Finance secretary Derek Mackay's request to delay the publication of his draft budget has been branded "unacceptable".

Holyrood's finance committee has expressed its concerns over a lack of parliamentary scrutiny of the forthcoming budget.

Mackay has indicated he wants to publish the budget on the week beginning December 12 after the Chancellor has delivered his autumn statement on the country's finances.

The committee believes that would mean MSPs would not have enough time to scrutinise the Scottish Government's plans.

Crawford said: "This means that the subject committees will only have the opportunity to take evidence on the draft budget in the week before Christmas recess and then consider draft submissions to the finance committee in the week after Christmas recess.

"The outcome being that subject committees will have only two weeks to consider the draft budget."

Crawford, who is an SNP MSP, says it is "essential" Holyrood committees get sufficient time to probe the finance secretary's plans.

The convener also labelled Mackay's intention not to provide his committee with scenario planning information before the draft budget as "unacceptable".

The budgeting process, which was designed in 1999 before Holyrood gained further powers, is undergoing a "fundamental review".

The Scottish Conservatives' shadow finance secretary Murdo Fraser said: "It's essential parliament has sufficient time to scrutinise the budget.

"Under the SNP plans, this would have left just two weeks for the plans to be analysed, when usually there are two months for that.

"The SNP is now a minority government and can't simply force through what it wants."

The finance secretary has previously warned the Chancellor's autumn statement may alter the Scottish Government's budget.

Mackay said: "For this year we are facing an unprecedented economic challenge because of the Brexit vote.

"I am convinced, from all the statements, that there will be a major financial adjustment and there will be inevitable knock-on consequences to the government's budget."

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "We welcome the finance committee's recognition that the fiscal and economic uncertainty caused by the outcome of the EU referendum and the complex relationship between the autumn statement and the Scotland Act 2016 powers necessitates a later publication of the draft budget.

"We recognise that moving to a post-autumn statement publication date would represent a change to previous years, but the finance committee acknowledges that a number of subject committees have already adapted their approach to budget scrutiny ahead of any draft budget publication to ensure that effective scrutiny takes place.

"It is also consistent with the previous finance committee's advice to the devolution committee that 'there is a strong argument that the forecasts should be prepared as near as possible to the start of the financial year to which they apply'.

"The Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament and external public finance experts and academics have established a tri-partite group to review Holyrood's budget process to take account of Scotland's new fiscal powers."