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The Scottish government will continue to support free school meals for primary 1 - 5 schoolchildren and pupils in special schools.

Shona Robison says her government will also invest £43m in estate upgrades to the education sector which will help facilitate the rollout of free school meals for primary 6 and 7 schoolchildren.

The weekly amount for the Scottish government's child payment scheme will be increased to £26.70 from April 2024, she adds.

She says the payment lifts Scottish children out of poverty and stands as an example to "anyone looking to form the next UK government".

"We will freeze the poundage on the basic property rates, protecting businesses with a rateable value up to and including £51,000 from the impact of inflation by freezing the poundage," says Ms Robison.

That will save rate payers £37m compared to an inflationary increase, she tells the chamber.

This will ensure that Scotland has the lowest rate for all but the largest properties for the sixth year in a row.

"In this budget we'll maintain the Small Business Bonus Scheme ensuring that 100,000 properties are taken out of rates altogether," she adds.

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The deputy first minister says the Scottish government will fully fund the council tax freeze.

She adds that the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) projection for CPI (Consumer Price Index) inflation in the coming year is 3% but says she wants to help support services so will go further than that.

"That's why I will support an above inflation 5% council tax freeze delivering over £140m of additional investment for local services," she says.

Shona Robison adds that it will increase their overall funding by 6% since the last budget taking funding to a new record high of more than £14bn.

Ms Robison says there will be no changes to tax rates for starter (19%), basic (20%), intermediate (21%) and higher (42%).

But there will be a new advanced tax rate of 45% from £75,000.

The bands for the starter and basic rate will be increased by inflation, she says.

But the threshold for paying the higher rate tax (42%) will be kept at £43,662.

Ms Robison says that freezing the higher rate threshold next year will add an estimated £307m to income tax.

Culture sector teetering on the brinkpublished at 14:30 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2023

14:30 GMT 19 December 2023

Pauline McLean
BBC Scotland Arts Correspondent

There are huge expectations from the culture sector for the budget settlement.

Prolonged standstill funding combined with Covid and the cost of living, particularly energy costs, has left the sector teetering on the brink.

Many organisations have sounded a warning that 2024 represents a tipping point which can only be resolved with a substantial funding increase.

The arts funding body Creative Scotland warns that one in three of the organisations it currently supports will otherwise be at risk.

The wider creative industries – which employ around 70,000 people – are also keen to see arts and culture prioritised by the Scottish government.

At the moment, they receive just 0.5% of the Scottish budget. Creative Scotland’s share is 0.1%.

It’s one of the lowest spends in Europe on Scottish culture.

At the SNP conference in Aberdeen in October, the first minister promised “a doubling” of arts spending. Pressed on the detail, Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said we would have to wait until today’s budget.

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Shona Robison begins her budget statement saying these are "tough times".

The finance secretary tells the chamber: "We're fighting Westminster austerity with one hand tied behind our back."

She says: "Last month's Autumn Statement was a worst case scenario for Scotland."

The block grant has fallen by 1.2% in real terms since 2022/23, she adds.

She says the chancellor prioritised tax cuts not public services.

A new 45% tax band will be created for higher earners, it has been announced.

Finance Secretary Shona Robison said the new "advanced" rate would apply to earnings of between £75,000 and £125,140.

Ms Robison also said she would increase the top rate - for those over £125,140 by 1p to 48p in the pound.

It is estimated these changes will raise £82m next year.

Scotland became the only part of the UK to avoid industrial actionpublished at 14:20 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2023

14:20 GMT 19 December 2023

Lisa Summers
BBC Scotland Health Correspondent

Think back to this time last year when the threat of historic strikes by NHS workers was on the horizon. But fast forward a few months and Scotland became the only part of the UK to avoid industrial action.

Deals were brokered firstly with nurses, paramedics and other healthcare staff and then in the summer, a pay increase was accepted by junior doctors.

That has benefits to patients in Scotland who have not experienced the same level of disruption as elsewhere. In England, junior doctors are set to walk out again tomorrow with dates also announced for the new year.

But it has come at a financial cost of over £600m and the money to pay for increased salaries has to come from somewhere. There may be some tinkering in others areas of public spending so the health budget doesn’t take the full hit, but inevitably other parts of the NHS are going to lose out.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

Colin Borland, director of devolved nations for the Federation of Small Businesses, told the Good Morning Scotland programme many business owners were struggling to make ends meet.

Mr Borland called on the finance secretary to "give them a little bit of head room, seeing what we can do about their bottom line, so they can continue to do what they do - which is employ nearly one million people and generate 28% of national income".

He also wants business rates to be looked at and for the Small Business Bonus scheme to be defended from any "tinkering".

"We also need to look at targeted reliefs for those in hospitality, retail, leisure," he added.

