Action to tackle Scotland’s soaring benefits bill by freezing payment rates is ‘off the table’ according to the SNP Finance Secretary, despite raising concerns that the Budget has cut her funding.
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Budget → tackle → funding
Jenny Gilruth categorically ruled out freezing the levels of devolved benefit payments when she sets her Budget in December, despite projections showing the welfare bill will soar next year.
She also refused to say whether she will seek to increase taxes when she sets out her spending plans.
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she → rule → plans
But she did commit to ensuring that Scottish families in homes in council tax bands A-D will receive the same £100 funding to help with their energy bills as the UK Government announced for those south of the border.
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Government → commit → border
The Labour Government said the Budget will hand the SNP Government an extra £600million as a result of the Barnett Formula.
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Budget → say → Formula
But the Scottish Government said it was equivalent to a real terms cut of £650million to its funding for the 2027-28 financial year.
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it → say → year
Jenny Gilruth has said the SNP will not be freezing benefit payment rates
Latest official projections are for Scottish Government social security spending to rise from £6.7billion last year to £7.4billion this year and £7.9billion next year.
Asked if she would consider measures to stop these increases, such as freezing benefit payment rates
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she → say → rates
, Ms Gilruth said: ‘Probably not, I think we need to be careful in Scotland.
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we → say → Scotland
‘I hear the challenge in the chamber and from yourselves around about social security spend and we do need to make sure that people who are able to work are in employment, but we also in Scotland quite deliberately in 2018, when Jeane Freeman was minister, established Social Security on a premise of dignity and respect, so that was an approach that we stand by.’
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we → hear → that
She praised the impact of the Scottish child payment and other payments but said ‘we are not going to move away from the approach we take to social security’.
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we → praise → security
Pressed on whether a freeze in payment rates is off the table, she said: ‘I think a freeze, at the current time, would be off the table.’
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freeze → press → table
She refused to say whether the Scottish Government intends to look again at income tax rates – despite the SNP committing in its manifesto that ‘we will not increase the number of bands or their rates over the lifetime of the next parliament’.
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we → refuse → parliament
Ms Gilruth said: ‘I’m not going to be able to tell you anything about tax today.’
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I → say → tax
Following the Budget, Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: ‘People across Scotland and the rest of the UK will be forgiven for asking “is that it?”.
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that → follow → UK
‘John Healey’s first Budget was a damp squib which will do nothing to boost economic growth.
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which → do → growth
Once again, a Labour Chancellor has bottled out of getting a grip of his party’s out-of-control benefits bill.
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Chancellor → bottle → bill
‘Both Labour and the SNP are addicted to spending more on benefits, rather than getting people back into work.
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Labour → spend → work
They keep hammering strivers to support shirkers.’
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They → hammer → shirkers
The UK Government said last year’s spending review provided the Scottish Government with the largest settlement in real terms since devolution, with an average of £50.9billion per year between 2026-27 and 2028-29.
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review → say → 2026
It also said that the measures in the Budget mean the Scottish Government will receive an additional £600million.
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Government → say → 600million
Torsten Bell, the Pensions Minister, said: ‘Obviously the message from the Chancellor to the Scottish Government is “I’m acting to provide breathing space, I’m directly providing you with £600 million of that, you should be providing the same support in Scotland”.’
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you → say → Scotland
He said the support should go to families to help with energy bills and support for high streets ‘during what are tough times’.
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what → say → streets
The Budget also provided £18million for a UK advanced chip design academy led by Edinburgh University and £6million to expand the Scottish Events Campus in Glasgow.
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Budget → provide → Glasgow
Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra said: ‘This Budget backs industry, particularly in defence and energy, and I want to see the Scottish Government work to ensure Scotland can grab the opportunities that brings.’
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that → say → opportunities
Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said the Scottish Government has provided a ‘fully-funded package’ to allow it to introduce the £100 payments through people’s bank accounts to help with energy bills for households in Scotland.
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it → say → Scotland
Ms Gilruth confirmed this would be introduced on a ‘like-for-like basis’ to those living in homes in council tax bands A-D, and that discussions will happen with Cosla on this.
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discussions → confirm → this
But she also said the measures announced in the Budget ‘fall far short of the action which is required’.
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which → say → action
The Scottish Government estimates that it will receive a real-terms 1.3 per cent, or £550million, reduction in resource funding, which is used for day-to-day spending, as well as a 1.5 per cent reduction, or £100million, in capital funding, which is used for new projects.
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which → estimate → projects
Ms Gilruth said: ‘The Scottish Government’s budget will be cut by around £650 million next year – reducing the money we have to spend on public services and supporting people with the cost of living.
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we → say → living
‘The Prime Minister has previously claimed that he would respect devolution and the Scottish Government – but his actions do not match his words.
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actions → claim → words
‘Cutting Scotland’s budget shows that, yet again, we are being treated as an afterthought.’
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we → cut → afterthought
Guy Hinks, chairman of the Federation of Small Business Scotland, said it is ‘essential’ that the Scottish Government uses extra funding ‘to cut the cost of doing business in Scotland’.
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Government → say → Scotland
Emma Congreve, deputy director of the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde, said: ‘In terms of the announced impact on the Scottish Budget from Barnett consequentials, we don’t yet have the detail, but just an aggregate reported increase of £600m between 2026-27 and 2029-30.
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we → say → 2026
‘This includes both revenue and capital budgets.
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This → include → revenue
We’ll be analysing the breakdown further over the course of today once more figures become available.’
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figures → analyse → today
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