Greater budget transparency needed?

A new report published by the Scottish Human Rights Commission recommends the Scottish Government should produce and publish two key fiscal documents to improve budget transparency.

The Commission recommends the Scottish Government prioritise the publication of a pre-budget statement and regular in-year reports or budget revisions, which are key to achieving international best practice.

A pre-budget statement sets out the plans for Government spend, and in-year reports tell us what the Government is spending. This fiscal data would help ensure the Scottish Parliament and independent audit bodies play a crucial role in holding the Government accountable for financial decisions.

The comprehensive report, Scotland’s Open Budget Survey 2023, compares the openness of Scotland’s budgetary processes with those of 125 countries involved in the International Budget Partnership’s latest Open Budget Survey.

The research findings show that Scotland has made some progress in transparency of budget process since 2019, but despite this improvement Scotland is still failing to reach standards considered adequate by international best practice. 

Highlighted areas for improvement:

• The timing of the publication of key fiscal information needs improvement.
• The lack of an overall pre-budget statement means it was not possible for any oversight body to examine the fiscal policy plans for the forthcoming budget year.
• The Scottish Government failed to publish any in-year reports.
• Significant improvements are required to translate fiscal transparency into meaningful public participation.
• The lack of available data means it is still not possible to undertake an analysis of the budget that takes into account economic, social and cultural rights.

The research includes a series of recommendations for the Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament and oversight bodies. These highlight areas of the budget process that still require improvement to enable rights-based scrutiny and delivery of the budget. The report can be found on the publications page of the Scottish Human Rights Commission website or accessed via the direct links below:

• Full report
• Summary
• Easy read version

The report has been developed by the Commission, with support from the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland and a range of academic partners, as part of a Human Rights Budget Work project. The research was conducted by Kirstie Ken English on behalf of the Commission and overseen by Dr Alison Hosie, Research Officer at the Scottish Human Rights Commission.

Jan Savage, Executive Director of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, said: “The current fiscal climate is one of the hardest times in recent history, with tough decisions required within a tight fiscal envelope. It has never been more important for Scotland’s budgetary decisions to be open and transparent in order to support public engagement and facilitate formal and informal oversight.

“Scottish Government budget setting and spending decisions must take full account of people’s human rights. Scotland has made progress across all three areas of Open Budgeting, at a time where many countries have stalled or slipped backwards, and Scotland’s score for Budget Oversight also sits at the top of the table.

“This modest progress in fiscal transparency is not yet translating into opportunities for meaningful public engagement with the budget. Progress also remains insufficient to facilitate a rights-based analysis of the budget, which is concerning as Scotland progresses to incorporate economic, social and cultural rights into domestic law. It’s not just about balancing the books; it’s about ensuring that every penny of public money spent reflects the values, aspirations and rights of the people it serves.”