Greens and Lib Dems give their backing to the Scottish Budget

The Scottish Greens and Scottish Lib Dems will back the Government’s Budget, making it near-certain the plans will pass.

The Government said on Tuesday it had struck deals with both parties to secure their backing ahead of the final vote, due to take place next month.

As a result of the deal with the Scottish Greens, the Government has announced plans to expand free school meals to pupils in the first three years of secondary school who are in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment, as well as a regional pilot for a £2 cap on bus fares.

While the Scottish Lib Dems secured increased investment for drugs services and hospices.

The deals will cost £16.7 million, the Government said.

Finance Secretary Shona Robison said: “We are determined to deliver on the issues that matter most to the people of Scotland – and that is why this Budget invests in public services and in eradicating child poverty, acts in the face of the climate emergency, and supports jobs.

“The First Minister was clear that we would bring forward a Budget by Scotland for Scotland, and the negotiations we have taken forward have been in that spirit.

“These additional initiatives demonstrate the value of a progressive approach and dialogue.”

Ms Robison praised both parties for their “positive and constructive” engagement.

“Through seeking compromise I believe we are delivering a Budget that will strengthen services and support our communities,” she added.

“With the agreements with these two parties now in place, this will secure a majority in Parliament in support of the Budget Bill.”

Green Finance spokesman Ross Greer said: “The Scottish Greens put climate action, tackling child poverty, cheaper buses and ferries and funding for schools at the heart of our Budget negotiations.

“We have delivered progress on all of these fronts, so our MSPs will be voting for the Budget.

“No young person should be sitting in school hungry.

“As a result of our work, thousands more pupils in S1 to S3 will now receive a free school meal. This will build on the success of expanding free school meals in primary schools, a policy delivered by the Scottish Greens a few years ago.

“Our Green MSPs have also secured a year-long regional trial where bus fares will be capped at £2, because we know the cost of public transport needs to come down.

“This also builds on the success of free bus travel for young people, another Scottish Green policy we made a reality.”

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the budget vote was not a “referendum on the performance of the SNP”, which he said was “failing Scotland”.

“For me in particular, there will be big money now for services for babies who are born addicted to drugs,” he said.

The Lib Dem leader added: “This isn’t propping up a failing administration, this parliament is clearly now going to run its course until 2026.

“I think it’s my role – and my party and other parties’ – to make the best of what we’ve got.”

He also said “Lib Dem pressure” led to the Government dropping its plans for a national care service, while conceding it was not entirely down to his own party’s influence.

The announcement, earlier this month, from Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar that his MSPs would abstain on the Budget all but assured the plans – announced in December – would pass, but the announcement from the parties has added certainty to the Government’s position.

Speaking to journalists later, Mr Greer said his party would continue to campaign for the scrapping of peak rail fares, despite this not being in the Budget.

Asked why his party should support the SNP, given the end of the Bute House Agreement, he said: “The job of the Scottish Greens is to lift kids out of poverty and tackle the climate emergency, not to play games with other parties.

“We could have taken the opportunity to give the SNP a bloody nose – it wouldn’t have fed a single child, it wouldn’t have reduced emissions, it wouldn’t have protected anything in our natural environment, it would have created no jobs whatsoever.”

Scottish Tory finance spokesman Craig Hoy accused the Lib Dems of “jumping into bed” with the SNP.

“The left-wing consensus at Holyrood is failing the Scottish people,” he said.

“This is a bad budget that raises taxes without improving public services, yet Labour and the Lib Dems are falling over themselves to back it.

“We’re standing up to the SNP as the only political party in Scotland representing common sense for a change.”

The First Minister’s official spokesman said John Swinney had stressed the importance of bringing parliament together.

He said: “It’s quite significant that there’s a relatively broad consensus in supporting the Budget.

“That speaks to the work that he and the Finance Secretary have done – it’s the way parliament was set up to work.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “As part of reaching agreement for the 2025-26 Budget, around £3 million will support the extension of free school meal eligibility in eight local authority areas covering S1-S3 pupils in urban, rural, semi-urban and island authorities in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment in the next school year.

“The Scottish Government will work closely with local authorities in the coming months to establish the test of change in eight local authority areas, including determining the number of pupils who will directly benefit and evaluation of the approach.”