Scottish Budget 2026-27, Spending Review and Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline: strategic integrated impact assessment

Footnotes

1 Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027 - gov.scot.

2 Scottish Spending Review 2026 - gov.scot.

3 Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline 2026 - gov.scot.

4 Child poverty modelling: update - gov.scot.

5 Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027: distributional analysis - gov.scot. The analysis covers tax changes, changes in social security spending and changes in other public spending on in-kind benefits, which comprises around 70 per cent of total resource spending, when the spending on Social Security is excluded. The analysis of other spending includes Scottish Government resource spending on health, schools, funded early learning and childcare (ELC), and transport. It does not cover other areas or capital spending.

6 Ibid.

7 Ibid.

8 Equality Impact Assessment - Scottish Child Payment - gov.scot.

9 This includes the Scottish Child Payment, Best Start Grant (pregnancy and baby payment, early learning payment and school age payment) and Best Start Foods.

10 Pension Age Winter Heating Payment: Equality Impact Assessment - gov.scot.

11 Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027: distributional analysis - gov.scot.

12 The Non-Domestic Rates (Hospitality Relief) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 - legislation.gov.uk.

13 This figure does not take into account the effect of capping the relief to £110,000 per ratepayer.

14 The Non-Domestic Rates (Hospitality Relief) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 - legislation.gov.uk.

15 Revaluation and reform of council tax in Scotland: design considerations and potential impacts - gov.scot.

16 Future of council tax in Scotland: consultation - gov.scot.

17 The distribution of public sector spending - IFS.

18 Investing in Scotland's infrastructure - Audit Scotland.

19 Making the most of public investment to address regional inequalities, megatrends and future shocks (EN) - OECD.

20 Section 2 - Assessing progress against the targets - Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan: progress report 2024-25 - gov.scot.

21 Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2021-24 - gov.scot.

22 Household Costs Indices for UK household groups: July to September 2025 - ons.gov.uk.

23 Tackling child poverty priority families overview - gov.scot; Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2021-24 - data.gov.scot; and Section 2 - Assessing progress against the targets - Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan: progress report 2024-25 - gov.scot.

24 Child poverty modelling: update - gov.scot .

25 Ibid.

26 Ibid.

27 Growing up in Scotland: the circumstances and experiences of 3 year old children living in Scotland in 2007/08 and 2013 - gov.scot.

28 No One Left Behind (Official Statistics in Development) - Scotland's Devolved Employment Services: No One Left Behind Statistical Summary July 2025 - gov.scot.

29 Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan: progress report 2024-25 - gov.scot.

30 School age childcare: equality impact assessment - gov.scot; and Early learning and childcare expansion: CRWIA - gov.scot.

31 Child Poverty Delivery Plan progress 2024-2025 - Poverty and Inequality Commission.

32 Free school meals: equality impact assessment - gov.scot.

33 Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027: distributional analysis - gov.scot.

34 Year 1 evaluation – Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme - transport.gov.scot.

35 Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027: distributional analysis - gov.scot.

36 Fair Work Action Plan: indicator report 2025 - gov.scot.

37 Scotland's Labour Market Insights: October 2025 - gov.scot; Mothers suffer big long-term pay penalty from part-time working - Institute for Fiscal Studies; and 11. Theme 5: Employability, Employment and Income - Anti-racism in Scotland: progress review 2023 - gov.scot.

38 Gender Pay Gap - Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 - gov.scot.

39 Stage 2: Data and evidence gathering, involvement and consultation - Scotland's National Strategy for Economic Transformation Programme 5: A Fairer and More Equal Society Equality Impact Assessment (Record and Results) - gov.scot.

40 Scotland’s Census 2022 - Health, disability and unpaid care - Scotland's Census.

41 Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2021-24 - gov.scot.

42 Working Lives Scotland 2025 - CIPD; and Equality Evidence Review - Skills Development Scotland.

43 Supporting documents - Scotland's Labour Market Insights: October 2025 - gov.scot.

44 Equality impacts - transport.gov.scot.

45 Investing to save: The capital requirement for a more sustainable NHS in England - NHS Confederation.

46 What works to increase equality of access to culture for lower socio-economic groups: evidence review and scoping research - gov.uk.

