The Scottish Government has confirmed its latest Programme for Government, with focuses on eradicating child poverty, building prosperity, and improving public services.
This is the first Programme for Government for the current First Minister, who was appointed in May this year, and it has seen a push for establishing how the government in Scotland will deliver on ‘affordable, impactful and deliverable’ commitments.
Some of the key announcements in the Programme for Government include:
- Expanding the Fair Future Partnerships for services to support families as they try and maximise their incomes by helping parents back into work and improving their wellbeing
- Ensuring that the NHS has the resources that it needs in the present and future, with 210,000 outpatient appointments being freed up and 20,000 additional general procedures being delivered in new National Treatment Centre
- Making Scotland more attractive for investment, whilst promoting home-grown entrepreneurs and innovators
- Speeding up planning decisions for renewable energy and protecting the planet by accelerating the transition to net zero.
It was also confirmed by the First Minister that child poverty is the first and foremost priority for the government, with family services to be reformed to ensure that they are easier to access, better connected, and responsive to the needs of families.
First Minister John Swinney said:
“This Programme for Government will ensure that the people of Scotland have every opportunity to live well, thrive, and see promise in their future.
“This year’s commitments are affordable, impactful and deliverable. Together, they reflect my optimism that out of every challenge, we gain an invaluable opportunity to adjust our course, to interrogate our priorities and to renew our partnerships.
“I have been clear about the financial limitations surrounding this Programme for Government due to UK Government spending decisions. In the face of these significant challenges, it is critical that we direct available funding towards our four priorities – eradicating child poverty, building prosperity, improving our public services and protecting the planet.”
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