Scotland's Finance Secretary Shona Robison has blamed 'prolonged' Westminster austerity, inflation, the pandemic, war in Ukraine and public sector pay deals for forcing the government into making £500m of cuts.
Ms Robison told Holyrood that Scotland faces "enormous and growing" financial pressure, as she announced a total of £933m in measures to balance the budget.
That includes reallocating up to £460m - originally earmarked to tackle the climate crisis - raised in an auction of seabed plots for offshore projects.
"We cannot ignore the severe financial challenges we face," Ms Robison said.
She added: "We will continue to be a fiscally responsible government and balance the budget each year - as we have done every year for 17 years and we will do again this year.
“But this will mean we must unfortunately take difficult decisions along the way.”
The Scottish Government had already announced they would implement means-tested winter fuel payments, reintroduce peak rail fares, scrap free bus travel for people in the asylum system and delay a digital devices programme.
Ms Robison also referenced Scotland's relatively larger public sector workforce, signalling potential future cuts.
Opposition raise damning report
Both Liz Smith, the Scottish Conservative finance spokesperson, and Michael Marra, Scottish Labour's finance spokesperson, were quick to cite a Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) report that found "much of the pressure" facing the country's finances is down to Scottish Government decision.
Ms Smith urged the government to accept the "black hole" in this uear's budget was the "result of the actions of the Scottish government and not the actions of Westminster”.
Meanwhile, Mr Marra blamed the cuts on "SNP incompetence", adding: "Scots are left paying more and getting less."