Block grant figures for 2025-26 in Scottish Government Budget: FOI release

Information requested

Speaking on the BBC Sunday Show on 30th March 2025, Neil Gray said:

“We are still to see what the cuts to departmental spending at Westminster is going to do to our block grant. We know that this year it’s going to see a reduction in what we should have expected.”

Please provide a figure for the block grant for this year which Neil Gray claims should have been expected, along with any information justifying why this figure should have been expected. Additionally, please provide any information substantiating Neil Gray’s claim that this year’s block grant has been, or will be, cut from this level.

Response

The block grant figures for 2025-26 were set out in the Scottish Government Budget published in December 2024 at Annex A Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026 - gov.scot.

Since publication there have been additional Barnett consequentials of £24 million of resource funding and £4 million of capital confirmed at UK Spring Statement.

We are currently part way through the UK Main Estimates process, which will further update the financial position for 2025-26, with the process due to conclude in early May.

The Office of Budgetary Responsibility report published alongside the Spring Statement on 26 March sets out indicative costings of policy measures announced since the UK Autumn Statement, including an assessment of the impact of those measures on Scottish Government budgets (link to the relevant table attached below). These costings indicate a reduction in the rate of growth in the Block Grant over the forecast period against the previous position. The exact financial impact will not be known until these future budgets are confirmed. The UK Spending Review, expected on the 11th of June 2025, is expected to set out resource budgets until 2028-29 and capital budgets to 2029-30.

https://obr.uk/download/march-2025-economic-and-fiscal-outlook-detailed-forecast-tables-policy/?tmstv=1743012769

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