2023-24 Programme for Government published
Reducing poverty, delivering growth, tackling climate change and providing high-quality public services will be the Scottish Government’s top priorities for the year ahead, First Minister Humza Yousaf has pledged.
Outlining his first Programme for Government, the First Minister described it as “unashamedly anti-poverty and pro-growth”. The package of measures aims to help build a more equal society through concerted efforts to eradicate poverty, tackle the cost of living crisis, and create opportunities for businesses and individuals.
The Programme supports the Scottish Government’s wider work in building a fair, green and growing economy, and strengthening public services.
Key commitments include:
- expanding access to funded childcare
- paying social care workers in a direct care role and frontline staff providing funded early learning and childcare in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector, at least £12 an hour from April
- speeding up renewable energy projects with a new deal for the onshore wind industry
- delivering a new £15 million support package to unleash entrepreneurial talent
- expanding free school meals in primary schools
The First Minister said: ““The Scottish Government will always be on the side of the people we serve. Scotland is – certainly should be – a land of opportunity, but I know it doesn’t always feel like that to people bearing the brunt of the UK Government cost-of-living crisis, to families living in the poverty, to struggling businesses, to those who still face consequences of discrimination and inequality. I get that.
“This Programme is an opportunity to be explicit about the driving mission of this government. So let me make it abundantly clear, we are a government who will maximise every lever at our disposal to tackle the scourge of poverty in our country.
“But let me be equally clear, we also need to support economic growth. Not for its own sake but so we can tackle poverty and improve our public services. And we will be unapologetic in taking the action necessary to ensure a sustainable future for our children and planet.
“The unfortunate reality is that the Scottish Government is currently operating with one hand tied behind our back. In the last five years we have spent more than £700 million in countering the impact of UK Government welfare cuts alone.
“That’s why this government will never stop believing that decisions about Scotland should not be made by a government based in Westminster, but by the people of Scotland. In proposing the case for independence we will set out a positive vision for Scotland’s future.
“Scotland’s economy already performs better than most parts of the UK, we have world-class universities and colleges, and significant strengths and potential in many of the key economic sectors of the future. Today’s Programme for Government sets out how we will build on these strengths, to make people’s lives better.
“In the year ahead, we will support more than 300,000 children with more than £1,000 a year through the Scottish Child payment.
We will expand the availability of high quality childcare – providing funding in six early adopter local authority areas to offer increased access to childcare from nine months through to the end of primary school. And we will invest in raising the pay of childcare and social care staff.
“We will also safeguard the rights of tenants, promote payment of the living wage, and provide help for disabled people with complex needs, so that they can live independent lives.
“We will do all of this – first and foremost because it is the right thing to do. And also, as I know well from my own family history, because providing people with support and security helps them to contribute to society and to create opportunities for others. This Programme for Government shows how we will make progress towards a fairer, wealthier and greener Scotland.”
SCVO: PFG IS TOO TIMID
Responding to Tuesday’s Programme for Government, Anna Fowlie, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations’ (SCVO) Chief Executive, said: ““The First Minister has today set out a Programme for Government (PfG) which outlines priorities for Scotland which voluntary organisations working in and for communities have welcomed.
“While the PfG recognises the contribution voluntary organisations make across different portfolios, it doesn’t move far or fast enough to address fundamental changes to the operating environment that would recognise the vital role of Scotland’s voluntary sector in delivering on government priorities.
“Today’s PfG restates the Scottish Government’s commitment to Fairer Funding for the voluntary sector, which we welcome. The Scottish Government’s current poor grant-making practice makes the focus on improving the clarity and consistency of existing approaches very important, but we must continue to work together to support the sector to be financially sustainable.
‘To secure the future of the invaluable work our sector delivers, we must not only address disappointing practice, but also implement the longer-term improvements that are so desperately needed.
