ALLIANCE budget briefing 2025-26 calls for reform to tax, social care and third sector funding

Our briefing ahead of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget calls for a human rights based approach to funding and delivering services.

Ahead of the publication of the Scottish Budget for 2025-26 on 4 December, the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) have issued a briefing to MSPs outlining key priorities for public investment. We recognise that Scotland’s public finances remain in a difficult position, and that there is a degree of uncertainty regarding the £3.4 billion in Barnett Consequentials arising from the UK Government’s budget. However, we believe that through a combination of an increased block grant and the effective use of devolved taxes and revenue raising powers, this budget can deliver meaningful improvements to public services.

Many people also continue to face challenges arising from the cost of living crisis, including persistently high energy bills. This has a disproportionately negative impact on disabled people, people living with long term conditions and unpaid carers. We are deeply concerned about the implications for people’s health, wellbeing and human rights if they cannot adequately heat their homes, participate in society, or access appropriate care and support.

The Scottish Government have made real progress in building a human rights based social security system and initiating conversations around social care reform. Much more remains to be done however to deliver the high-quality services that help to fully realise everyone’s human rights. To work towards these goals, in the 2025-26 Scottish Budget, the ALLIANCE are calling for:

• Urgent progress on social care reform, a real terms increase in funding for services and workforce pay and abolishing non-residential care charging,
• Transparent investment in preventative health and social care services, and targeted funding for sensory services,
• Above-inflation uplifts to energy-related social security payments, and widening eligibility for Pension Age Winter Heating Payment beyond Pension Credit recipients,
• Replicating the UK Government’s changes to Carer’s Allowance in the Carer Support Payment, and going further in future,
• Fair funding for the third sector, including uplifts that account for inflation and increased employer National Insurance Contributions,
• An embedded human rights budgeting approach, gearing our tax system to meet fundamental rights obligations to health, education, housing, food and social security,
• Progress on local tax reform, with no repeat of last year’s Council Tax freeze in the interim, to ensure stability for locally funded statutory and third sector services.

The briefing also reflects joint calls and campaigns the ALLIANCE have supported in advance of this budget, including a joint letter on reinstating the Scottish Fuel Insecurity Fund and the launch of the new Tax Justice Scotland campaign of which the ALLIANCE is a founding member. You can read the full budget briefing via the links below.

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