On 4 September 2024, John Swinney MSP presented his first Programme for Government (PfG) since becoming First Minister in May 2024.
The theme of the PfG was ‘Serving Scotland’ and it built on his Government’s Priorities for Scotland which were announced to the Scottish Parliament on 22 May 2024. SPICe also published a blog analysing the Priorities at the time.
The PfG for 2024-25 sets out the actions that the Government intends to take in the year from September 2024, and the proposed legislative programme.
This extended, long-read blogpost provides a summary of the PfG, and highlights areas that are likely to be of particular interest to MSPs and the Parliament over the next year. It is not a comprehensive summary. It also briefly looks back at the previous PfG and at the FM’s May Priorities statement.
Blogs on previous PFGs can be accessed at the following links:
- 2023: The 2023-24 Programme for Government – three missions: “equality, opportunity and community”
- 2022: Programme for Government 2022-23 – a focused response to the “cost crisis”
- 2021: Programme for Government 2021-22: A fairer, greener Scotland?
- 2020: Programme for Government 2020-21: not a normal PFG
- 2019: A Scottish Green Deal and Indyref2? A summary of the new Programme for Government
- 2018: What’s in the Programme for Government?
The contents pop-out below will help readers navigate to specific sections and subjects they are interested in.
Overall approach – Serving for Scotland
The May 2024 Priorities for Scotland had highlighted four priorities and the PfG is built around the same four priorities:
- Eradicating Child Poverty
- Growing the Economy
- Tackling the Climate Emergency
- Ensuring High Quality and Sustainable Public Services
Whereas previous PfGs have presented information by Cabinet Secretary portfolio, this year’s version is based on the four priorities with the different policy areas covered under the appropriate priorities. While there is some logic to this approach, it can make it harder to navigate as it is not always immediately apparent which policy sits where. It’s also interesting to note that – while Parliament is currently scrutinising the new proposed outcomes for the National Performance Framework – the PfG makes no reference to the Framework and how it will guide decision-making or budget priorities.
The PfG was presented to Parliament the day after the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government provided a pre-budget fiscal update to the Scottish Parliament. In this statement she announced around £500 million in cuts to Scottish Government spending for the current financial year. This set out extremely challenging financial circumstances as the backdrop for the Scottish Government’s plans. SPICe published a blog summarising the main points from this statement.
Despite these challenging financial circumstances, the First Minister presented a positive outlook:
“The commitments in [the PfG] are practical, not partisan. They are affordable, impactful and deliverable.
Together, they reflect my optimism, that even though we face an incredibly challenging set of circumstances at this moment, the inherent strengths of Scotland, our people and our communities, can create great possibilities for our country.”
As he did when he presented the Priorities for Scotland, the First Minister used his PfG speech to highlight that his is a minority government and it would look for support from across the chamber:
“My Government does not command a majority in this Parliament. We have to work with others to make progress on our agenda. I therefore set out this Programme for Government with a commitment to work across this Chamber to seek common ground with others.”
In focusing on each of his government’s priorities, the First Minister stressed the link between them all emphasising the need for a “strong, green, wellbeing economy” to support delivery of measures to support the other priorities.
What happened to mandate letters that the previous First Minister issued?
As part of the 2023 PfG process, the First Minister’s predecessor introduced “mandate letters”. These letters, from the First Minister to Cabinet Secretaries, had set out “the outcomes they were expected to achieve in the months ahead.” All of these letters were published on the Government’s website and they included details about what was expected to be achieved by the end of March 2024. This provided a useful accountability framework for considering progress against measures announced.
The new PfG does not include mandate letters, and this approach seems to have been abandoned after one year with no summary of whether the outcomes set for Cabinet Secretaries have been achieved.
Text analysis of the PfG
The remaining sections of this extended blogpost follow the same structure as the PfG and pick out policies and announcements that may be of interest to MSPs and committees in the coming parliamentary year. It also identifies where announcements have been restated or removed.
