Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027
The Scottish Budget sets out the Scottish Government's proposed spending and tax plans for 2026-27, as presented to the Scottish Parliament
Chapter 5 Social Justice
Portfolio Responsibilities
Social Justice drives the national mission to eradicate poverty and tackle inequality to improve outcomes for individuals and communities across Scotland. In 2026-27, the portfolio has a budget of over £163 million to continue our impact on this key mission in addition to each portfolio’s contribution to this truly cross-Government endeavour.
The portfolio is responsible for Social Security Scotland, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, the Office of the Chief Social Policy Advisor and the Ministerial Taskforce on Population.
This budget will support the portfolio to eradicate poverty and tackle inequality, protect and fulfil human rights and allow all in Scotland to live free from discrimination.
We will continue to support the First Minister’s top priority of eradicating child poverty with £61.5 million for our Tackling Child Poverty Fund. We will publish our third Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan in March 2026, and this budget will support actions contained within that plan to continue to drive forward our impact on child poverty. The Delivery Plan will also include further information on a new annual £50 million package of Whole Family Support to build on the investment and delivery already in place.
The best and most sustainable way to keep children out of poverty is to ensure their parents have access to high-quality, stable and fulfilling employment. With families at the centre of our approach, we will invest a total of £50 million in a Whole Family Support package to support parents into sustainable employment. With final details to be confirmed in the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, measures to be funded include: a dedicated fund of £20 million for Third Sector partners to deliver the support that people need in their communities to get into and stay in work; and, through the RISE initiative (Raising Income through Skills and Education), giving colleges access to a projected £8 million of funding to deliver new or expanded initiatives to help adult learners get the skills and qualifications needed to secure new employment opportunities.
We will continue to support local innovative work to test place-based support for families through our Fairer Futures Partnerships, the Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund and the Social Innovation Partnership, and increasingly align these with wider initiatives in order to maximise impact.
We will also continue to fund free to access debt, income maximisation and welfare advice to support households to improve their financial wellbeing.
We are committed to delivering social security benefits that help low-income families and unpaid carers, support older people to heat their homes, and enable disabled people to live independent lives; whilst embedding dignity, fairness and respect in the services provided by Social Security Scotland. We will continue providing support to one in three people in Scotland through 17 benefits including 5 benefits specific to Scotland. This includes continued delivery of the Scottish Child Payment, where the positive impact of this benefit on the relative child poverty rate is estimated to be four percentage points, representing 40,000 children.
We will begin work in 2026-27 to introduce an additional payment for children under 1 who are eligible for the Scottish Child Payment which will be paid in 2027-28. This will bring the total Scottish Child Payment amount to £40 a week for children under 1, with the Scottish Fiscal Commission estimating that around 12,000 children will receive this increased support once in place.
We will continue to work closely with key third sector infrastructure partners to deliver support to the wider sector, including increased funding to support the Disability Equality Plan. Disabled People’s Organisations undertake vital work to support disability equality, inclusion and accessibility. That is why we are delivering a 3-year settlement for this sector to give them greater certainty to plan their services. We will deliver £3.5 million of funding in 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29. This is part of our close work with key third sector infrastructure partners, including funding being maintained to address violence against women and girls and to tackle inequalities for protected characteristics. We will make progress on our commitment to fairer funding for the Third Sector and will continue to update and strengthen regulation to support charities in Scotland.
Social Justice intended contributions to the National Outcomes
Primary National Outcomes
- Communities
- Human Rights
- Children and Young People
- Poverty
Secondary National Outcomes
- Culture
- Health
- International
- Economy
- Fair Work and Business
- Environment
- Education
Social Justice
The prior year 2025‑26 Budget Comparator figures are based on the latest in-year budget numbers which were revised at the Autumn Budget Revision. The 2024‑25 Scottish Budget comparator figures reflect the outturn numbers for that year.
