Swinney aims to offer ‘hope for a better Scotland’ in government programme
The Scottish First Minister will unveil his government’s programme for the coming year in a keynote statement to Holyrood on Tuesday.
John Swinney is promising to deliver a “radical” programme for the coming year at Holyrood with a “relentless focus” on delivering for Scots.
The SNP leader said he wants to provide “hope that we can create a better Scotland” with the measures he will announce.
The Scottish First Minister will unveil his Programme for Government to MSPs at Holyrood on Tuesday, saying the commitments contained within it will be squarely aimed at delivering on the “issues that affect the lives of people in Scotland”.
While the statement, setting out the Scottish Government’s legislation and policy priorities for the coming year, is usually given in September after Holyrood’s summer recess, Mr Swinney has brought it forward – giving him a full year to deliver on the commitments before the next Scottish elections.
His statement will be “anchored” around his Government’s four key priorities: tackling child poverty; growing the economy; moving Scotland towards net zero and boosting public services.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Swinney said: “I have a very radical programme that I am taking forward, and it is a very focused programmed on issues that affect the lives of people in Scotland.
“The programme is anchored around achieving the government’s objectives of eradicating child poverty, stimulating economic growth, addressing and delivering on the journey to net zero and improving our public services.
“Obviously we have to make sure that is well supported by the financial commitments that we make.
“But at the heart of the policy agenda will be a relentless focus on delivering for the people of Scotland, on their priorities, and providing hope that we can create a better Scotland from our programme.”
But he insisted: “Right at the heart of the programme will be the twin themes of delivery and hope.
“That will capture the agenda the Government is taking forward.”
His comments came as he stressed that measures to “ensure the Government makes progress on the journey to net zero” would form a key part of his statement.
It comes after the Scottish Government abandoned its target of cutting emissions by 75% by 2030 last year while, in April this year, Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop accepted that another climate change target, for cutting car journeys by 20% by 2030, was “not realistic”.
Mr Swinney, however, insisted: “I’m wholly committed to achieving our objectives on climate change and to putting in place the practical measures that can make that happen.”
He said: “Right at the heart of the policy agenda in the programme for government will be a series of measures which are designed to deliver the objectives we have set out, they will be across the policy spectrum, across issues around transport, energy efficiency, around the work we are doing on renewable energy.”
He refused to say more about these measures, saying that “the programme has got to be set out to Parliament first on Tuesday”.
But the First Minister said: “The broad themes will be to ensure the Government makes progress on the journey to net zero and we take the practical steps to enable us to do so.”
