The Scottish Government's draft Budget for 2025/26, presented by Finance Secretary Shona Robison, aims to tackle child poverty by pledging to abolish the two-child benefit cap and increase funding for the NHS. The plan faces scrutiny regarding its fiscal sustainability and requires cooperation from the UK government for implementation.
The Scottish Government has faced increasing pressure to address child poverty and NHS waiting times. The two-child benefit cap, introduced by the UK government, has been a contentious issue, prompting calls for its abolition. The upcoming 2026 Holyrood election adds urgency to these commitments.
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Shona McRory Robison is a Scottish National Party politician serving as the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government since May 2021.
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The Scottish National Party is a Scottish nationalist and social-democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence within the European Union, with a platform based on civic nationalism.
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The Scottish Government is the devolved government of Scotland.
The government is led by the First Minister, who selects the Cabinet Secretaries, who attend Cabinet, and Ministers with the approval of Parliament.
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John Ramsay Swinney is a Scottish politician serving as Deputy First Minister of Scotland since 2014 and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills since 2016.
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Rachel Jane Reeves is a British Labour Party politician serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office since 2020. She has been the Member of Parliament for Leeds West since 2010.
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Scottish Labour is a social democratic political party in Scotland, currently led by Richard Leonard. It is an autonomous section of the national Labour Party.
Labour currently hold 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament.
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Anas Sarwar is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2011 to 2014. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Glasgow region since 2016, having previously been Member of Parliament for Glasgow Cen
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The Scottish Fiscal Commission is a non-ministerial office. It was established by the Scottish Parliament to provide independent forecasts of taxes and social security expenditure, and GDP forecasts, to help inform the government's budget and its scrutiny
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Labor-Gesher was a joint list of the Israeli Israeli Labor Party and Gesher parties for elections for the twenty-second Knesset. The list advocated social democracy and progressive taxation. The list's platform focused primarily on socio-economic issues.
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The Scottish Parliament is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyrood.
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Holyrood is an area in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, lying east of the city centre, at the foot of the Royal Mile.
The area originally took its name from Holyrood Abbey, which was the Church of the Holy Rude.
Holyrood includes the following sites:
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Sir Keir Rodney Starmer KCB QC MP is a British politician and former lawyer who has served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament for Holborn and St Pancras since 2015.
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Neil Charles Gray is a Scottish National Party politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Airdrie & Shotts since May 2021.
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Audit Scotland is an independent public body responsible for auditing most of Scotland's public organisations. These include the Scottish Government, local councils and NHS Scotland.