“We can’t forget that an on-paper commitment to Fairer Funding was made by ministers earlier this year. It is disappointing that progress on this commitment has been so slow. Today’s announcement commits to developing a plan, when urgent action is needed. Our long-term work on Fair Funding provides clear recommendations, based on the sector’s experiences, and a clear blueprint for next steps.
“The PfG’s firm commitment to taking forward a wider review of charity law is also welcome, particularly the commitment to work alongside the sector. It is important that the review is comprehensive and independent and doesn’t shy away from fundamental issues. We need a holistic approach to regulating the voluntary sector that supports the role of modern charities.
“With charities experiencing growing frustration at the funding relationship with Scottish Government and the impact this is having on organisations, staff, volunteers, and the services and support they offer, we had hoped for more action and urgency.
The steps outlined will move us in the right direction, albeit slowly, and we will of course work with the Scottish Government to ensure that they do so in the ways that make the biggest difference to voluntary organisations across Scotland, supporting the invaluable contribution they make to Scotland’s economy and society.”
‘Warm words won’t stop a warming planet’
Climate campaigners have reacted to the latest Scottish Programme for Government saying that “warm words won’t stop a warming planet.”
Friends of the Earth Scotland climate and energy campaigner Caroline Rance commented, “This is an underwhelming programme for more of the same when what is needed a radical change that can speed Scotland away from the damage being wrought by fossil fuel companies.
“The First Minister talked a good game about the importance of climate action and a just transition to net zero, but warm words won’t stop a warming planet.
“The climate emergency demands scaled up action that rapidly shifts us away from fossil fuels, prioritises public transport and puts in a credible plan in place to support workers in the transition from the oil industry to good, green jobs.”
+++ SPEEDING UP OF RENEWABLES PLANNING
Rance commented: “It’s a positive step that the process for onshore renewables will be quickened up but sites must still be environmentally appropriate, and far more work is needed to ensure that local communities can benefit from developments in their area.
+++ SINGLE USE VAPES
Friends of the Earth Scotland circular economy campaigner Kim Pratt: “The evidence that single use vapes are harmful to young people and polluting our environment is overwhelming.
“Businesses have been allowed to put profit before their obligations to provide safe disposal service for these products. The quickest and surest way to end the harm caused by single use vapes is to ban them.
“While consultation on a ban is welcome, we don’t have time to change our economy one product at a time. From wasteful plastic packaging to phones that can’t be fixed, and harmful products like single use vapes, everything we own needs to become more sustainable.
“That’s why the Circular Economy Bill is so important because it must transform our economic systems so that all materials are used sustainably.”
+++ CIRCULAR ECONOMY BILL
Friends of the Earth Scotland circular economy campaigner Kim Pratt commented: “Scotland’s material use is more than twice sustainable levels. The Circular Economy Bill is an important opportunity for Scotland to change the way it uses materials by making businesses design products with less materials, encourage repair and reuse and limit harmful single use products.
“The Circular Economy Bill must be as strong as possible to create the system change that we need, including strong targets for reducing our consumption and consideration of the social impacts of material use.”
Independent Age: ‘A Missed Opportunity’
Following the First Minister’s Programme for Government, Debbie Horne, Scotland Policy and Public Affairs Manager at Independent Age said: “Today is a missed opportunity to help the 150,000 older people living in poverty across Scotland.
“Alarmingly, this figure has risen by 25% in the last decade alone, with the ongoing costs crisis squeezing the budgets of those in later life to breaking point. The First Minister should have used today’s Programme for Government to announce a strategy to tackle pensioner poverty and reverse this frightening trend.
“None of us dream of a later life where, because of the cost, we risk falls by not turning on the lights or are forced to skip meals, yet this is now a reality for 1 in 7 older people.
“With over 3 in 5 over 65s on a low income currently cutting their food spending, and almost 3 in 4 reducing their heating, they’re terrified for the winter to come.
“The Scottish Government should reconsider this glaring omission from today’s announcement and urgently announce a plan to reduce financial hardship in later life. They’ve said that tackling poverty is a key priority – older people must not be forgotten in this.”