decay – Scottish National Party

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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.

£ 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.

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.

£ 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

£ 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.

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.

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.