MSPs yesterday voted by 65 to 54 to back the general principles of the Scottish Budget.
An amendment to the bill put forward by Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Donald Cameron, which would acknowledge a lack of funding for drug rehab beds and capital funding for councils, as well as expressing “regret” at further divergence from the rest of the UK on tax, was defeated by 29 votes to 90.
The Scottish Government announced the deal with the Greens on Wednesday, with an extra £173 million to be spent on local government, climate change, policing and could see the implementation of free bus travel.
It was not officially announced how much the bus travel scheme would cost, however a letter from Finance Secretary Kate Forbes (pictured left) to the Greens showed that £15m has been set aside to cover “due diligence”.
During her announcement of the draft budget, Forbes said all available funding had been allocated and parties looking to broker a deal would need to explain where increased spending was coming from.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon praises Kate Forbes for 'strong' Scottish Budget
But the new deal has been struck without any cuts to proposals for spending in other services, leading the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Spice) to question how the plans will be funded.
The Scottish Government explained that £25m of the increases would be covered by underspend, a further £50m from the re-profiling of distribution of business rates and the remaining £98m will come from anticipated income from the fossil fuel levy and expected Barnett consequentials as a result of the UK Budget.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Conservatives have accused the Greens of being “played like a fiddle” during negotiations with the Scottish Government.
Focusing on the bus travel commitment, Cameron described the Greens as having fallen for a “con trick”.
He asked: “What have the Greens received?
“They’ve received funding to support preparations to introduce concessionary fares if possible, subject to research and due diligence.
“There are get-out clauses everywhere you look. Patrick Harvie has been played like a fiddle and not for the first time.”
Harvie said after the vote: “Free bus travel for under-19s is due to commence in the last quarter of the financial year.
“Free bus travel for young people is a transformational announcement which will tackle poverty and the climate emergency.”
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