Programme for Government

Eradicating child poverty is the Scottish government's "first and foremost priority", First Minister John Swinney has said as he announced his spending plans for the next year. His inaugural programme for government came after his finance secretary announced £500m of cuts. Although Mr Swinney said his administration was facing "incredibly challenging" financial conditions, he vowed to invest £1bn in childcare, reduce NHS backlogs and deliver public service reform. Opposition leaders accused the first minister of being "out of ideas".

Mr Swinney - announcing his first programme for government since becoming first minister in May - reiterated child poverty was the government’s top priority. He also said his administration would aim to build prosperity, improve public services and protect the planet. The SNP leader U-turned on a cut to arts funding, pledged new rent controls to protects tenants and vowed to strengthen the ministerial code. He said the government's proposals would be "affordable, impactful and deliverable”.

“Together, they reflect my optimism, that even though we face an incredibly challenging set of circumstances at this moment, the inherent strengths of Scotland, our people and our communities, can create great possibilities for our country," Mr Swinney told MSPs.

The government announced it would introduce 14 new bills – including proposed legislation on climate change, building safety, misogyny, the natural environment and education reform. Mr Swinney said “difficult decisions” had to be made due to UK government austerity and “sky-high” inflation.

Eradicating child poverty, building prosperity, improving public services and protecting the planet will be the top priorities of the Scottish Government in the year ahead.

Outlining his first Programme for Government (PfG) as First Minister, John Swinney has set out how the Scottish Government will deliver commitments that are ‘affordable, impactful and deliverable’.

The First Minister highlighted that child poverty is his priority as he outlined a range of measures across portfolios to improve the lives of the people of Scotland.

Specific measures on the economy include:

• Creating jobs, supporting innovation, and attracting investment through the work of the Scottish National Investment Bank.
• Delivering a co‑ordinated programme to attract investment in priority areas of net zero, housing, and infrastructure by implementing recommendations from the Investor Panel.
• Accelerating investment to support the offshore wind sector, with our commitment of up to £500 million over five years, aiming to leverage at least £1.5 billion of private investment.
• Maximising the impact of the £42 million Techscaler programme, Scotland’s national network of start-up support – extending access for Scottish entrepreneurs to some of the world’s best start‑up development programmes.
• Increasing the number of women starting and scaling businesses by implementing key recommendations of Ana Stewart and Mark Logan’s review of gender equality in entrepreneurship.
• Improving how businesses and government work together by delivering the commitments set out in the New Deal for Business.
• Establishing Scotland’s first Planning Hub to build capacity and resilience, and to improve consistency and efficiency in decision‑making.

Leading a new, national approach to skills planning and working with partners to strengthen regional approaches – bringing employers, colleges, universities, and other partners together to ensure the system is responsive to regional and national skills needs.

Commenting on the Programme for Government, Dr Liz Cameron CBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“In a difficult and challenging budgetary environment, the First Minister has taken welcome steps on regulation, planning, investment, and housing. Overall, the statement keeps the economy in focus but will require more urgent action if we are to achieve the growth we desperately need.

“To address the budgetary challenge, we need to see a clear plan of how the Scottish and UK Governments intend to work in partnership to support economic growth and business investment which is the only route to fund our public services.”

On regulation:
“A major drag on growth and investment has been the cumulative impact of regulation and the First Minister has recognised this by committing to ensuring certainty, phasing, and effective implementation.

“Real business partnership will be essential to achieving this.”

On planning:
“We have long called for planning reform which has become one of the most significant barriers to investment. It is right that the Government has listened and is taking active steps to address these blockages, such as the establishment of a new Planning Hub and a further £100 million to support the construction of 2,800, mid-market rent homes.

“Industry stands ready to support the government to provide good homes for communities and green projects to support Net Zero.”

On investment:
“Growth cannot be achieved without unlocking investment, which remains largely frozen in Scotland. It is a positive step that the government has stated that it will action the recommendations of the investor panel. The commitments to support research in our universities and the development of business clusters in growth sectors are also welcome.

“Business will await the detail of how the Heat in Buildings Bill will provide certainty to buildings owners and the supply chain.”

On support for women in business:
“Supporting more women in business is right for the economy and our communities. The Government’s accelerated efforts to implement the recommendations of the Logan and Stewart reviews will enable an increase in the number of women starting and scaling businesses.”

On Non-Domestic Rates:
“While the issue of business rates was not covered in today’s announcement, the government must continue to work with the business community to build on the New Deal for Business agreement to make progressive changes to the business rates system. We need a full top-down review of non-domestic rates to ensure business competitiveness.”