Public Finance

UK Government betrays Scotland with massive cuts to post-EU funding

Author / Creator: Business for Scotland

Media type: Article

Date published: 2026

Since being dragged out of the EU against our will, we have seen a net loss of funding support. The Conservatives never met their manifesto promise to replicate EU funding.


Fiscal Sustainability Perspectives: what Scotland’s finances mean for the next parliament

Author / Creator: Scottish Fiscal Commissioin

Media type: Report

Date published: 2026

The Scottish Government has stated that, if current trends continue, it expects spending to outpace funding in the next parliament.


Scotland’s Economic and Fiscal Forecasts

Author / Creator: Scottish Fiscal Commission

Media type: Report

Date published:

The total funding available to the Scottish Government is forecast to be £61,677 million in 2026-27, an increase of 1.3 per cent relative to 2025-26.


Scottish Government Bonds and Investing in Ourselves March 2026

Author / Creator: William Thomson

Media type: Article

Date published: 2026

Why the Scottish Government must pause the wholesale bond programme and reevaluate the issuance to consider funding investment from within Scotland.


How will next SNP government tackle fiscal mess left by this one?

Author / Creator: John McLaren

Media type: Article

Date published: 2026

A weary government’s major ‘achievement’ has been to hide the cuts coming down the line 


Setting the scene: Scotland on the eve of the 2026 Election

Author / Creator: João Sousa

Media type: Report

Date published: 2026

Analysis of public finance issues for the 2026 election.


UK Government betrays Scotland with massive cuts to post-EU funding

Author / Creator: Business for Scotland

Media type: Article

Date published: 2026

Jobs are being lost, growth is being slowed, communities are struggling - whilst England gets a better deal.


On the Problem with Scotland’s Future Bond Plans

Author / Creator: William Thomson

Media type: Article

Date published: 2026

The Scottish Government’s decision to issue a wholesale bond is guaranteed to create all the wrong headlines at exactly the wrong time. 


Scottish Government Bonds and Investing in Ourselves

Author / Creator: William Thomson

Media type: Working paper

Date published: 2026

The wholesale Scottish government bond programme will result in approximately £170 million leaking out of the Scottish economy.


GERS and what it tells us about the de-prioritisation of health spending in Scotland

Author / Creator: John McLaren

Media type: Article

Date published: 2025

Where exactly is Scottish spending per capita higher than for the UK as a whole. 


Independence, GERS and how not to have a debate

Author / Creator: ohn McLaren

Media type: Article

Date published: 2025

The fiscal deficit in Scotland is over £2,500 per person higher than it is for the UK average. 


Scottish Public Spending Dashboard December 2025

Author / Creator: Fraser of Allander Institute

Media type: Report

Date published: 2025

The dashboard shows the increasing stress on the Scottish budget over just a few years.


The UK budget FAILS Scotland

Author / Creator: Business for Scotland

Media type: Article

Date published: 2025

The UK budget keeps Scotland in a trap.


Still spinning plates: the 2025 Scottish Budget

Author / Creator: Craig Dalzell

Media type: Article

Date published: 2024

The extra money from the UK that has gone into this year’s Scottish Budget has largely been accounted for in terms of public sector pay deals and reserved tax rises applied to those wages ...


Debt dramas Putting the public finances in context ahead of general election 2024

Author / Creator: Charlie McCurdy

Media type: Briefing Paper

Date published: 2024

In recent years, our national preoccupation with fiscal policy has been amplified by an unprecedented peace-time rise in public debt


How we set policy baselines

Author / Creator: Scottish Fiscal Commission

Media type: Report

Date published: 2024

A policy baseline is the set of values we include in our forecast covering all policy aspects of the tax
and social security systems. This includes factors such as tax and social security rates, thresholds,
payment amounts, eligibility criteria and implementation timings.


Debt Dramas

Author / Creator: Charlie McCurdy

Media type: Report

Date published: 2024

£19 billion of cuts to unprotected departmental spending – from Justice to Local Government – [are] pencilled in for after the [20214] election


Fiscal Sustainability Perspectives: Climate Change

Author / Creator: Scottish Fiscal Commission

Media type: Report

Date published:

This report considers the potential effects on Scottish public finances from damage created by climate change; the costs of adapting to a changing environment and taking action to meet Scotland’s statutory emissions targets to reach net-zero by 2045.


What Kilts Might Reveal: A Discussion of Scottish Government Bonds Part 2

Author / Creator: Iain Hardie

Media type: Report

Date published: 2023

Independent governments in countries similar to Scotland rely overwhelmingly on borrowing in their own currency


The Turkey that Voted for Christmas (Twice): How Poor Negotiation of the Fiscal Settlement has Failed Scotland

Author / Creator: Jim Cuthbert

Media type: Report

Date published: 2023

The new fiscal review has been conducted in secrecy and without significant consultation with the Scottish Government.