The 2026-27 Scottish Budget was introduced as a bill to parliament on 15 January 2026.
The budget is set to see the Scottish Government spend £67.9bn in the next financial year, running from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.
According to the government at Holyrood, this budget will continue to offer the UK’s most comprehensive cost of living support.
While there are many interesting policies and initiatives that the government will invest in during the new fiscal year, how can students expect to be affected by the budget?
As part of the health and social care funding commitments, the government will be investing a further £36m to establish new high street walk-in GP services as well as providing additional same-day access to communities.
Working to reduce waiting times and provide timely care for patients has been a national focus for the SNP.
However, for a city like Edinburgh, which has approximately 70,000 students, there is added pressure on local primary care—particularly mental health services—allowing these investments to have positive long-term effects.
Another important continued commitment that the government allocated money towards is transport.
With funding of up to £35m for costs associated with peak fares removal, as well as an additional £7m to deliver the bus fare cap pilot, these measures are unarguably essential to students.
A commitment to the progressive tax policies has led the government to raise the basic and intermediate rate thresholds for income tax more than just to adjust for inflation.
This means that the majority of Scottish taxpayers will pay less income tax than anywhere else in the UK.
While this could benefit working students who are already paying income tax, the decision not to increase the personal allowance means it does not reduce the number of people who will be subject to income tax.
This government has also emphasised its environmental commitments with the budget investing at least £5bn to support the transition to net zero, including an allocation of £316m to investments in sustainable travel initiatives.
For students in Edinburgh, the new Scottish Budget will be noticed less through the government’s new immediate policies, and more through gradual changes to transport, healthcare, and living costs over the coming financial year.
Image by Ulia Makoveeva for The Student.