The Scottish Government has been accused of failing to take a strategic approach to public finances, with delays in publishing key documents giving the impression of ministerial inertia.
A root and branch review of Scotland’s governance arrangements is needed to address the increasing unsustainability of local authority finances since devolution, a panel of experts has told the...
Scotland has become the first part of the UK to introduce a formal tourist tax as councils were given the power to levy a charge on overnight visitors.
Scotland’s devolved benefits are to come under the scrutiny of the national spending watchdog, which warned that growing expenditure on health and social security will intensify financial pressure on...
Manifestos from Scotland’s largest parties do not honestly reckon with the devolved government’s likely financial situation in the coming years, according to Institute for Fiscal Studies researchers.
MSPs have launched an inquiry into Scottish local government finances aimed at working out whether Covid-19 will lead to a “new normal” in the way services are delivered.
An additional £3bn could be lost from the coronavirus-hit Scottish economy over the next two years if an extension to the Brexit transition period is not agreed, the Scottish Government has warned.
Stephen Boyle was nominated as auditor general by members of the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday afternoon to replace Caroline Gardner, who has held the position for the last eight years, subject to...
A second referendum for Scottish independence should be held by 2021 if Brexit goes ahead, first minister Nicola Sturgeon has told the Scottish Parliament.
The Scottish finance secretary has defended his planned settlement for local government while stressing he is “open minded” to giving councils greater fiscal autonomy.
Scotland’s councils are in danger of emptying their financial reserves before the decade’s end as they struggle to absorb continuing budget cuts, the Accounts Commission has warned.
Scotland’s new fiscal powers will bring about a “massive” culture change to Holyrood’s budget process, a member of the independent expert group charged with drawing up reforms...
An independent review of the Holyrood parliament has proposed more than 70 reforms, many aimed at strengthening scrutiny, but has shied away from demands for more radical change.
Pressure is mounting on the chair of the supervisory body for Scotland’s national police force, after two committees of MSPs declared a lack of confidence in his leadership of the Scottish...
MSPs have backed the principle behind Scottish Government plans to cut and eventually abolish air travel tax, but criticised finance secretary Derek Mackay for failing to commission any independent...
An expected vote by the Scottish Parliament formally to request the UK government to sanction a second referendum on independence has been delayed, after the sitting was suspended in the light of the...
Ministers should stop trying to impose their will on Scotland’s Budget, and accept a process that takes better account of Holyrood’s tendency for minority government, the co-leader of the...
Scotland’s first Budget since Holyrood gained control of income tax has passed its key parliamentary test, after an 11th hour deal between finance secretary Derek Mackay and the Scottish Greens to...
Senior council executives in Scotland should lose their system of multi-thousand pound payments for acting as returning officers at elections and referendums, according to MSPs.
Edinburgh looks set to become the first city in Scotland to impose a so-called “tourism tax” on visitors, with the proceeds to be ploughed back into support for the city’s...
