The running costs of the Scottish Parliament are projected to surge by more than 10 per cent in the coming financial year, placing an additional burden on taxpayers. The budget for Holyrood in 2026/27 is set at £150.1 million, marking a significant increase of £13.9 million, or 10.2 per cent, compared to the current year.
Pay Rises and Election Costs Drive Spending Hike
A key factor in the rising budget is an above-inflation salary increase for Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Their pay will rise by 4.3 per cent from April, taking the basic salary from £74,507 to £77,710. This uplift is linked to the Office for National Statistics' average weekly earnings index, which was higher than the 3.8 per cent Consumer Price Index inflation rate recorded in September.
Furthermore, the upcoming Holyrood elections in May are contributing substantially to the soaring costs. An estimated £8.5 million has been earmarked for one-off election expenses. This includes around £2.5 million in 'golden goodbye' resettlement payments to the 39 MSPs who are standing down. Notable recipients of these payments will include former first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf.
Criticism and Justification for the Increased Budget
The budget proposal has drawn sharp criticism from campaign groups representing taxpayers. Callum McGoldrick, investigations campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, stated: ‘While families are under pressure, Holyrood is pushing through a double-digit spending rise and a pay hike for MSPs. A 4.3 per cent salary increase and £2.5 million in golden goodbyes looks wildly out of touch. Politicians should show restraint with their own pay before asking taxpayers to tighten their belts.’
Defending the plans, Tory MSP Jackson Carlaw, a member of the cross-party Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, presented the budget to Holyrood’s finance committee. He acknowledged the ‘constrained financial environment’ but argued the £150.1 million expenditure was a ‘tiny fraction’ of overall Scottish Government spending. He also noted that MSP salaries would remain lower than those for MPs in Westminster and members of the Welsh Senedd even after the increase.
Mr Carlaw explained the rationale for the pay rise index, saying: ‘The Corporate Body firmly believes that the retention of a single index offers a more consistent and balanced approach rather than being seen to jump between different indexes.’ A Scottish Parliament spokesman added that over a six-year period, MSPs’ pay was lagging 8.2 percentage points below inflation, equating to approximately £5,300.
Ministerial Pay and the Total Financial Picture
In a related development, the Scottish Government confirmed that ministers will also accept the 4.3 per cent increase on the ministerial portion of their salaries. This follows a long-standing practice where ministers have donated a portion of their salary entitlement to the public purse since a pay freeze was initiated by former First Minister Alex Salmond in 2009.
When additional capital charges and non-cash items are accounted for, the total ‘budget requirement’ for the Scottish Parliament’s operations in 2026/27 reaches £167 million. This figure, detailed in the Corporate Body’s budget submission, underscores the growing cost of maintaining the devolved legislature, even as it faces scrutiny over value for money during a period of widespread financial pressure on public services.
