Council tax hikes should be kept to minimum, Shona Robison says

Another key announcement was an extra £2bn in cash terms for the health and social care budget, compared to 2024-25.

However David Phillips, associate director at the IFS, said figures published alongside Robison’s speech, external suggest the actual uplift will be closer to £1bn.

A proposal to effectively scrap the two-child cap on benefits in Scotland was the “rabbit out of the hat” in the SNP Budget.

The UK government policy prevents parents from claiming universal credit or child tax credit for a third child, with a few exemptions.

Robison said she would aim to provide funding to the families of the 15,000 affected children in Scotland by April 2026 – but did not set out how the government would achieve this.

The government estimates that would cost between £110m and £150m in 2026-27. Independent economists say the costs could rise to up to £300m in future years.

SNP ministers say Social Security Scotland would get £3m over the next two financial years to build the system required to mitigate the cap, but that they need the UK government to provide data on who is missing out on benefits due to the policy.

“I would be astonished if the UK Labour government didn’t ensure that the Department of Work and Pensions was approaching this in a sensible, productive way,” Robison said.

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has formally written to the UK government seeking access to eligibility data and cooperation to ensure any extra benefit payments are not clawed back.

A UK government spokesperson said it would engage constructively with the Scottish government “where necessary”.