Recommendation 14

We note also that the jeopardy for returning funds to the UK Treasury at the end of the financial year incentivises poor behaviour in departmental spending, relative to value for money to the taxpayer. The removal of the Reserve, which is simply a treasury rule, would allow the Scottish Government to plan more strategically both within and across financial years. A political decision could remove the Scotland Reserve in advance of the next Fiscal Framework event in 2027 to the immediate benefit of the Scottish Government’s budget setting. (Conclusion, Paragraph 100)