Scottish Budget to pass as Labour vows not to oppose it

The Scottish government’s Budget looks set to pass into law after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar confirmed his party would not oppose it.

Sarwar said the government’s tax and spending plans would not “change outcomes for people in Scotland” but confirmed that his MSPs would not vote against them.

He told BBC Scotland News: “We will not stand in the way of the Budget. This Budget’s going to pass.”

Finance Secretary Shona Robison’s £68bn proposals – including changes to income tax thresholds – are scheduled to face a final vote in Holyrood on 25 February.

That will come just three months before Scots head to the polls for the Holyrood election.

Speaking on a visit to Greenock, Sarwar said that only a change in government could deliver real change.

Under the draft Budget, the thresholds for the basic and intermediate levels of income tax are to be raised by double the rate of inflation, while bands for higher earners are to remain frozen.

Scots earning less than £33,500 are expected to pay slightly less income tax than they would elsewhere in the UK, to a maximum of £40 a year.

However, those earning more than £33,500 will pay increasingly more. For example, someone earning £50,000 will pay almost £1,500 more than they would in England.

Robison also announced plans for a so-called “mansion tax” on properties worth more than £1m, and to raise the Scottish Child Payment to £40 a week for some families.

The government intends to expand after school and breakfast clubs and provide free swimming lessons for primary pupils. It also plans to increase funding for universities and colleges by £70m.

Robison said the Budget would provide business rates relief and funding to deliver walk-in GP services.

She told MSPs that it “gives the people of Scotland the best cost-of-living deal anywhere in the UK”.

MSPs will begin debating the Budget bill early next month ahead of a final vote.

The government does not have a majority and relies on the support of other parties or abstentions to pass its plans into law.

Last year, the Budget was passed with the support of Green and Liberal Democrat MSPs, who negotiated concessions with the government, while Labour abstained.