‘Lateness’ of UK Budget ‘entirely undesirable’, says Swinney

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has put the Scottish Government in an “entirely undesirable situation” with the “lateness” of her Budget, Scotland’s First Minister has said.

With Ms Reeves not due to unveil her fiscal plans to MPs until November 26, John Swinney said the Scottish Government’s own budget process will therefore come “under enormous pressure”.

The Scottish Government has to pass its budget for 2026-27 before the start of the new financial year on April 1, 2026.

Its draft proposals are usually announced in December, but Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison has already warned her statement may have to be delayed until January as a result of the Chancellor’s Budget date.

The next Scottish Parliament election is due to take place in May, and the Holyrood session will finish in March ahead of the campaign.

Mr Swinney told MSPs on Thursday that means there will be a “very constrained timescale” for both Holyrood and experts at the Scottish Fiscal Commission to scrutinise his Government’s draft budget.

He was speaking during First Minister’s Questions after Kenneth Gibson, the convener of Holyrood’s Finance Committee, asked about the implications for the Scottish budget process of the UK Budget being “delayed” until November 26.

Mr Swinney told him: “This is a very unfortunate situation, to put it mildly.

“The lateness of the presentation of the UK Budget will mean that the budget process of the Scottish Government will be under enormous pressure.”

He said the “lateness of the presentation of the UK Budget means there are quite literally a very short number of weeks available” for the Scottish Government’s tax and spending plans for 2026-27 to be examined before the new financial year starts in April.

The First Minister said: “It is an entirely undesirable situation that the Scottish Parliament has been left in, and the Scottish Government has been left in as a consequence of the delay to the timetable for the United Kingdom Budget.”

The UK Government has said November 26 is “within the normal range” of dates for the Budget.

A spokesperson said: “The choice at the Budget is clear – we can go back to the cycle of austerity, debt and decline, or we can continue to invest in Scotland’s renewal.”