• Land and buildings transaction tax (formerly stamp duty) will not apply for first-time buyers for properties under £175,000
• £756m will be allocated as part of the wider £30bn investment for building affordable homes
• £137m will be given to support energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation measures
• An initial £10m has been allocated to an ending homelessness fund, with £50m to be provided over the next five years
• The bedroom tax will continue to be mitigated

Image source, bbc

• The economy, jobs and fair work portfolio will be given £270m more
• £18m will go to the new national manufacturing institute
• £122m more for city region deals
• Business research and investment will see a 70% uplift and £10m will be provided for the new south of Scotland enterprise agency
• The business rates relief package will total £720m, including the continuation of the small business bonus scheme
• The poundage rate inflation will be capped at CPI next year, rather than at RPI
• £340m has been allocated to the establishment of the Scottish national investment bank, with £150m over the next two years to go to a building Scotland fund while the bank is set up
• Procurement for the Reaching 100 superfast broadband programme begins immediately, supported by £600m over the next four years

Image source, Google

Labour MSP Anas Sarwar says "In the entire history of the Westminster parliament we have only elected three ethnic minorities."

He says that "Often we are nervous when talking about race.

"Today I am nervous talking about race."

Mr Sarwar asks how many CEOs, chairs of public bodies, governemnt departments, special advisors and staff running political parties (among others) are ethnic minorities?

He says the answer to each and every one of them is none, or next to one.

• £243m is to be allocated to help deliver 1,140 hours of free childcare - £150m in capital funding and £93m in resource funding
• The attainment Scotland fund will increase to £179m, with £120m going to the pupil equity fund and £59m in targeted support for children and young people from the most deprived households
• An additional £10m is available to support children and young people with complex support needs
• Local government will be given £88m to maintain the pupil-teacher ratio
• University tuition remains free and £1.8bn will be given to colleges and universities via the Scottish Funding Council

Image source, bbc

Image source, bbc

• Health resource funding will increase by £400m, bringing the total to £13bn
• £110m for primary care
• Mental health investment will increase by £17m, with a pledge to deliver 800 new mental health workers
• £550m to support social care delivery via integrated joint boards and NHS funding

Image source, bbc

Income tax and wages

• The basic rate of income tax has been frozen at 20p, but a new intermediate rate of 21p will be established for those earning between £24,000 and £44,290
• A new Scottish starter rate will be introduced, meaning earnings between £11,850 and £13,850 will be taxed at 19%
• The higher and additional rate of tax will be increased by a penny to 41p and 46p, respectively
• Combined, these changes mean those earning under £26,000 will pay marginally less tax than elsewhere in the UK, while tax will not change for those earning less than £33,000
• Public sector pay will increase by 3% for those earning less than £30,000, while those earning more than that will see a 2% increase.
• A cap of £1,600 will apply to pay increases for those earning over £80,000 in the public sector

Image source, PA

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has delivered the Scottish draft budget for 2018-19.

We'll bring you the key points from his speech now.

The SFC produces independent forecasts on issues such as tax revenues, expenditure on social security and onshore Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The commission was established in 2014 to scrutinise the Scottish government's devolved tax forecasts.

It is a non-ministerial department that operates independently of the Scottish government. It gained this status in April 2017.

Chaired by Lady Susan Rice CBE, a former chairwoman and chief executive of Lloyds TSB Scotland, the SFC works closely with HMRC, the UK's Office for Budget Responsibility, Revenue Scotland and the Scottish government, among others.

Read more here.

Image source, bbc

Labour MSP Pauline McNeil says that "action on equality is "long overdue".

She express her frustration that the debate "has been reduced to an hour and a half slot".

Ms McNeil says Labour will be supporting the Conservative amendment this evening.

She claims that: "Scotland is not that different form the rest of the UK when it comes to institutionalised racism."

The Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) are predicting:

• The Scottish economy will grow at less than 1% a year for the next five years
• GDP will grow at 0.7% in 2017 and 2018. It will rise to 1.1% in 2022

• Now that taxes have been devolved to Scotland, £16bn will be raised by tax in the next financial year
• In 2018-19 income tax revenue will be £12.1bn instead of the earlier prediction of £12.3bn. It says the subdued economic growth will have an effect on revenue raised from income tax
• Revenue from the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) will decrease by £6m in 2018-19 due to the LBTT relief announce in the draft budget
• The new five-band income tax system will raise an additional £164m in 2018-19

Read more here.

Image source, bbc

Tory MSP Annie Wells says her party will support the government motion on A Fairer Scotland - Delivering Race Equality.

Ms Wells says more needs to be done for Gypsy/Travellers.

She says it is important to be as proactive as possible when trying to improve the lives of Scotland' minorities.

The Tory MSP says it is important to have an honest debate around this subject and says on a number of fronts progress is stagnating.