But first, the following infographic shows the result of some text analysis of the whole PfG document. The first chart is a “wordcloud”, which many readers will be familiar with. It shows the frequency of words used in the PfG, excluding certain very regularly used words. The second chart is a “network map” – this shows the frequency with which words are connected to each other. A darker line indicates a stronger, more regular, connection.
First Minister’s Foreword
The First Minister used his Foreword to the PfG document to reiterate the commitment to the four priorities and to restate the current financial challenges the Scottish Government faces. Linking the two, the First Minister wrote:
“The measures we have had to take have been deeply frustrating decisions, but they have also brought even greater focus to our four priorities – priorities I believe will have the most tangible impact for people living in Scotland.”
The First Minister reiterated his government’s commitment to the Verity House Agreement (VHA) with Scotland’s Local Authorities recognising that local government will be central to deliver the Government’s priorities.
Local Government
Three of the four key priorities in the PfG – eradicating child poverty, tackling the climate emergency, and ensuring high quality and sustainable public services – are also the “shared priorities” of the VHA, and there is much emphasis in the PfG on national approaches being delivered locally. The PfG respectfully acknowledges the importance of “local authority partners”, “greater local flexibility” and “new ways of working more closely together”. But there is no mention of the fiscal framework in the document, despite the VHA originally stating it would be concluded by October2023. It is fair to say that progress has been slower than anticipated but hopefully more detail will be available before the Scottish Budget in December. Likewise, the local governance review, which was launched in 2018, is still ongoing, although the PfG commits to its conclusion “by the end of this Parliamentary session”.
One of the most noteworthy legislative announcements for local government is the plan to introduce a Community Wealth Building (CWB) Bill this year. Details of what’s in this legislation are not yet available, but we do know the Scottish Government recently consulted on the possible introduction of a community wealth building duty. This could require public bodies, such as local authorities and health boards, to “embed the CWB model of economic development into their corporate plans and wider strategies”. As the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee heard earlier this year, a CWB approach can lead to real benefits for local economies. However, Scottish councils may not be too happy with the prospect of yet more strategies, plans and reporting requirements coming their way, especially after the VHA committed to a reduction in “burdensome reporting”.
Parliament, Government and Constitution
Constitutional issues took a back seat in the PfG. There was no mention of independence in the First Minister’s statement to the Chamber and only a sole reference to Scottish independence in the PfG document. The First Minister’s forward to the PfG states that whilst the areas of focus “are set within the current powers of the Scottish Parliament, the people of Scotland will know that I believe we could make a greater impact with the powers of an independent nation.”
Arguably, it’s ambiguous drafting. Does “will know” mean that the people of Scotland already know that the First Minister believes in independence, or will the people of Scotland get further information on the First Minister’s vision for how the Scottish Government could make “greater impact” as an independent nation? Perhaps it’s both. Only time will tell.
There was also a nod towards more harmonious intergovernmental relations with the new UK Government. The PfG stating that:
“Where it is possible to do so, we will also work collaboratively with the United Kingdom Government. I have already had welcome discussions with Sir Keir Starmer, to discuss how our two governments can work constructively together to make a difference to people’s lives, both on areas of importance for the people of Scotland and as a nation that values its role as a good global citizen.”
The First Minister did announce significant changes to the Scottish Ministerial Code during his statement to the Parliament. At present, it is the First Minister who instructs an investigation into whether there has been a breach of the Ministerial Code. The First Minister announced changes which will allow independent advisers to launch their own investigations where they believe there are grounds for an investigation. The First Minister noted that:
“These changes will significantly strengthen the role of the independent advisers, whose Terms of Reference will also be published. I expect to publish the new code by the end of this year.”
The PfG also makes a commitment around elections, with the Scottish Government continuing “to work on removing the barriers some people experience to voting independently and in secret, to ensure everyone has a say.” The Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill is currently at Stage 2.
