He explained that construction projects “are a significant concern at the moment because of price inflation on raw materials”, whereas other projects such as higher education research expenditure, which falls within capital budgets, is not affected to the same extent.5
In our Pre-budget Report, the Committee noted that the Scottish Government’s Targeted Review of Capital Spending (2023-24 to 2025-26) showed an increase in capital funding for net zero programmes over the next three years and sought clarification on whether these funding allocations might be affected given the increasing pressures on the Scottish Budget 2023-24.2 The Scottish Government responded that “net zero is one of three priorities in the Scottish Budget and progress is being made towards targets”.