Scotland’s Budget: Progress on Human Rights, but Challenges Persist

This briefing provides an overview analysis of the Scottish Budget 2025-26 through a human rights lens by Dr Alison Hosie, Research Officer at the Scottish Human Rights Commission.

This year’s Scottish budget offers a snapshot of progress in embedding human rights into government policies for 2025-26. While there are significant commitments to health, housing, and social security, the picture is nuanced. Beneath the record-breaking numbers lie persistent gaps and systemic barriers that hinder progress for Scotland’s most vulnerable groups.

As signatories to international agreements like the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), Scotland has pledged to uphold equality, dignity, and rights realisation. This year’s budget reflects these aspirations, but progress remains uneven. The challenges faced by rural and remote communities, the justice system, and marginalised groups demand urgent and focused attention.

Progress and Persistent Challenges

The 2025-26 budget demonstrates notable progress. A record £21 billion allocated to health and social care signals a commitment to reducing NHS waiting times, expanding mental health support, and tackling gendered health disparities. However, gaps remain—mental health services in detention settings remain underfunded, exposing some of Scotland’s most marginalised individuals to additional vulnerabilities.

On housing, £768 million for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme and £6.9 billion for devolved benefits provide critical support for struggling families. Yet, challenges persist: for people with disabilities requiring accessible housing or ethnic minorities facing discrimination in the housing market, these allocations are inadequate. In rural areas, housing shortages and rising costs continue to displace families, exacerbating inequalities.

Encouraging steps in climate and energy policy include investments in renewable energy and efficiency programmes. These align with Scotland’s net-zero goals and address rising energy costs. However, rural households face unique challenges, such as reliance on outdated heating systems and higher energy prices, while energy infrastructure in detention facilities fails to meet basic human rights standards.

What Needs to Change?

To truly address human rights challenges, Scotland must go beyond incremental progress. Budget decisions should be explicitly tied to international human rights frameworks, ensuring that allocations deliver tangible improvements for vulnerable populations.

Housing: Expand affordable housing, explore rent controls, and improve tenant protections. Tailored policies are needed for rural communities, people with disabilities, and ethnic minorities. Prison conditions must also meet basic human rights standards.

Health: Increase targeted funding for mental health services, address rural disparities, and enhance preventative care. Accessible healthcare in remote areas and detention facilities should be prioritised.

Justice: Reduce court backlogs, expand legal aid, and strengthen victim support services. Marginalised groups in rural areas and detention facilities often face compounded barriers to justice, requiring focused interventions.

Climate and Energy: Scale up efforts to address rural fuel poverty and support community-led renewable energy projects. Representation of women, people with disabilities, and ethnic minorities in these initiatives is essential for equitable outcomes.

The Road Ahead

The 2025-26 budget reflects a government trying to balance needs with fiscal realities. While it provides a foundation for human rights progress, much more decisive action is needed. Scotland’s commitments require bold policies and sustained investment to tackle poverty, inequality, and climate challenges.

For those living in poverty, waiting for justice, or struggling to access services, the stakes are high. The budget is a step forward, but transformative change is required to build a truly rights-based society. The time to act is now.

This is the first in a series of briefings called 'Rights at the Heart of Scotland’s Budget?' that offer more detailed analysis, including a comparative analysis with Budget 24-25, an explorative analysis of the Equality and Fairer Scotland Budget Statement (EFSBS) through the lenses of human rights, the National Performance Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals, finishing with a summary human rights review of each budget portfolio.

Find out more about Human Rights Budgeting on the dedicated page on our website.