Eradicating Child Poverty
The PfG reaffirms the Scottish Government’s commitment to eradicating child poverty, stating that it is the “single greatest priority for this Government”. It sets out that to contribute to achieving this will require coordinated efforts across central and local government along with the third sector, businesses and communities.
In June, the Poverty and Inequality Commission said that;
“Meeting the 2030 targets (for reducing child poverty) will require transformational change in relation to all the drivers of poverty. While some good work is taking place, this is not at the scale necessary to deliver the transformation required […] “without immediate and significant action, the Scottish Government will not meet the 2030 targets.”
Measures under this priority are set out in the following policy areas.
Children and Young People
Almost all the policies set out in the PfG were already included in the 2022 delivery plan for reducing child poverty, ‘Best Start Bright Futures’. Progress was reported on in June 2024 and explored in this recent SPICe blog. There are no new legislative proposals on child poverty.
In his speech, the First Minister put particular emphasis on how services are delivered through ‘whole family support.’ This is already an established element in Best Start Bright Futures which:
“outlines our ambition to transform support services in Scotland to a more holistic model, tailored to individual needs, making it easier for people to navigate the support available thereby improving outcomes.” (BSBF progress report)
The PfG commits to:
“deliver significant reform of the work of public services to deliver whole-family support extensively across the country.”
It is unclear how much this suggests an expansion of the existing approach or just a continuation of it by applying the findings from the existing Pathfinder projects across the whole country.
The interesting points in the PfG are not so much on what was included, but in what wasn’t.
As has been widely reported, the PfG does not repeat the pledge for universal free school meals in P6 and 7, and the First Minister has confirmed that this will not be delivered in this Parliamentary session. The pledge to provide them to pupils in receipt of Scottish Child Payment remains, although there appears to be a delay in implementation. The 2024-25 budget referred to this being delivered from February 2025. The BBC reported on 26 August that £2 million was proposed to be cut from this policy, “without substantially delaying” it. The First Minister has since confirmed that it will be delivered “in this parliamentary session.”
Another example is the commitment on childcare which focuses on increasing take-up by two-years olds eligible for the 1,140 offer and:
“Over the next two years we will design and deliver a new childcare offer, backed by £16 million, for priority families within six ‘Early Adopter Communities’ “
This repeats an announcement from May 2024 and, in focusing only on six local areas, appears significantly less ambitious than the policy set out in the 2021 PfG and Strategic early learning and school age childcare plan 2022-2026 which included:
“expanding free early learning and childcare to one and two year olds, starting in this Parliament with children who will benefit most; and
building a system of school age childcare by the end of this Parliament, providing care before and after school, all year round, supporting parents and carers – particularly on low incomes – to have secure and stable employment. Those on the lowest incomes will pay nothing”.
The majority of the spending highlighted in the PfG on tackling child poverty is existing spending.
Social Security
While there were no new spending or policy commitments on social security nor was there any rolling back on current plans. Given the financial context and the scale of social security spend this in itself is notable. The PfG highlights the already legislated for Carer Support Payment and Pension Age Disability Payment. It confirms that the Carer Additional Person Payment will be introduced this year. There is no mention of Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance or when the Scottish Government will respond to the consultation on Employment Injury Assistance. The Scottish Government has announced that it plans to replicate the UK government’s plans to only pay the Winter Heating Payment to those pensioners in receipt of pension credit or certain other means tested benefits.
Housing
The PfG referred to the housing emergency that was declared in May 2024. The government states that, “in the coming year we will deliver homes at pace and scale, and help to reduce the number of households and children in temporary accommodation.”
It referenced the previously announced £600 million in the Affordable Housing Supply Programme. Despite being a substantial investment, the budget had been cut by around 22% from the previous year, a cut which has attracted some criticism and is discussed in further detail in this SPICe blog. The PfG also referenced, “committing £100 million to grow with institutional investment to at least £500 million supporting the construction of around 2,800 mid-market rent homes”. It’s not entirely clear if this relates to an addition to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme over and above the £600 million already committed.
