Reading Time: 9 minutesThis blog gives an overview of the various forms of borrowing the Scottish Government can undertake, and the expected impact on the Scottish Budget.
Author: SPICe
Budget Bingo: a full house? – key themes in pre-budget scrutiny for 2026-27
Reading Time: 11 minutesThis blog looks at the common themes across committees’ recommendations and conclusions arising from pre-budget scrutiny 2025-26
Climate Change Plan: waste management and the circular economy
Reading Time: 10 minutesBackground – the new draft Climate Change Plan The Scottish Government published its draft Climate Change Plan (CCP) on 6 November 2025, kicking off 120
Climate Change Plan: will the proposed monitoring and evaluation approach show if delivery is on track?
Reading Time: 13 minutesThis SPICe guest blog introduces background on the M&E requirements of the Climate Change Plan, approaches to M&E in previous Plans, stakeholder views on what M&E should be in the Plan, the proposed M&E approach and key areas for scrutiny.
The lie of the land in the Scottish Government’s draft Climate Change Plan – Part 2: Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry
Reading Time: 11 minutesThis blog explores the Scottish Government’s policies and proposals in the chapter on ‘land use, land use change and forestry’ (LULUCF) in the new draft Plan.
The lie of the land in the Scottish Government’s draft Climate Change Plan – Part 1: Agriculture
Reading Time: 10 minutesThis blog explores the Scottish Government’s policies and proposals in the agriculture chapter in the new draft CCP
Climate Change Plan: decarbonising energy supply in Scotland
Reading Time: 10 minutesThe blog looks at the detail of electricity and fuel supply in Scotland and examines what is set out in the draft CCP.
Labour market update: December 2025
Reading Time: < 1 minuteSources: UK Labour Market: December 2025 and Labour market in the regions of the UK: December 2025 For constituency-level labour market statistics, please visit the labour market in Scotland
Year-to-year comparisons of the Scottish Budget
Reading Time: 3 minutesThis blog explains why year-to-year comparisons of the Scottish budget can be tricky – and why this matters for budget scrutiny.
How can human rights responsibilities be used to frame budget scrutiny?
Reading Time: 7 minutesThis blog explores the AAAQ framework analysis approach to human rights spending taken by the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee in a collaborative budget scrutiny workshop supported by the SHRC.