Savings rising to £2.6 billion in 2029-30 will ensure funding can
be targeted at frontline services such as the NHS, social
security, action to eradicate child poverty and other priorities.
Under the five-year Medium Term Financial Strategy and Fiscal
Sustainability Delivery Plan the Scottish Government will:
- increase value for public money, with affordable and
sustainable investment plans set out through a Scottish Spending
Review in December
- improve efficiencies and productivity across the public
sector by using more technology and automation while improving
collaboration between public bodies
- reform public services, doing more with available resources
and prioritising people with the greatest need
- reduce the public sector workforce by an average of 0.5%
every year until 2030 while protecting frontline services
- invest in preventative measures to reduce demand on services
such as health, social care and justice
The strategy and action plan also include measures to support
sustainable, inclusive economic growth and ensure a strategic
approach to tax policy that considers longer term impacts and
competitiveness.
Finance Secretary said:
“With the world facing profound economic uncertainty this Medium
Term Financial Strategy is being published in deeply challenging
circumstances. Those challenges have been exacerbated by the
actions of the UK Government, whose decisions continue to have
serious consequences for the delivery of our public services.
“Managing the impact of Westminster austerity is all too
familiar. In spite of this we continue to invest in the people of
Scotland, supporting a better paid public sector, delivering
high-quality public services and providing welfare support that
is not available in other parts of the UK. And we have done this
while delivering a balanced budget every single year.
“Fiscal sustainability is about more than balancing the books –
it's about delivering value, driving reform and making strategic
choices that support long-term growth. By focusing on efficient
public spending, modernising services, growing our economy and
taking a strategic approach to tax, we can build a stronger,
fairer Scotland.”
Background
Medium Term Financial Strategy
2025
Fiscal Sustainability Delivery
Plan 2025
The Scottish Government's seventh Medium Term Financial Strategy
(MTFS) provides the economic, funding and spending outlooks for
the financial years 2025-26 to 2029-30. It also presents the
Government's fiscal strategy to deliver sustainable public
finances within the current constitutional settlement.
A Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan (FSDP) is published
alongside the MTFS this year, bringing together the actions
across government to deliver fiscal sustainability.
The FSDP actions include:
- a Scottish Spending Review that will set a savings target of
between £300 million and £700 million a year over the five years
- improving efficiency and productivity while reforming public
services, with savings growing from £600 million to £1.5 billion
a year over the five years
- reducing the public sector workforce by an average of 0.5 per
cent every year until 2030, with savings growing from £100
million to £700 million a year
Exact savings figures will vary on an annual basis.
These figures incorporate the total £1 billion reduction in
corporate functions over five years as set out in the Public Service Reform
strategy.
A framework for the Scottish Spending Review forms part of the
MTFS. The review will set out multi-year allocations on capital
and resource funding, and will be published alongside the next
Budget in December.