Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s suggestion in its Retail industry recommendations for the 2025-26 Scottish Budget paper, that spending restraint rather than tax rises should form the bulk of the measures to plug the projected gap in devolved government finances.
Prolonged Westminster austerity, the economic damage of Brexit, a global pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the cost of living crisis have all placed enormous and growing pressure on the public finances.
For example, Brexit has reduced the size of the UK economy by 2.5 per cent, equating to a £2.3 billion annual cut in revenue in Scotland.
Decisions for 2025-26 will be published as part of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget on 4 December. Scottish Income Tax policy for 2025-26 will be announced during the annual Budget process.