Tough choices needed to balance the bookspublished at 14:04 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2023

14:04 GMT 19 December 2023

Kirsten Campbell
BBC Scotland political correspondent

This is Shona Robison’s first budget as finance secretary, and she’s made clear that it’s one of the most challenging in the history of devolution.

Despite the Scottish government having more money to spend than ever before, inflation means that in simple terms the Scottish block grant isn’t worth as much as it used to be.

Shona Robison says inflation has reduced the government’s spending power by £1bn.

Heating costs for public buildings are higher and construction costs for infrastructure projects have also gone up.

Public sector pay deals ended up costing more than expected in order to avert strike action, and because salaries are not a one-off expense, any additional cash used to top up pay in one financial year needs to be found for subsequent years too.

By law, the Scottish government has to balance the books - so it will have to make some tough choices about where to spend and where to save.

Before we get to the budget statement at about 14:20, there are two topical questions to be answered.

They are on police building closures and on the use of tasers by Police Scotland.

Remember if you want to watch the budget statement live just click on the play icon at the top of the page.

And you can listen to budget reaction and analysis on Drivetime from 16:00.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

Finance Secretary Shona Robison willl unveil her budget plans from about 14:20.

Speaking to the Good Morning Scotland programme ahead of the announcement, the deputy general secretary of the Scottish Trade Unions Council, Dave Moxham, stressed the importance of protecting public services and avoiding "horrible cuts".

He said would be ill-advised to slim down the public sector in an effort to fill a black hole in the budget.

"I don't believe we have a bloated public sector at all in Scotland," he said.

And he added: "All of things that the public sector provides are absolutely essential to business as well as to the ordinary person in the street."

Councils wait anxiously to hear budget detailspublished at 13:44 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2023

13:44 GMT 19 December 2023

Jamie McIvor
BBC Scotland News Correspondent

Councils are waiting anxiously to hear how much money they will get from the Scottish government.

They know the it will give them money to freeze the council tax - but they still don't know just how much this will be.

The council tax makes up a relatively small proportion of each council's budget. Most comes from Holyrood and from business rates, which are consistent across Scotland.

The expectation is that the government will give councils across Scotland the equivalent of increasing the council tax by a certain amount - say a 5% increase. But with inflation high, some councils were contemplating putting it up by more.

Overall, the headline amount being given to councils by the Scottish government could well be the highest ever. But this is only part of the story. Inflation means that the value of money has eroded.

Once councils know just how much they will get from the government, they will then start working out just how much money they have left to spend on their own local priorities. How much to spend on libraries? Municipal sports centres? Roads, lights and pavements? Will the costs for some services be increased? Or will new charges be introduced?

A tough funding settlement could well lead to difficult and unpopular decisions when councils set their budgets around the middle of February.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

There has been speculation that a new tax band for higher earners will be created - but the Fraser of Allander Institute says there could also be changes to the lower tax bands.

Deputy director Emma Congreve told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that Finance Secretary Shona Robison may change some of the thresholds lower down the tax bands.

"We've heard a lot about the potential for an additional tax band higher up but there's many things she could do in order to ease the burden a bit lower down as well," she said.

"So that's definitely one bit of detail that we might want to look out for."

What income taxes do you currently pay in Scotland?

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

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Adding a new higher-rate income tax band in Scotland might only raise £60m, a leading fiscal think tank has warned.

The Scottish government is reportedly considering introducing a new tax level in a bid to plug a gap in its budget.

The Fraser of Allander Institute said the funding shortfall was around £1.5bn, between day-to-day spending commitments and capital projects.

But the group said adding a new 45% tax band for earnings over £75,000 would only raise around £60m for spending.

Finance Secretary Shona Robison has referred to the reports about tax rises as "speculation".

• Read more here
• Holyrood budget: A 'worst case scenario'?
• What income taxes do you pay in Scotland?

James Cook
Scotland Editor, BBC News

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Finance Secretary Shona Robison must explain how she will fill an estimated £1.5bn hole in Scotland's books when she delivers her £60bn budget.

The deputy first minister has a number of options on the table including tax rises for higher earners, spending cuts for government departments, and public sector job losses.

"The priority," Ms Robison told BBC News, "will be around funding public services."

Visiting RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Scotland was "already the highest taxed part of the UK," and "it would be very disappointing to see that tax burden continue to rise."

• Read more here
• New Scottish income tax band might only raise £60m
• How does the Autumn Statement affect Scotland?

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Welcome to our live coverage of the Scottish budget.

Join us for all the build-up, breaking news and reaction from the chamber on what is the busiest day of the parliamentary year.

There has been speculation that the Scottish government could target the country's higher earners with a new tax band when it unveils its plans for next year.

Finance Secretary Shona Robison will begin her statement this afternoon at around 14:20.

You can watch it live here with us by clicking on the play icon at the top of the page.