Scottish Government annual consolidated accounts: FOI release

Information requested

The annual cost in the last financial year of the devolved Government in Scotland.

Response

Each year, the Scottish Government publishes its consolidated annual accounts, which provides the externally audited position for the year, with the latest version available here: scottish-governmentconsolidated-accounts-year-ended-31-march-2025-laid-before-scottish-parliament-scottish-ministers-30-october-2025.pdf

The Consolidated Accounts present the combined assets and liabilities, as well as the results of all entities within the consolidation accounting boundary, as defined by the Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM).

The consolidation boundary includes the core Scottish Government, executive agencies (each aligned to a specific portfolio), the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and NHS bodies responsible for the planning, promotion, commissioning and delivery of healthcare. These agencies and bodies also publish their own separate accounts, which provide more detailed information on their income, expenditure, assets and liabilities.

The Consolidated Accounts report the actual spend for the year and compares this with the budget authorised by the Scottish Parliament, with both presented on the same accounting basis.

In addition, the Scottish Government sets out its outturn position each year, with the provisional outturn for 2025-26 due to be presented to Parliament in June. The report summarises the financial outturn of the Scottish Government, bodies within the Scottish Administration, and organisations funded directly from the Scottish Budget (including the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body and Audit Scotland), and compares this against HM Treasury budgetary limits.

The 2024-25 provisional outturn is available here: Scottish Budget - provisional outturn 2024-2025: briefing note - 24 June 2025 - gov.scot

The final outturn is available once all audits of relevant public bodies have taken place, with the latest report available here: Scottish Budget 2023-2024: final outturn report - gov.scot

The 2024-25 final outturn will be available in the coming weeks now that all audits have been completed for that financial year.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.