The Scottish Government plans an emergency budget within two weeks of the new UK prime minister's fiscal plan being announced.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is to set out her agenda for the year tomorrow. She has so far said tackling the cost-of-living crisis would be "front and centre" of her plans.

However, opponents have accused her party of "sleeping at the wheel" while focusing on independence.

Ms Sturgeon said she would build on measures to support household budgets, including the Scottish Child Payment, the Carers Allowance Supplement and the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

Speaking on Sky News yesterday, the first minister said the Scottish Government would set out an emergency budget within two weeks of "whatever budget or fiscal event the new prime minster has".

The first minister said she was "profoundly concerned" about the impact a new UK Government budget would have on Scotland and the other devolved nations.

"Right now we are working within budgets that are effectively fixed and finite. They are not rising in line with inflation, but the inflationary pressures are bearing down on our budget as they are on the household budgets of families across the country," she added

Profound concern

"Any move - and this is a real risk - that would cut our budget within this financial year would obviously be of profound concern because it would have big implications for the National Health Service, for local authority budgets, for every aspect of our spending."

Ms Sturgeon said she did not agree with tax cuts as relief for families as they targeted those who were best off.

She set out what she would like to see from the new Conservative leader: "Freeze energy prices first and foremost. Come to an agreement then between government and the energy companies about how that is paid back over a longer period of time.

"Effectively spread and share the burden of the soaring gas prices. Help businesses because businesses don't even have the limited protection of an energy price cap."

The first minister has also said she would seek to work constructively with the next prime minister, despite having traded attacks with both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak throughout the Tory leadership campaign.

But Scottish Conservative Chairman Craig Hoy told the BBC that Ms Sturgeon had failed on a number of commitments including drug deaths, police funding and free school meals.

He said: "The Scottish people want and deserve a government that focuses on their priorities. Instead, Scotland has to suffer an SNP administration which is obsessed with its own self-serving goal of breaking up the UK."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton accused the SNP of using the summer break to focus on independence.

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