‘Tough choices’ in Scottish budget

Finance Secretary John Swinney will lay out his spending plans for Scotland later today, which are expected to include protection to the budgets of the NHS, schools and childcare.

Other services could be cut as the amount of money available continues to be cut in real terms.

It will be the first budget to include new tax-raising powers laid out in the 2012 Scotland Act but it is unlikely these will be used ahead of the election next year.

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Scotland’s block grant is being reduced from next year by the equivalent of 10p in income tax, which then becomes a Scottish rate of income tax. It is expected Swinney will maintain the level at 10p.

Ahead of announcing his budget to parliament, Swinney said: “I am determined to protect key priorities such as schools, hospitals and police. However, as a consequence of UK Government spending decisions, the Scottish Budget will continue to fall in real terms - as it has done since 2010 - until the end of this decade. That places a significant pressure on the funding of our public services and requires us to continually reform the way in which we deliver those public services.”