YOUSAF ANNOUNCES ‘A FRESH START FOR SCOTLAND’
PRIORITIES OF ‘EQUALITY, OPPORTUNITY, COMMUNITY’ SET
First Minister Humza Yousaf has published a new ‘policy prospectus’, setting out how the government will deliver for Scotland over the next three years – but his big policy announcement was overshadowed by the news that SNP treasurer Colin Beattie had been arrested by police as they continue to investigate the SNP’s finances.
In his first major statement to Parliament, the First Minister said three missions, centred on the themes of equality, opportunity and community, will be central to his government.
Announcing he will seek to reach agreement on a ‘New Deal for Scottish Business’, the statement revealed that the launch of Deposit Return Scheme will be set for March next year, that proposals on alcohol advertising will go “back to the drawing board” and that the Scottish Government will look at ways to use Business Rates to boost business and further support communities.
Titled ‘New Leadership – A Fresh Start’, the prospectus details the key aims the government intends to achieve in each Cabinet portfolio, working with the Scottish Green Party to build on the success of the Bute House Agreement.
Actions set out by the First Minister and the prospectus document to tackle poverty, build a fairer, greener and growing economy, and improve public services by 2026 include:
- a ‘New Deal for Scottish Business’ will be sought, with urgent discussion to agree how government can better support businesses and communities using policy levers such as Non-Domestic Rates.
- an extension of the Deposit Return Scheme launch date to March 2024, from August this year.
- an explicit commitment to support economic growth for a purpose – to help business and trade to thrive and maximise the opportunity for a fair, green economy.
- confirmation of a further £1.3 billion investment for the Scottish Child Payment over the next three years
- improved cancer outcomes through better prevention and diagnostics, including expanded Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services in Lanarkshire and Borders by June 2023
- investment of up to £25 million to convert suitable properties into affordable homes for key workers and others, as part of an action plan to increase housing in remote, rural and island areas
- confirmation of a six-month pilot removing peak-time fares from ScotRail services from October to make rail travel more accessible, available and affordable.
- the delivery of six new vessels to serve Scotland’s ferry network and a doubling of the charge point network for electric vehicles to at least 6,000
- reinstating Scotland’s participation in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science (TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy (PIRLS) studies to increase the availability of internationally comparable data on Scotland’s education performance
- seeking a new agreement with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) to support the delivery of shared priorities, and legislation to give councils powers to apply a Local Visitor Levy on overnight stays in commercially let accommodation as additional means to raise revenue
The First Minister said: “Scotland is a land of opportunity, I’m very proud of that fact, I’m proud to be a product of that.
“My grandparents came to this country in the 1960s, barely speaking English, little money in their pockets. Despite the challenges they faced, and at times hostility they faced, due to their background, they overcame those barriers and provided a life for their children, and for their grandchildren that I will forever be grateful for.
“It is my responsibility to ensure every family in Scotland has that equality of opportunity, regardless of their background or where they live in Scotland.
“I am optimistic we can achieve that equality of opportunity, and the three missions that I have set out today, will determine the priorities of the government that I lead for the rest of this parliamentary session, and help us to achieve that.
“Together, we will be focused on the delivery, we will ensure that we have affordable, ambitious measures in place, which protect our environment, which protect business prosperity, they improve people’s well-being, and they reduce poverty.
“They will ensure the actions we take over the next three years, stand Scotland in good stead for the next decade to come. And they will use our present, very significant, strengths to deliver a fresh start for Scotland.”
Environmental campaigners are dismayed by the news that Scotland’s deposit return scheme, which was due to launch in August 2023, has been delayed until next year.
The deposit return scheme has already been delayed twice, with its initial launch date set for April 2021. The latest postponement will mean that 2.5 billion more drinks containers will have been littered, landfilled or incinerated than if it had gone ahead as planned.
Hundreds of Scottish producers and businesses, accounting for over 95% of Scottish drinks containers, have already registered to take part in the scheme from August and completed the necessary preparation to do so, including the biggest producers of single use drinks cans in the country.
Kim Pratt, circular economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “This delay marks a shameful breaking of promises which will ultimately be paid for by the people of Scotland and the environment. Over 70% of people in Scotland support the deposit return scheme, but the First Minister has decided to put corporate interests and politics before people and the planet.
“The repeated delays by the Scottish Government to deliver this scheme are as damaging as doing nothing. Companies have had five years to prepare, and the majority of them are ready to go as planned in August.
“We are living in a climate emergency, and this simple scheme should be an exciting bit of progress. It’s a concerning start to Humza Yousaf’s leadership.”
Dr Kat Jones, director of APRS, which is running the Have You Got The Bottle? campaign, said:
“Yet another delay to Scotland’s deposit return system should send a chill down the spine of everyone who understands the environmental crisis we face. Both the Scottish and UK governments need to get their act together if a third delay is not to become a fourth or worse.”
Calum Duncan, head of conservation Scotland at Marine Conservation Society, said: “Bottles and cans were littered on 95% of Scottish beaches cleaned and surveyed by our volunteers in 2022. We’re disappointed that, yet again, Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme will be delayed.
“We know deposit return schemes have huge potential to turn the tide on this kind of pollution, for the benefit of both people and the planet. Scotland’s seas cannot, and should not, be paying the price for our waste.”
The deposit return scheme will work by people paying a fully refundable 20p deposit when they buy a drink in a single-use container made of plastic, metal or glass.
First Minister’s speech – 18 April 2023
Equality, opportunity, community: New leadership – A fresh start