Scotland should use the devolution of powers over tax and social security as an opportunity to create a single government department to run both systems, an independent think-tank has proposed.
A new Scottish social security agency, an education reform summit, and a 50-50 gender balance law for public boards are among the priorities for the Scottish National Party’s third term in government...
John Swinney’s nine-year stewardship of Scotland’s public finances has ended, after first minister Nicola Sturgeon shifted him to the politically sensitive education portfolio in a major...
The finance and economy briefs in the Scottish Cabinet, combined since 2007 under John Swinney, are to be separated at the outset of the new Holyrood Parliament, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon...
CIPFA is warning the incoming Scottish Government that it will need a rolling programme of reform in financial planning and service delivery if it is to turn its new fiscal powers into the better...
The Scottish National Party’s proposal to reform rather than scrap the council tax would still bring about a significant shift in the burden from the poorest households to the wealthiest, according...
First minister Nicola Sturgeon is coming under mounting pressure in the Holyrood election campaign over a £10bn outline investment deal she signed with a Chinese consortium, after corruption...
George Osborne’s decision to raise the threshold for the higher 40p rate of income tax will not be followed in Scotland if the Scottish National Party wins May’s Holyrood election, first...
The collapse in oil prices helped drive up the notional deficit in Scotland’s public finances to almost twice the UK level in 2014/15, according to the annual Government Expenditure...
In the face of a tight spending settlement, Scottish councils are preparing plans for service cuts and council tax rises. The future of local government funding is therefore set to be one of the big...
Finance Secretary John Swinney has set Scotland’s 32 local authorities a deadline of 2 February to decide whether or not to accept a financial settlement he hopes will underpin a further year of the...
Scotland’s new devolved tax powers should be used to boost competitiveness, incentivise growth and stimulate enterprise, according to the report today from a commission set up by the Conservatives.
Plans to integrate health and social care provision in Scotland face significant risks that must be addressed if the reform is to improve how services are delivered, a report has found.
Implementing the Scottish Rate of Income Tax (SRIT) will cost up to £35m and 2.6 million people will be liable to pay it, the National Audit Office has revealed.
The consequences of greater devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament was the hot topic at CIPFA Scotland’s Directors of Finance Annual Public Finance Debate
First minister Nicola Sturgeon has offered Scottish Government support for 270 Lanarkshire steelworkers who will lose their jobs in the wake of today’s announcement by the steelmaker Tata that...
The Auditor General for Scotland has warned Scottish ministers that they need to develop better financial reporting ahead of the devolution of new fiscal powers.
The Scottish Government has quit the UK-wide Commission on Social Mobility and Child Poverty in protest at plans by UK ministers to exclude the children of in-work households from their definition of...
Scotland lacks good enough data to support either current claims about its trade performance or the new economic powers coming to Holyrood under the Smith Commission reforms, according to a paper...
Scottish Ministers are facing mounting pressure to reverse previous opposition, and allow councils to levy supplementary taxes, such as charges on hotel stays or workplace parking spaces.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has set out reforms to school testing as part of efforts to improve educational attainment in Scotland’s schools. The moves form part of the SNP...
