Sturgeon to set out legislative programme

Nicola Sturgeon will today lay out the Scottish Government's legislative programme for 2014/15. It will focus on creating a society based on “prosperity, participation and fairness”, the First Minister said.

"We know that most people had a view on what they wanted for their country during the referendum - and we still want to know what you want for your country now. That's why today I will set out how this Government will do things differently and how we want to put people at the heart of our plans,” she said.

The Community Empowerment bill will play an important part of the new programme, which will seek to give people more say over their local planning, and the Scottish Government will also be investing £329m over the next two years to expand childcare provision. It is also expected a ban on electronic cigarettes for under-18s will be announced, as well as plans for land reform. 

Labour will challenge the plans on the basis of cuts in education and health, while Conservative finance spokesman Gavin Brown said the legislative programme had already been delayed by the referendum. “We want to see measures that will genuinely boost the economy and help businesses in Scotland grow. This government has been anti-business too often, and today is a chance for that to change,” he said.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said the government must act to help people with mental ill health, while the Scottish Greens urged the First Minister to declare her opposition to the controversial EU/US trade deal TTIP. Co-convenor Patrick Harvie said: “Growing public awareness of the deeply undemocratic corporate power grab known as TTIP should also galvanise the new First Minister into action.”