Scottish Government
Fiscal sustainability and the Scottish budget
The draft Scottish Budget raised concerns regarding financial planning, particularly about the Funding shortfall for Employer National Insurance and the late commitment to mitigate the two-child limit on benefits. Mitigation aims to help families affected…
Energy privatisation is a disaster for Scotland
Energy poverty in Scotland affects 31% of the population, which is significantly higher than in England and the EU. Despite abundant energy resources, especially renewable, local costs remain exorbitant due to ineffective regulations and privatization.…
The gift nobody wants to open
Spare a thought this Christmas/New Year for the person at the Fiscals’ office on whose desk the file marked ‘Operation Branch Form’, the investigation into the SNP’s finances, is resting.
A failure of leadership over Glasgow’s “Mack”
“A full restoration of the Mack can and must be done – and within years not decades. It will take political will. If leadership is there, the money can be found. Restoring the Mack is…
Still spinning plates: the 2025 Scottish Budget
“There aren’t even any mathematical reasons (if anything, Council Tax reform and a land tax would have made it easier to win progressive votes in Parliament for the budget). There aren’t any objections from their…
How the Scottish Government’s net fiscal position has evolved
Ahead of Shona Robison’s December 4 Scottish Budget @Strath_FAI lays bare the fiscal numbers she’s grappling with – and urges greater transparency
Seven steps to save Scotland’s creative economy
How to stop Scotland lagging behind? Dougal Perman proposes a carefully targeted plan to invest that long-promised £100m for the creative industries. But the money must be spent now.
Strangled by the purse strings
Unless, of course, the point is to keep that firm grip on the purse strings to actively prevent too much Local Authority autonomy – a view that has been expressed to me as a “good…
Seven questions on the Council of the Nations and Regions
Keir Starmer is due to chair the inaugural meeting of the UK government’s newly created ‘Council of the Nations and Regions’ in Scotland this Friday. The summit is due to focus on investment and growth…
How to fix the Scottish cultural funding crisis?
“Budgets across the creative industries have been decimated by the state of the economy. Micro businesses and creative industries freelancers have borne the brunt of it. I know people in film and TV who haven’t…
Ten years after: the enduring case for indy in Europe
“The EU and independence debate have been inevitably intertwined in the last ten years since the independence referendum. The case for independence in the EU is strong in many ways. But why did Brexit not…
The SNP must get serious on tax
“So where do things go from here? Blaming Westminster, finger-pointing at Labour and shouting “wiznae us!” will not suffice. Not now, and certainly not in 2026 and 2027, when the Holyrood and council elections occur….”