Budget Bill Passed
- Lloyd Melville
- Feb 26
- 2 min read
Spending Plans Vote
Parliament has approved the 2026-27 Scottish Budget, including a record £22.5 billion for health and social care and enhanced cost of living support.
The Budget Bill sets out funding of almost £68 billion with investment in Scotland’s infrastructure, direct support for household budgets and extra help for families.
The spending plans include:
continued investment in cost of living measures, including free prescriptions, free eye examinations, removal of peak rail fares on Scotrail – and freezing of remaining Scotrail fares
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
an increase in the Scottish Child Payment and, from 2027-28, a premium payment of £40 per week for eligible children under 12 months
an almost £15.7 billion record settlement for local government to support the services communities rely on including social care and education
significant extra funding for universities and colleges, more than £5 billion to tackle the climate emergency and £4.3 billion transport funding
record investment of £926 million for affordable housing supply, record funding for police and fire services and an additional £10 million investment in community justice services
Speaking in parliament, the Finance Secretary also announced the Scottish Budget 2026-27 will provide a 5% uplift to the Delivering Equally Safe Fund – equating to almost £1.1 million additional funding per year for work to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls.
“The Scottish Government’s Budget delivers for the people of Scotland – strengthening our NHS and providing real, practical support with the cost of living.
“It will improve access to healthcare, including funding for a network of 16 walk-in GP clinics open seven days per week, and builds on our game-changing work to eradicate child poverty, with an increase in the Scottish Child Payment.
“This Budget demonstrates our determination to improve lives across Scotland, and our plans mean that 55% of taxpayers can expect to pay less income tax than in the rest of the UK.”
-- Finance Secretary Shona Robison
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