47 Scottish Budget 2024 to 2025: equality and fairer Scotland statement - gov.scot.

48 Scotland's climate change plan 2026-2040: equality impact assessment - gov.scot.

49 Ibid.

50 Ibid.

51 ScotRail Peak Fares Removal Pilot - Final Evaluation Report - August 2024 - transport.gov.scot.

52 Draft Electric Vehicle Public Charging Network Implementation Plan - transport.gov.scot.

53 At your service? - Resolution Foundation and Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026: distributional analysis of the Scottish Budget - gov.scot.

54 Public sector employment statistics for Q3 2025, 16 December. Supporting documents - Public Sector Employment in Scotland Statistics for 3rd Quarter 2025 - gov.scot.

55 How large are health inequalities in Scotland? - Health inequalities - Equity and justice - Social and economic impacts on health - Population health - Public Health Scotland.

56 Ibid.

57 Drug-related deaths in Scotland, 2024 - National Records of Scotland (NRS).

58 2. Summary of evidence - Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Bill: Fairer Scotland Duty impact assessment - gov.scot.

59 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2023/24: Main findings - gov.scot.

60 Section 4. School leaver attainment in National Qualifications - Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 7: 2025 edition - gov.scot.

61 Annual Participation Measure for 16-19 year olds in Scotland 2025 - Skills Development Scotland.

62 Some of the issues are set out here: Rural Scotland Data Dashboard: Overview - gov.scot.

63 Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027: distributional analysis - gov.scot.

64 Scottish Government News Release (14/1/26) Record funding for health and social care - gov.scot.

65 When a mental health condition becomes a disability - GOV.UK; and Understanding inequalities in access to adult mental health services in the UK: a systematic mapping review - PMC.

66 Mental health and wellbeing delivery plan: equality impact assessment - gov.scot.

67 Mental health and wellbeing strategy, delivery plan and workforce action plan: human rights impact assessment (HRIA) - gov.scot.

68 For example see Young Voices Drive Change at 2025 Cabinet Takeover - Scottish Youth Parliament.

69 See case study on Drugs and alcohol in the 2025-26 Equality and Fairer Scotland budget Statement: Annex C: Further detail on Key Budget Decisions - Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026: Equality and Fairer Scotland Budget Statement - gov.scot.

70 Outcome 5 - Education and skills - National Improvement Framework 2025: improvement plan - gov.scot.

71 Scottish Prison Population Statistics 2023-24 - gov.scot.

72 Scotland's Public Service Reform Strategy - Impact Assessments - gov.scot.

73 Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027: distributional analysis - gov.scot.

74 Draft Budget 2026-2027: Strategic Integrated Impact Assessment - Interim Assessment - gov.wales.

75 Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) for the Public Sector Strategic Workforce Position - gov.scot.

76 Green Budget Tagging - oecd.org.

77 It should be noted that in some instances, comparison to the ABR can be misleading because of in-year transfers. This applies, for example, to Higher Education Support (Tuition Fees Payments) where ABR values have been excluded from Figure B.01. In some instances, reductions in spend can also reflect a drop in service demand, the planned end of programmes, or rearrangement of spending across Level 4 lines and portfolios. The fall in Migration Strategy reflects the movement of staff costs budget to a different portfolio. Carbon Neutral Islands decrease reflects that access to capital funding in 2026-27 will be through the National Islands Plan.

78 The College Operational Expenditure Line has been combined with the College Operational Income line in the Figure to show the net effect.

79 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - gender budgeting pilots: evaluation report - gov.scot.

80 Tackling child poverty – progress report 2024-2025: annex b – focus report on gender and poverty - gov.scot.

81 Minority ethnic women's experiences in Scotland 2024: intersectional evidence review - gov.scot.

82 Tackling inequality: guidance on making budget decisions - gov.scot.

83 Minority ethnic women's experiences in Scotland 2024: intersectional evidence review - gov.scot.

84 Scottish Government: Scotland's Labour Market Insights: April 2024 - gov.scot.

85 The NPF indicator ‘Gender balance in organisations’ examines minority ethnic women’s and minority ethnic men’s employment rates. Minority ethnic women's experiences in Scotland 2024: intersectional evidence review - gov.scot.

86 Labour Market Statistics for Scotland by Ethnicity, January to December 2021 - gov.scot.

87 The Priority Family Types concept is used as a lens when gathering evidence and to guide policy development. Priority families make up the majority of households with children in poverty, and they are most at risk of falling into poverty.

88 Child poverty: evidence in policy making - gov.scot.