Finance and Public Administration Committee
At its meeting on 9 November 2021, the Committee took evidence from the Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth on—
The Budget (Scotland) Act 2021 Amendment Regulations 20211 (“the Regulations”)
During its scrutiny of the Regulations, the Committee also considered the content of the Budget (Scotland) Act: Autumn Budget Revision 2021-2022 Supporting Document,2 which provides further information on the revised spending plans for which the Scottish Government is seeking Parliamentary approval.
Separate briefings on the Supporting Document were prepared by the Financial Scrutiny Unit in SPICe and by the Scottish Government and were published as part of the meeting papers.3
The Regulations were laid on 5 October and amend the Budget Scotland Act 2021, which authorised the Scottish Government’s spending plans for the current financial year.
The Regulations were originally laid on 27 September but were then re-laid in order to correct a minor error noted by the legal advisers to the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee (DPLRC).
The DPLRC considered the re-laid Regulations at its meeting on 26 October and had no issues to report.1
During evidence, the Committee asked a number of questions of the Minister, the responses to which can be found in the Official Report.1
The Minister also undertook to provide further detail in writing in response to questions about—
The breakdown of £700 million in additional funding for the health budget;
The transfer of £5.2 million in respect of additional medical student places; and
The breakdown of £20 million in the education budget for “post-Covid improvements”.
The Minister wrote to the Committee on 16 November 2021 providing further information in response to these questions. His letter is available on the Committee’s website.2
The Committee also suggested that it would be helpful for more detailed breakdowns of additional funding to be included in future supporting documents along with a brief narrative setting out the reasons for the changes.
Following evidence, the Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth moved motion S6M-01468—That the Finance and Public Administration Committee recommends that the Budget (Scotland) Act 2021 Amendment Regulations 2021 [draft] be approved.
The Finance and Public Administration Committee agreed to motion S6M-01468.