| Level 2 | 2024-25 Outturn £m | 2025-26 ABR Budget £m | 2026-27 Budget £m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third Sector Infrastructure and Development | 13.8 | 14.1 | 14.2 |
| Discretionary Housing Payments | 14.8 | 15.6 | 108.6 |
| Tackling Child Poverty and Social Justice | 39.6 | 59.8 | 163.4 |
| Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
| Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights | 92.2 | 74.4 | 72.0 |
| Social Security | 485.6 | 497.0 | 512.8 |
| Social Security Assistance | 5,947.5 | 6,788.3 | 7,230.8 |
| Total Social Justice | 6,597.8 | 7,453.0 | 8,105.5 |
| Total Fiscal Resource | 6,467.8 | 7,331.5 | 7,981.3 |
| of which Programme Costs | 6,405.9 | 7,281.7 | 7,936.9 |
| of which Operating Costs | 61.9 | 49.8 | 44.4 |
| Non-cash | 64.2 | 70.5 | 66.2 |
| Capital | 82.0 | 51.0 | 43.0 |
| Financial Transactions (FTs) | (0.4) | – | – |
| UK Funded AME | (15.9) | – | 15.0 |
| Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator | (4.2) | (3.8) | (3.8) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Social Justice | 6,593.6 | 7,449.2 | 8,101.7 |
| Total Limit on Income (accruing resources) | 90.0 | - | - |
| Level 3 | 2024-25 Outturn £m | 2025-26 ABR Budget £m | 2026-27 Budget £m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third Sector Infrastructure and Development | 13.8 | 14.1 | 14.2 |
| Total Third Sector of which: | 13.8 | 14.1 | 14.2 |
| Fiscal Resource | 13.8 | 14.1 | 14.2 |
| Non-cash | – | – | – |
| Capital | – | – | – |
| FTs | – | – | – |
| UK Funded AME | – | – | – |
| Level 3 | 2024-25 Outturn £m | 2025-26 ABR Budget £m | 2026-27 Budget £m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary Housing Payments | 14.8 | 15.6 | 108.6 |
| Total Discretionary Housing Payments of which: | 14.8 | 15.6 | 108.6 |
| Fiscal Resource | 14.8 | 15.6 | 108.6 |
| Non-cash | – | – | – |
| Capital | – | – | – |
| FTs | – | – | – |
| UK Funded AME | – | – | – |
| Level 3 | 2024-25 Outturn £m | 2025-26 ABR Budget £m | 2026-27 Budget £m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Justice | 32.3 | 50.7 | 153.9 |
| Communities Analysis | 7.4 | 9.1 | 9.6 |
| Total Tackling Child Poverty and Social Justice of which: | 39.6 | 59.8 | 163.4 |
| Fiscal Resource | 39.8 | 57.3 | 160.4 |
| Non-cash | – | – | – |
| Capital | 0.2 | 2.5 | 3.0 |
| FTs | (0.4) | – | – |
| UK Funded AME | – | – | – |
| Level 3 | 2024-25 Outturn £m | 2025-26 ABR Budget £m | 2026-27 Budget £m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
| Total Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator of which: | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
| Fiscal Resource | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.8 |
| Non-cash | 0.1 | 0.1 | – |
| Capital | 0.4 | – | – |
| FTs | – | – | – |
| UK Funded AME | – | – | – |
| Level 3 | 2024-25 Outturn £m | 2025-26 ABR Budget £m | 2026-27 Budget £m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights | 92.2 | 74.4 | 72.0 |
| Total Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights of which: | 92.2 | 74.4 | 72.0 |
| Fiscal Resource | 88.2 | 69.9 | 72.0 |
| Non-cash | – | – | – |
| Capital | 4.0 | 4.5 | – |
| FTs | – | – | – |
| UK Funded AME | – | – | – |
| Level 3 | 2024-25 Outturn £m | 2025-26 ABR Budget £m | 2026-27 Budget £m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scottish Welfare Fund – Administration | – | – | 5.5 |
| Social Security Policy and Delivery | 203.1 | 173.5 | 31.5 |
| Social Security Scotland | 282.5 | 323.6 | 475.8 |
| Total Social Security of which: | 485.6 | 497.0 | 512.8 |
| Fiscal Resource | 363.8 | 382.6 | 391.6 |
| Non-cash | 64.1 | 70.4 | 66.2 |
| Capital | 77.4 | 44.0 | 40.0 |
| FTs | – | – | – |
| UK Funded AME | (19.7) | – | 15.0 |
| Level 3 | 2024-25 Outturn £m | 2025-26 ABR Budget £m | 2026-27 Budget £m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scottish Welfare Fund | 3.9 | – | 35.5 |
| Carer Support Payment | 445.0 | 520.7 | 555.3 |
| Adult Disability Payment | 3,130.9 | 3,604.6 | 3,845.5 |
| Pension Age Disability Payment | 762.5 | 833.6 | 926.7 |
| Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance | 429.7 | 393.9 | 375.4 |
| Child Disability Payment | 513.6 | 617.7 | 628.9 |
| Industrial Injuries Disablement Scheme | 82.4 | 83.4 | 81.0 |
| Severe Disablement Allowance | 5.0 | 4.4 | 4.0 |
| Best Start Grant | 20.1 | 21.4 | 20.5 |
| Best Start Foods | 15.7 | 19.3 | 18.7 |
| Funeral Support Payment | 12.1 | 13.9 | 13.7 |
| Job Start Payment | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Young Carer Grant | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.2 |
| Child Winter Heating Payment | 10.2 | 11.9 | 12.8 |
| Scottish Child Payment | 455.8 | 471.0 | 484.8 |
| Pension Age Winter Heating Payment | 29.5 | 151.0 | 195.4 |
| Two Child Limit Payment* | – | 11.3 | – |
| Winter Heating Payment | 29.2 | 28.3 | 30.2 |
| Total Social Security Assistance of which: | 5,947.5 | 6,788.3 | 7,230.8 |
| Fiscal Resource | 5,943.6 | 6,788.3 | 7,230.8 |
| Non-cash | – | – | – |
| Capital | – | – | – |
| FTs | – | – | – |
| UK Funded AME | 3.9 | – | – |
* Funding for The Two Child Limit Payment is no longer required. The £11.3 million allocated in 2025-26 will be removed at Spring Budget Revision (SBR).