The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, Shona Robison MSP, has presented her draft Budget to the Scottish Parliament, outlining the Scottish Government’s proposed tax and spending plans for 2025-26.
Whilst recognising that the UK Government’s Autumn Budget “was a step in the right direction”, public finances remain under extreme pressure and there are ongoing concerns in relation to UK Government funding, as well as their decision to increase employers’ National Insurance Contributions.
The Budget focuses on the government’s four main priorities:
Eradicating child poverty
Growing the economy
Tackling the climate emergency
Ensuring high quality and sustainable public services
But what tech focused announcements were there?
Digital spend: despite the potential digital transformation has to significantly increase productivity, the Deputy First Minister’s digital spend will decrease from £210.3 in the 2024-2025 Budget to £98m for the 2025-2026 Budget.
Connectivity: the government plans to invest in their infrastructure package, with £100 million going towards the continued rollout of their digital connectivity programmes across Scotland.
Support for businesses: £321 million will be provided to enterprise agencies in order to help start-ups and scale-ups access finance and attract investment, with funding support emerging tech, such as AI and robotics as well as programmes like the Techscaler initiative. techUK has had productive conversations with Techscaler in the past and looks forward to further discussions about how we can work together in the future.
Funding of £15 million will be allocated to expand support for female entrepreneurs and boost the economic impact of universities, and fund the creation of business clusters in advanced manufacturing and deeptech.
In May 2023, techUK’s Head of Skills, Talent & Diversity, Nimmi Patel, sat down with representatives from the Scottish Government to discuss women in entrepreneurship. You can watch the full conversation here.
Health: the government have allocated a record £21 billion to the NHS, noting that they continue to place a focus on innovation and digital technology. This includes speeding up the delivery of their personalised digital health service.
However, digital health and care will see a decrease in funding from £117 million in 2024-25 to £114.3 million in 2025-26.
Justice: to improve efficiencies within the justice system, the Digital Evidence Sharing Capability system will be expanded.
What other announcements may be of interest to techUK members?
Council tax: while local authority funding will increase by more than £1 billion, taking it to over £15 billion,the government has announced that the council tax freeze has ended. This means local authorities have the opportunity to raise council tax to support the delivery of public services.
Income tax: income tax rates have been frozen until the end of the Parliament and no new bands will be introduced.
The thresholds for the basic and intermediate rates will increase by 3.5%.
Small businesses: the Small Business Bonus Scheme will be protected, and the Basic Property Rate will be frozen.
Higher education and skills: £2 billion will be invested in Scotland’s colleges, universities and skills development programmes.
Climate change: the government plans to allocate £25 million to create new jobs in the green energy supply chain and will expand their electric vehicle network.
The emphasis on economic growth in the Budget presented to Parliament yesterday is welcome and there are some notable allocations towards tech and digital which will support areas of transformation – for example the £321 million for Scotland’s enterprise agencies. However, finances remain tight, and it is concerning to see some digital Budgets decrease.
techUK believes this is a good foundation for further cross-party Budget conversations. techUK and our members continue to welcome the opportunity to meet with politicians from all parties in the Scottish Parliament, stakeholders and agencies to discuss in more detail the growth and opportunities of the tech sector and how these tie in with the wider UK Government’s Industrial Strategy.
If you want to know more about the data for Scotland in techUK's 2024 Local Digital Index follow this link.
Stephanie Barr
Programme Manager, Small Business Engagement and Nations & Regions, techUK
Stephanie is the Programme Manager for Small Business Engagement and Nations & Regions at techUK.
Working across the two programmes, Stephanie develops activities to support the growth and development of tech SMEs and engages with members and stakeholders more broadly to help strengthen regional tech economies.
Prior to joining techUK, Stephanie worked for a political events company and as a Senior Caseworker for an MP. She holds an MA (HONS) in Politics from the University of Glasgow.
Outside of work, Stephanie enjoys travelling, climbing and playing squash.
Matt is leading techUK’s work with members and stakeholders across the UK to increase the Local Digital Capital across the UK’s nation and regions, build communities and to ensure that digital technology plays a key part the post-COVID-19 levelling-up recovery.
