The Finance Secretary Derek Mackay MSP has told Holyrood that the Draft Budget 2017-18 will be introduced on 15 December 2016.
This is still subject to parliamentary approval, and it will follow the UK Chancellor’s Autumn statement on 23 November.
Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said:
“As I have already said, I welcome the Finance Committee’s recognition that the fiscal and economic uncertainty caused by the outcome of the EU referendum necessitates a later publication of the Draft Budget.
“I recognise that moving to a post-Autumn Statement publication date would represent a change to previous years, however, this change is necessary to ensure that effective scrutiny of the Draft Budget by parliament can take place.
“That is why it is my intention to publish the Scottish Government’s draft budget for 2017-18 on Thursday 15 December 2016.
“This date also supports the view from the previous Finance Committee to the Devolution Committee that ‘there is a strong argument that the forecasts should be prepared as near as possible to the start of the financial year to which they apply’.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
