Payment will increase to £28.20 per week along with the introduction of a premium payment of £40 per week for eligible children under 12 months from 2027-28, bolstering efforts to drive down child poverty.

There is extra funding to keep more children out of poverty, including £50 million of whole family support and a further £49 million for measures to be announced in the Child Poverty Delivery Plan in March.

The plan includes a record £22.5 billion for health and social care, including a record £17.6 billion for NHS boards and resources to begin the national rollout of walk-in GP clinics.

There's also almost £15.7 billion for a local government settlement to support the services communities rely on, including social care and education.

The budget includes £5 billion to tackle the climate emergency, reduce carbon emissions and increase resilience as well as backing regenerative and sustainable skills in food and farming.

£4.3 billion has been allocated to transport including investment in railways, the renewal of the ferry fleet, removal of peak season fares for residents of Orkney and Shetland on Northern Isles ferries and nearly £200 million for the dualling of the A9.

Shona Robison, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government said: “This Budget delivers for families across the country, for a stronger NHS, and for a more prosperous future. 

“It will fund landmark policies to continue efforts to eradicate child poverty – investing in a brighter future for Scotland and the children growing up here.

“Almost £68 billion is being invested in 2026-27 and almost £200 billion through the Scottish Spending Review and Infrastructure Investment Pipeline, demonstrating the scale of our ambition for our nation.”