SNP faces last-minute pleas ahead of final Budget before election

The Scottish Government will deliver its final Budget on Tuesday ahead of the Holyrood election in May.

Finance Secretary Shona Robison will set out her tax and spending plans in Parliament at 2.20pm.

It is expected to pass following Labour’s plans to abstain on the vote which will take place next month.

Ahead of Tuesday’s announcement, political parties, charities and business leaders made last-minute pleas to the SNP.

The Conservatives urged the Government to cut income tax and slash the country’s rising welfare bill, while the Greens called for the expansion of free bus travel, free school meals and free childcare.

The Lib Dems said they wanted to see a better funding settlement for colleges and councils along with a “fair deal” for island communities.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar previously announced his party would abstain on the Budget vote, effectively allowing it to pass.

He said Labour would engage with the Budget but added that his party was “not in a strong negotiating position” before suggesting the Greens and Lib Dems were more likely to get a Budget deal with First Minister John Swinney.

The Budget will be Ms Robison’s last before she stands down as an MSP at the May election. Recent polling suggests the SNP is in first place, although not enough for a Holyrood majority, with Reform and Labour in second and third place respectively.

It comes amid increasingly strained public finances. Scotland’s Auditor General warned the country faces a near £5 billion funding shortfall by the end of the decade.

The Federation of Small Businesses urged the Government to take action on planned business rate rises to protect industries.

The industry body said the country’s growing tax burden has now overtaken staffing as the single biggest factor driving the “cost crisis” facing firms.

Meanwhile, the Child Poverty Action Group called for the around £155 million Scottish ministers could save as a result of the UK Government ending the two-child benefit cap to stay in the social security budget. The charity called for the Scottish child payment to be increased.

However, the Scottish Tories urged the Finance Secretary to slash the welfare budget, describing it as “out of control”.

Russell Findlay, the party’s leader, said ahead of the Budget: “Scottish households and businesses are struggling after years of rising bills under the SNP Government.

“It is absolutely critical that John Swinney starts listening and gives people a much-needed break.

“SNP stealth taxes have dragged hundreds of thousands of middle-earning Scots into higher tax bands, at the same time as their household bills have soared.

“And many businesses across the country are on the brink. The SNP must ditch their catastrophic business rates revaluation and provide the relief they’ve denied hospitality firms for years.”

The Greens have called for the SNP to introduce a mansion tax and raise levies on casinos and betting shops while expanding some benefits, such as free school meals.

Co-leader Gillian Mackay added: “The test of this Budget will be what it does to cut the cost of living for people and families.

“We need urgent action to tackle child poverty, including the further expansion of free school meals to ensure no child is too hungry to learn.

“Childcare is one of the biggest costs facing young families.

“We need to ensure that all parents can access free childcare from when their child turns three, ending the current postcode lottery and saving some families thousands of pounds.”

The Scottish Lib Dems said the Budget would not “unpick 19 years’ worth of SNP failures”.

However, Jamie Greene, their finance spokesman, said the party would work with the Government, raising issues such as childcare costs and delayed discharge.

Mr Sarwar said the First Minister was “taking the public for fools by pretending this SNP Government’s 19th budget will deliver anything other than more of the same”.

He added: “John Swinney and the SNP cannot be trusted with a third decade in power and another five budgets to damage Scotland’s services.”

The First Minister said on Monday that despite Labour’s plans to abstain, he would still “work very hard” to secure the backing of other parties.

He said he was still keen to “work with others” and “create common ground” around the proposals.

Mr Swinney said the Budget for 2026-27 would be focused on helping families struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, as well providing “strong investment” for the NHS.

Here, the SNP leader said, he hoped the Budget could help build on what he insisted was “significant progress” by the NHS to tackle long waiting times that have built up since the Covid pandemic.