Today, the Office for National Statistics published new figures on government revenues, spending and borrowing.

How have public sector pay and employment changed in Scotland in recent years and what are the implications of those changes?

We borrowed and spent more than other countries to respond to the pandemic and the sharp rise in energy prices two years ...

By 2040, the number of pupils in Scotland is projected to be 90,000 lower than in 2024. Policymakers face a major choice over ...

The OBR forecast will underpin the Chancellor’s decisions at the next Spring Forecast. As the OBR comes up with its forecast, ...

Council tax in Scotland – as in England – is out of date, regressive and distortionary. How should it be reformed, and what would the effects be?

This chapter of our third annual Budget Report looks at the outlook for the Scottish Government’s finances and its public spending plans and trade-offs. The focus is the coming financial year, 2025–26 ...

After £1.5 billion of in-year top-ups in the current financial year, 2024–25, the plans set out for day-to-day health and social care spending in the Scottish Budget for the coming year, 2025–26, now ...

At just under £8 billion, spending on schools and childcare is the second-largest area of public service spending in Scotland, behind spending on health. While councils rather than the Scottish ...