Announcements on economy, mental health and social security expected in programme for government
Nicola Sturgeon - Image credit: Kirsty O'Connor/PA
There will be “significant” new announcements on the economy, mental health, and social security in this year’s programme for government, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The Scottish Government will publish its programme for the coming year – called ‘Delivering for Today, Investing for Tomorrow’ – when the Scottish Parliament returns from recess tomorrow.
The First Minister has revealed the Scottish Government will announce plans to bring forward 12 bills over the coming parliamentary year, as well as “a raft of new announcements”.
She said that the continued uncertainty caused by Brexit must not derail the Scottish Government’s focus on improving public services and making Scotland a fairer and more prosperous country.
Commenting ahead of publication, Sturgeon said: “Last year’s Programme for Government contained radical and ambitious policies which have been widely praised both in Scotland and beyond our shores.
“Now is the time to build on those ambitions.
“Our relentless focus on building a sustainable economy is ensuring that Scotland’s economy is going in the right direction – with Scottish growth and productivity rising faster the UK.
“We have seen major infrastructure programmes delivered, including the Queensferry Crossing which recently passed its first anniversary, and I intend to set out plans to increase this investment in the years ahead.
“Over the past year, we also became the first country in the world to implement minimum unit pricing for alcohol and we launched the first delivery plan aimed at eradicating child poverty by 2030, backed by our £50 million Tackling Child Poverty Fund and a range of other investments
“Our £1 billion deal with councils will almost double early learning and childcare hours from 2020, to a total of 1,140 per year.
“We passed the Domestic Abuse Bill to tackle harmful, coercive and controlling behaviour in relationships in Scotland.
“We introduced a new income tax system that makes tax more progressive.
“More than 900,000 homes have been connected to fibre broadband and we will now take the next steps on the way to delivering 100 per cent superfast broadband.
“We have doubled funding for new cycling and walking routes as part of our commitment to lower carbon emissions.
“And we are determined to be an early adopter of electric vehicles, reflecting our commitment to making the transition to a low carbon economy.
“Our plans are ambitious and far reaching, and will create employment across the country.
“Scotland is a country which in many ways led the world into the industrial revolution – now, we have a real chance to lead the world into the low carbon age.”
She vowed to include plans for the next steps toward establishing a publicly owned Scottish National Investment Bank and to set out plans to address the challenges facing the NHS.
She said: “Our aim is to build an NHS that is fit for the changing demands of our aging population - and one that supports good mental as well as physical health.”
On the Impact of Brexit, Sturgeon continued: “Brexit heightens the importance of everything else we are doing as a government.
“The people of Scotland did not vote to leave the European Union, but in this parliamentary year we are set to be taken out of the EU against our will – with continuing uncertainty around our future relationship with the world’s largest trading block, which is around eight times larger than the UK market alone.
“In the face of this uncertainty, we have to intensify our focus on improving the wealth and the wellbeing of communities across Scotland while continuing to argue the case for a common sense approach to Brexit – for continued membership of the single market and customs union.”
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