Budget delay should be debated in parliament, says Finance Committee

Bruce Crawford - Scottish Parliament

Plans to delay the Scottish budget until after the UK Chancellor's Autumn statement may not give enough time for it to be given proper parliamentary scrutiny, Holyrood's Finance Committee has warned.

Given Brexit and the new fiscal powers given to the Scottish Parliament, new Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has proposed delaying his until December, which would leave much less time for MSPs to debate the details before voting on it in February.

In a letter to Mackay, the Finance Committee's SNP convener Bruce Crawford said it was "unacceptable" that the committee were not to be given any scenario planning information ahead of the publication of the draft budget. He has tabled a debate on the timetable in the chamber.

"While the committee recognises that there is a need to maintain some flexibility in the timing of the budget process, there also needs to be a recognition that sufficient time is ordinarily allowed for robust parliamentary scrutiny," he said.

Scottish Labour's Business Manager James Kelly said: "It would be completely unacceptable for the SNP to attempt to delay the budget scrutiny until December. In the meantime Derek Mackay has been unwilling to give MSPs any ball park numbers. Given how vital this budget will be that simply isn't good enough.