AFTER the Scottish Government announced a package of £500 million of cuts to balance the books, John Swinney delivered his first Programme for Government as First Minister at Holyrood on Wednesday.
He announced plans for “significant reform” to public services in order to provide “whole-family support” in the fight against child poverty – which he has said is his overriding goal in Government.
Here are some key points and bills in the document.
1: Affordable housing
The First Minister confirmed plans to invest nearly £600 million in affordable housing in 2024/25.
The Scottish Government has said the majority of this will be directed at boosting social housing supply – keeping rents lower and benefitting 140,000 children in poverty each year.
The investment includes up to £40m to bring existing homes into affordable use through acquisitions.
Swinney also announced his Government will provide a further £100m to support the construction of around 2800 mid-market rental homes.
2: Creative Scotland funding
An announcement by Creative Scotland that it would be closing its Open Fund at the end of August amid “uncertainty” over the financial support it receives from the Scottish Government was met with uproar by artists.
But Swinney confirmed that resources were now available to ensure this fund can continue.
Culture Secretary Angus Robertson confirmed the organisation had now received funding previously allocated to it in the 2024/25 Scottish budget, including £1.8m for youth music, and £6.6m that will allow its Open Fund to be re-opened.
A review of Creative Scotland – the first since the public body’s establishment in 2010 – will take place to ensure “its operations and structure are optimal to the needs of the culture sector”.
3: Free school meals
The Programme for Government states the Government will work towards further expanding free school meals to those in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment in P6 and P7 and provide £21.75 million for free school meal alternatives in all school holidays for eligible families.
However, a previous commitment from former first minister Humza Yousaf to eventually make free school meals universal for primary school pupils appears to have been removed from plans.
SNP ministers have so far delivered free school meals for pupils in primary years one to five.
4: Conversion therapy ban
According to the Programme for Government, it would appear the Scottish Government has parked plans for its own legislation on banning conversion therapy in favour of a UK-wide approach.
However, it adds in the document: “We will prepare legislation for introduction to the Scottish Parliament should a UK‑wide approach not be achievable.”
Green MSP Maggie Chapman described this move as “deeply disappointing”.
5: Ministerial Code
Swinney also told MSPs his Government is to take steps to strengthen the Ministerial Code.
Telling Holyrood “my ministers and I are in public service”, Swinney said there should be the “highest standard of propriety and integrity”.
He said investigations into alleged breaches of the code will no longer happen only at the instruction of the First Minister.
Instead, independent advisers will be able to launch their own investigations “whenever they feel it is warranted”.
6: Support for families
The First Minister highlighted that child poverty is his “first and foremost” priority and that he will reform support for whole family services to make them “easy to access, well-connected and responsive to families’ needs”.
Key announcements in relation to this included the expansion of Fairer Future Partnerships ensuring services work to help families by maximising their incomes.
Swinney said: “Over the coming year, we will work with partners to enable greater local flexibility, so that services can be more easily tailored to the needs of the families they support.
"The key objective of the approach we will take forward will be to deliver significant reform of the work of public services to deliver whole-family support extensively across the country."
He promised his Government would “invest nearly £1 billion a year in affordable, high-quality and funded early learning and childcare” and pledged schools would be supported to reduce the poverty-related attainment gap in “every local authority each year between now and 2026”.
7: Rent controls
The Housing Bill will include provisions for long-term rent controls, it has been confirmed.
The Programme for Government said: "We will bring forward amendments to the bill that will clearly set out how rent increases will be capped in areas where rent controls apply, in a way that provides certainty for tenants while also encouraging investment."
The bill will place stronger duties on local authorities and other partners to prevent homelessness – including an emphasis on prevention through "holistic support", with relevant bodies working together to provide assistance earlier to help people avoid the crisis of homelessness.
8: Heat in Buildings
This bill will be introduced as part of the Scottish Government’s wider response to the climate crisis.
It will include provisions to prohibit the use of certain direct emission heating systems after 2045 and to require certain properties to meet a minimum standard of energy efficiency.
The bill will give ministers powers to make regulations specifying how these measures are to be implemented including powers to ensure that the requirements on building owners are fair and proportionate.