Other actions in response to the housing emergency appear to reflect the broad approach outlined in the parliamentary statement made by the Minister for Housing in June, such as working with social landlords to reduce void properties. There is a specific reference to changing guidance on empty homes to encourage councils to focus on homes that have been empty the longest. And £2 million for local authorities facing the most significant and sustained temporary accommodation pressures.
The PfG also repeats previously announced plans to consult on reform of compulsory purchase powers in 2025. Future legislation would be needed to take forward any major changes to the system so any substantial change would take place in future parliamentary sessions.
There’s currently a Housing (Scotland) Bill nearing completion of its first stage of parliamentary scrutiny. The Bill provides a framework for the potential introduction of rent control areas where rents increase for private tenants. The PfG states that, “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.” We might need to wait to the detailed scrutiny (Stage 2) of the Bill process takes place to find out specific details.
Growing the Economy
The PfG sets out the importance of “fair, green economic growth” to delivering across all four of the Scottish Government’s priorities highlighting that “economic success drives our ability to deliver public services and reduce child poverty”.
Measures under this priority are set out in the following policy areas.
Economy
On Economy, a refreshed National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET) and Green Industrial Strategy was expected over the summer, however as yet nothing has been published. In May the Cabinet Secretary for Economy noted that this refreshed strategy, along with the Green Industrial strategy and the final Energy Strategy, would be delayed due to the pre-election period. The PfG makes no mention of NSET at all, while there is a commitment to “shortly publish” the Green Industrial Strategy. The strategy will set out plans to build five clusters which the Scottish Government state will be “internationally competitive”. These clusters are:
- onshore and offshore wind,
- carbon capture, utilisation and storage,
- professional and financial services,
- hydrogen, and
- clean industries.
Many of the pledges made here are not new. Developing the Green Freeports, the two investment zones, implementing the Pathways report, the existing commitment for up to £500 million for offshore wind, delivering the New Deal for Business commitments, signing the Falkirk and Argyll Growth deals, a new planning apprenticeship, implementing the response to the Withers Review, and the existing funding of the Scottish National Investment Bank are all highlighted in the PfG but have previously been announced elsewhere.
The PfG includes a pledge to “review Crown Estate Scotland’s governance and operating mode”, to help support the development of the offshore supply chain.
Just Transition
The final Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan will be published “shortly”. As noted above, this had been expected in the summer with the Scottish Government noting that the pre-election period would mean it was delayed.
The Scottish Government has been working on three sectoral just transition plans covering agriculture and land use, building and construction, and transport. These were originally expected to be published prior to the Climate Change Plan (originally expected in November 2023). The PfG states these will be developed and published but makes no commitment as to when.
Transport
No significant new transport projects, funding streams or policies were announced. The PfG reconfirmed the Scottish Government’s commitment to long-standing ferry and rail rolling stock procurement programmes. It also highlighted ongoing support for three major trunk roads schemes, dualling the single carriageway sections of the A9 between Perth and Inverness, dualling the A96 between Inverness and Nairn, and landslide protection works on the A83 at the Rest and be Thankful, which have a combined capital cost of over £4 billion.
The Scottish Government repeated its 2023-24 PfG commitment to publishing an updated route map to deliver a 20% reduction in the distance travelled by car between 2019 and 2030. However, there is no mention of the 2021-22 PfG commitment that “…at least £320 million or 10% of the total transport budget goes on active travel by 2024-25”. Only £220 million was allocated to active travel in the 2024-25 budget (which was itself subsequently cut in-year). Nor is there any reference to reinstating the 2019-20 PfG pledge to invest £500m in bus priority measures, now known as the ‘Bus Partnership Fund’ – of which just £26.9 million has been spent to date, following the suspension of the Fund in 2024-25.
