As Westminster stumbles from crisis to crisis, we are responding to the needs and ambitions of the people of Scotland.
Our Scottish Budget 2022-2023 implements our ambitious and progressive plans to tackle the climate emergency, build a stronger recovery and create a fairer Scotland.
Here is a summary of the main announcements.
Record health financing
This budget provides a record £ 18bn in funding for health and social services, to respond to immediate pressures on the NHS, to increase services and to prepare our NHS for the future.
👇 A budget that keeps its promises for Scotland:
Offer more teachers
💷 Salary increase for social service staff
🌲 Plantation of 15,000 hectares of trees
❤️ £ 1.2 billion in funding for mental health
👨👩👦 Double the payment for Scottish child
🏡 110,000 affordable and energy-efficient housing
#Scottish Budget pic.twitter.com/HH0jIL2lnL– The SNP (@theSNP) December 9, 2021
£ 1.2 billion for mental health
We are delivering £ 1.2bn for mental health, in line with our pledge to increase funding for mental health by 25%.
By the end of this legislature, we aim to spend at least 10% of all frontline NHS spending on mental health.
A story of a week and a story of two governments. As Westminster descends into scandal, the Scottish Government’s budget offers:
💷 Salary increase for social service staff
🌲 Plantation of 15,000 hectares of trees
❤️ £ 1.2 billion in funding for mental health
👨👩👦 Double the payment for Scottish child– Ian Blackford (@Ianblackford_MP) December 10, 2021
3,500 additional teachers
We are providing increased resources to local government to recruit at least 3,500 additional teachers and 500 classroom assistants by the end of this legislature.
Tackling the climate emergency, supporting economic recovery and reducing inequalities are at the heart of this year’s Scottish budget.
Find out what the #Scottish Budget means for you ⬇️
And find out more at https://t.co/Ql2zXc3OVP pic.twitter.com/fK4uY43r6O
– Scottish Government (@scotgov) December 9, 2021
£ 200million more to close the success gap
While recruiting more teachers and investing in the Scottish education system, we are delivering an additional £ 200million for the Scottish Attainment Challenge – part of our £ 1billion pledge during this parliament to tackle the level gap linked to poverty.
Our SNP @scotgov The budget invests an additional £ 200million to close the poverty gap.
📢 We pledge to invest £ 1 billion in this Parliament to help young people, from all walks of life, reach their full potential. #Scottish Budget pic.twitter.com/vkrb8xrHsb
– The SNP (@theSNP) December 9, 2021
Double the payment for Scottish child
Tackling child poverty is our national mission, and at the heart of it is our £ 4 billion investment in social security and benefits.
From April 2022, we will double the Scottish Child Payment – which has been called ‘game-changing’ by charities – to £ 20 per week, four times the amount originally requested by activists.
We are also delivering £ 1.95 billion for the deployment of the Adult Disability Payment in 2022-2023.
SNP @scotgov is investing £ 197million to double the Scottish Child Payment in April 2022 and extend it to those under 16.
📢 This represents almost £ 200million to directly lift Scottish children out of poverty. pic.twitter.com/ZxSRDlqGVk
– The SNP (@theSNP) December 9, 2021
Free bus travel for children under 22
We are investing £ 110million to provide free bus travel to young people under 22 from January 2022, putting more money in their pockets and encouraging greater use of public transport.
🚌 From January, everyone under 22 in Scotland will benefit from free bus travel.
🚏 Around 930,000 young people in Scotland will benefit from the ambitious – driving a fairer and greener Scotland. #Scottish Budget pic.twitter.com/VRJucUhyOU
– The SNP (@theSNP) December 9, 2021
Offer 1,140 hours of free childcare – and continue to expand
Our £ 544million investment will continue to provide free, high-quality learning and childcare services for 3- and 4-year-olds, as well as 2-year-olds from low-income households.
We are also working hard to extend child care even further, to one-year-olds from low-income households, during this Parliament.
Up to 130,000 children will now benefit from 1,140 hours of free learning and childcare.
📢 Available to all qualifying three- and four-year-olds and two-year-olds, saving families around £ 4,900 per child each year.
This is another clear SNP commitment that has been fulfilled. pic.twitter.com/ZPUUGNMc6a
– The SNP (@theSNP) August 4, 2021
Investing in green jobs, greener transport and our natural environment
Achieving our climate goals, which have been hailed as global leaders by the UN, will require transformative action – and this budget lays the groundwork.
We’re investing £ 414million in energy efficiency, low-carbon, renewable heat – reducing emissions, warming homes and tackling fuel poverty, while creating jobs across Scotland .
Our £ 150million investment in active travel infrastructure is a record, and we’re also investing in our natural environment – £ 53million to restore Scotland’s peatlands and £ 69.5million to intensify creation of forests.
This SNP @ScotGov budget is committed to delivering the zero net society that the future of our planet demands of us.
🌳 That’s why we’re investing over £ 120million to restore Scotland’s natural environment and plant 15,000 hectares of forest. #Scottish Budget pic.twitter.com/b8WL8yYufA
– The SNP (@theSNP) December 9, 2021
No business rates for small businesses
A small business on a Scottish shopping street with a taxable value of less than £ 15,000 will continue to pay zero tariffs for the whole of next year no matter what industry it is in.
And we continue to support businesses in the retail, hospitality and entertainment and aviation industries, with 50% tariff relief for the first three months of the new fiscal year.
🤝 During the pandemic, we supported businesses in the retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation industries with 100% rate relief.
🏴 Businesses will continue to benefit from it, with tariff relief of 50% over the first three months of the new fiscal year. #Scottish Budget pic.twitter.com/l1J8DnfDDU
– The SNP (@theSNP) December 9, 2021
£ 831 million to provide 110,000 more affordable homes
We have already delivered over 100,000 affordable homes across Scotland since taking office – and in this budget we pledge £ 831million to advance our commitment to provide 110,000 affordable and efficient homes.
🏡 We are committed to providing 110,000 affordable and energy efficient homes over the next decade.
🤝 We will invest £ 831million to make Scottish homes more efficient and easier to heat, while supporting construction jobs. #Scottish Budget pic.twitter.com/dK9GfObw3I
– The SNP (@theSNP) December 9, 2021
Paving the way for our national care service
We are investing over £ 1.6bn in social care and inclusion – progressing on our commitment to increase spending on social care by 25% by the end of this legislature.
We are also preparing the ground for the creation of a national care service – and we are working to offer the minimum wage of £ 10.50 for social service staff.
📢 We are investing a record £ 18bn in Scotland’s health and social services budgets.
🧑⚕️ This will help address immediate pressures on the NHS and provide at least £ 2.5bn in funding to support patient services over the next five years. #Scottish Budget pic.twitter.com/G92V8FhS5l
– The SNP (@theSNP) December 9, 2021
Majority of Scots will continue to pay less tax than anywhere else in the UK
We have put in place a fairer and more progressive tax system in Scotland, protecting low and middle income people. Thanks to our changes, the majority of Scottish taxpayers pay less income tax than if they lived in England.
The base and base rate tax brackets will increase with inflation, while the upper and upper rate brackets will be frozen at current levels, meaning only the richest 10% will have to pay a little. more.
Today, @Scotgov are offering a budget that will double the game-changing Scottish Child Payment – donating £ 20 a week to Scotland’s poorest families.
📺 Watch Finance Secretary @_KateForbes on https://t.co/dcqnoCzDi6 from 3:25 p.m. pic.twitter.com/DGU0SnwsIQ
– The SNP (@theSNP) December 9, 2021