SCOTLAND’S First Minister urged parties at Holyrood today to reach an agreement on the Scottish Budget quickly to give certainty to public services and organisations.

Finance Secretary Shona Robison is due to set out the Scottish government’s tax and spending plans on January 13, following a shortened timetable caused by the Westminster government’s Budget being held in November.

John Swinney said parties should work at pace to secure “broad agreement” before the Budget Bill reaches its final stage in early March.

“One of the things that I am concerned about is that that truncates the notice about Budget that can be available to a lot of organisations,” he said.

“I’m very mindful that this relates our dialogue with opposition parties about making sure that we offer as much certainty as we can as early as we can.

“Leaving it until early March is quite a challenge, because the financial year ends at the end of March.”

He added that early clarity would benefit “countless organisations, principally third sector organisations and local authorities,” as they plan for the next financial year.

In November, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to scrap the two-child benefit cap, freeing up funding for the Scottish government, which had already committed tens of millions of pounds to mitigating the policy in Scotland.

Mr Swinney said any savings would be reinvested in measures to reduce child poverty but has declined to say how the money would be allocated.

He said: “The choices and the prioritisation is under way just now, but the absolute commitment is there.”