DRAFTING the Scottish budget should become an “all year-round” process to give MSPs more influence over spending and end short-term thinking by ministers.

A new report drawn up by finance experts and government and parliament officials said a “culture change” was needed to reflect Holyrood's growing tax and spending powers.

It warned of “weaknesses” in the current system, particularly the lack of time MSPs and committees have to respond after the government publishes its draft budget.

It also called for the government to take a more “strategic approach” to budgets, and urges a revival of the long-term spending reviews last published in 2011.

At present, budgets are only published for single years.

The report says the current budget cycle needs to be “substantially revised” to take account of new powers devolved by the 2012 and 2016 Scotland Acts, which mean Holyrood now raises around 40 per cent of its spending and controls £2.8bn of social security.

The UK government’s shift to autumn budgets has also interfered with the usual timing of Holyrood’s budget, which emerges in draft in the autumn, with a voted by MSPs in spring.

The expert panel said Scottish budgets would be “increasingly complex” and "subject to greater uncertainty and volatility" and made almost 60 recommendations for change.

Its key demand was a new “full year approach”, with Holyrood committees continually scrutinising spending decisions and gathering evidence to shape future ones.

It said committees should write to their relevant ministers at least six weeks before the budget was published setting out their policy priorities.

It also said the government should publish a “medium-term financial strategy” each spring setting out its broad plans for at least next five years.

Ministers should also publish a report each September setting out tax data and information on how the fiscal framework between Edinburgh and London is operating.

In addition, the report said the government should review how its spending plans affect policies on the ground, to check the money is having the desired effect.

Dame Sue Bruce, a member of the Budget Process Review Group, said: “New financial powers and fiscal framework require a substantial change to Scotland’s budget process.

“Scrutiny at present tends to adopt a short-term approach, with an over-emphasis on ‘winners and losers’ year on year. There is little consideration of longer-term trends.

“The current budget process fails to deliver sufficient opportunity for Parliament to exert its influence over the Government during its budget preparation.”

Caroline Gardner, Auditor General for Scotland and a fellow group member, said there should be “an emphasis on what budgets have achieved or aim to achieve”.

She said: “We recommend a shift towards multi-year budgets by the Scottish Government. This will also assist public bodies to develop medium-term priorities and better address future challenges.

“The increased complexity of the Scottish Budget strengthens the need to improve the accessibility and transparency of budget information. This will help enhance public understanding of the budget and support wider public engagement with the budget process.”

Bruce Crawford, the SNP convener of Holyrood’s finance committee, which is due to make a joint recommendation on a new budget process with the government in the autumn, said the report was a “major contribution” to reform.

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said: "We welcome the conclusions in the report and will consider the specific recommendations over the summer and discuss their implementation with the Finance Committee."