The focus of this year’s pre-budget scrutiny inquiry is on the affordability and sustainability of Scotland’s tax and spending plans.

Pre-budget scrutiny seeks to:

• influence how the Budget is prepared
• improve transparency and increase public awareness of the Budget
• consider how the Government’s Budget for the coming year should respond to new fiscal and wider policy challenges
• lead to better results and outcomes when compared against the Scottish Government’s targets and goals.

When does it happen?

Pre-budget scrutiny normally takes place in the months leading up to the Scottish budget.

Remit for this year’s pre-budget scrutiny inquiry

To influence the Scottish Government’s tax and spending plans in the Scottish Budget 2026-27 to ensure affordability and sustainability.

Inquiry aims  

The agreed remit for the pre-budget inquiry is to:

• assess the viability of the Scottish Government’s plans to bridge the anticipated £4.77 billion fiscal gap by 2029-30
• establish what steps the Scottish Government should take to respond to the structural pressures on the Scottish Budget
• better understand the extent to which the Scottish Government considers affordability and sustainability when prioritising and deprioritising spending
• consider how the Scottish Government’s approach to taxation fits within its wider plans to ensure sustainability of the public finances
• bring greater transparency to how new policies announced by the Scottish Government in recent months will be funded and their potential impact on other areas of the Scottish Budget
• consider actions the Scottish Government should respond to inflationary pressures on the Scottish Budget, including in relation to the cost of living
• assess how the Scottish Government should use its financial flexibilities - such as borrowing, bonds, the mutual finance model and the Scotland Reserve - to manage budget pressures, and
• establish what steps the Scottish Government takes to ensure public money delivers good value and effective outcomes.