Prior to joining techUK, Matt worked for several national education charities and membership bodies to develop their regional partnerships with schools, academy trusts, local authorities, and other stakeholders. He’s also worked with local authority leaders and other stakeholders to engage communities, work with elected members and improve public services.
He holds a BA in Politics from the University of York and an MA in International Relations from the University of Leeds. Away from work he’s a keen football fan and golfer.
If you’d like to find out more about our work in the nations and regions please get in touch with Matt:
techUK champions the tech sector throughout the UK. We work with local authorities, devolved government, and local and national policy makers to advocate for the tech sector in strengthening economic growth and resilience across the nations and regions. Visit the programme page here
Local Digital Index 2024
Read our analysis of digital ecosystems across the UK in 2024.
Scotland Impact Day: Celebrating Tech and Digital Innovation
Welcome to the Scotland Impact Day, where we proudly showcase a diverse collection of articles and videos highlighting the transformative power of technology and innovation.
Great Manchester Impact Day: Celebrating Tech and Digital Innovation
Welcome to the Greater Manchester Impact Day, where we proudly showcase a diverse collection of articles and videos highlighting the transformative power of technology and innovation.
West Midlands Impact Day: Celebrating Tech and Digital Innovation
Welcome to the West Midlands Impact Day, where we proudly showcase a diverse collection of articles and videos highlighting the transformative power of technology and innovation.
Our members develop strong networks, build meaningful partnerships and grow their businesses as we all work together to create a thriving environment where industry, government and stakeholders come together to realise the positive outcomes tech can deliver.
Matt is leading techUK’s work with members and stakeholders across the UK to increase the Local Digital Capital across the UK’s nation and regions, build communities and to ensure that digital technology plays a key part the post-COVID-19 levelling-up recovery.
Prior to joining techUK, Matt worked for several national education charities and membership bodies to develop their regional partnerships with schools, academy trusts, local authorities, and other stakeholders. He’s also worked with local authority leaders and other stakeholders to engage communities, work with elected members and improve public services.
He holds a BA in Politics from the University of York and an MA in International Relations from the University of Leeds. Away from work he’s a keen football fan and golfer.
If you’d like to find out more about our work in the nations and regions please get in touch with Matt:
Programme Manager, Local Public Services and Nations and Regions, techUK
Ileana Lupsa
Programme Manager, Local Public Services and Nations and Regions, techUK
Ileana Lupsa is the Programme Manager for Local Public Services and Nations and Regions, at techUK.
Ileana studied electronics, telecommunications and IT as an undergraduate, followed by an MSc in engineering and project management at Coventry University.
She refined her programme management expertise through her most recent roles working in the automotive industry.
Ileana is passionate about sustainability and creating a positive impact globally through innovation.
Programme Manager, Small Business Engagement and Nations & Regions, techUK
Stephanie Barr
Programme Manager, Small Business Engagement and Nations & Regions, techUK
Stephanie is the Programme Manager for Small Business Engagement and Nations & Regions at techUK.
Working across the two programmes, Stephanie develops activities to support the growth and development of tech SMEs and engages with members and stakeholders more broadly to help strengthen regional tech economies.
Prior to joining techUK, Stephanie worked for a political events company and as a Senior Caseworker for an MP. She holds an MA (HONS) in Politics from the University of Glasgow.
Outside of work, Stephanie enjoys travelling, climbing and playing squash.
Tracy supports several areas at techUK, including Cyber Exchange, Cyber Security, Defence, Health and Social Care, Local Public Services, Nations and Regions and National Security.
Tracy joined techUK in March 2022, having worked in the education sector for 19 years, covering administration, research project support, IT support and event/training support. My most outstanding achievement has been running three very successful international conferences and over 300 training courses booked all over the globe!
Tracy has a great interest in tech. Gaming and computing have been a big part of her life, and now electric cars are an exciting look at the future. She has warmed to Alexa, even though it can sometimes be sassy!
