HOLYROOD must deliver a long-term plan to close a £4.7 billion budget black hole projected to open up by the end of the decade, according to a public finance watchdog.

Auditor General Stephen Boyle signed off on the Scottish government’s accounts for 2024-25 noting that an underspend of £1bn has been generated by a combination of “one-off savings” and a boost in funding from Westminster.

But he warned that “further work is required to ensure delivery” of a balanced budget this year.

Looking to the next five years, he added: “A forecast gap of nearly £5bn remains between what ministers want to spend on public services and the funding available to them.

“The Scottish government needs to prepare more detailed plans setting out how it will close that gap by the end of the decade.”

SNP Finance Secretary Shona Robison, who outlined the projected budget gap in June with a plan that could see 12,000 public-sector jobs lost by 2030, said the “unqualified accounts show that the Scottish government has once again demonstrated the firm grip we have on public finances.”

The STUC, however, repeated its call for wealth rather than services to be targeted for closing budget gaps.

STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said: “The last thing we need are cuts to jobs and services.  

“This so-called black hole could be closed by cutting out on waste incurred through contracting out public services or through taking a critical look at business supports.

“Most importantly the finance secretary can heed our advice and that of many others and bring forward reforms to tax to ensure that property and wealth is fairly distributed, with the better off paying their fair share.”