Westminster date has a knock on effect to Scottish budget
Photo credit: flickr.com/ScottishGovernment
THE Scottish Government has announced it has pushed back the Scottish Budget to January 2026.
In a letter to Kenneth Gibson, convener of finance, the Scottish finance secretary, Shona Robison, has proposed a new date of 15 January 2026, claiming that the lateness of the UK Autumn Budget would not give the Scottish Government enough time to appropriately respond to any tax or policy changes.
Robison’s letter stated: “Following the UK Autumn Statement, the Scottish Government will require time to assess its implications and finalise our fiscal position.
“While I considered a December publication date, existing arrangements with the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) would leave the Scottish Government with only four working days to decide how to respond to any tax or social security policy changes announced by the UK Government on 26 November.
“Taking all of this into account, I am minded to propose Thursday, 15 January 2026 as the
publication date for the Scottish Budget and associated documents.”
The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) has responded to the announcement from the finance secretary and urged MSPs to work together and pass a Budget that focussed on supporting Scotland’s economy.
David Lonsdale, director of the SRC, said: “The delayed Scottish Budget makes it trickier for firms’ financial forecasting as they won’t know the actual tax rates and business rates to be applied from the start of the new financial year, which is only a few weeks later.
“A Budget in mid-January means there will be no time to dawdle and Ministers and MSPs will need to work collegiately and at pace to pass a pro-growth Budget.”