Planning
No significant new planning policies or proposals were announced. The PfG highlighted aspects of the ongoing programme of planning reform, including the launch of a Planning Hub to act as a centre of planning expertise, the creation of Masterplan Consent Areas – replacement of the little-used Simplified Planning Zones, and the launch of planning apprenticeships in Scotland, which have been available in England for several years.
External Affairs
The PfG is light on content covering the external affairs aspects of the Scottish Government’s work. However, there is a commitment to support the negotiation of a new UK-EU Food and Drink / Veterinary Agreement which if agreed between the UK Government and the European Commission would support Scottish exporters in accessing EU markets with fewer trade frictions. The Scottish Government published more information on this issue at the end of August 2024.
The PfG also includes a commitment to advocate for rejoining EU programmes such as Erasmus+ and Creative Europe.
Culture
The PFG reiterated the Scottish Government’s commitment to increase funding for culture and the arts so that it is at least £100 million more a year by 2028‑29.
The statement by the First Minister also referenced in-year funding to Creative Scotland (CS). On 22 August 2024 Creative Scotland announced the closure of the Open Fund for Individuals, “due to the Scottish Government being unable to confirm release of £6.6 million in Grant-in-Aid budget in the current financial year, 2024-25.”
In the PfG the First Minister announced that resources to reopen the fund had been provided to Creative Scotland. In a news release following the statement, the Scottish Government provided more detail and confirmed the release of £1.8 million to Creative Scotland for youth music, and another £6.6 million, which includes £3 million towards its Open Fund and £1 million for Screen Scotland. Creative Scotland welcomed this funding.
The PfG also made a new announcement, noting that the Scottish Government intends to review Creative Scotland as part of a wider review of the way that the sector is supported.
In a letter sent to the Culture Committee on 4 September, the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture provided additional information on the proposed review:
“The announcement to review CS is related to the need to ensure that the remit and functions of CS remain relevant given the body was established in 2010 and the ever changing cultural landscape. I believe that it is important to undertake a review of CS now as part of a review of how the culture sector is supported more broadly. Given the Scottish Government’s commitment to increasing culture funding by £100m by 2028/2029 the Scottish Government wants to ensure that the additional funding can be used to best support the culture sector.”
Other commitments in the PfG included support to Screen Scotland, the formation of a partnership on Scottish festivals, and pressing public service broadcasters to increase production from Scotland.
Food
The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022places a duty on Scottish Ministers to lay a draft of a national Good Food Nation Plan in the Scottish Parliament by 30 June 2025 and to set up a Scottish Food Commission. The PfG commits to these in this parliamentary year. The purpose of the Commission will be to provide independent scrutiny of the delivery and effectiveness of Good Food Nation plans.
Tackling the Climate Emergency
The PfG states that “the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss represent the existential threat of our times”. Recognising this, the PfG outlines the importance of reducing emissions and vulnerability to the future impacts of climate change whilst also working to restore the natural environment.
Measures under this priority are set out in the following policy areas.
Climate Investment
The Scottish Government is set to receive a total of £756 million over the three years since 2022-23 as a result of the Scotwind auctions. These are the option payments that developers made to the Crown Estate – if/ when developments come online there will be further payments. In January 2022, the then Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero had stated that all proceeds from the Scotwind Auctions would be invested to support the response to the climate emergency, without providing detail on how and when these would be invested:
“We’ve already made clear we will invest from these monies to help tackle the twin climate and biodiversity crises.”
However, later in 2022, £96 million of this funding was used as part of the emergency budget review to balance the 2022-23 budget. Of the remaining £660 million, the Scottish Government had stated that it would use this in 2023-24 (£460 million) and in 2024-25 (£200 million) again as part of balancing the budget. In their August 2024 fiscal update, the Scottish Fiscal Commission noted that the £460 million was not utilised in the 2023-24 Budget, and was therefore available to the Scottish Government. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance subsequently announced that the £460 million would be used in the 2024-25 Budget, as part of the measures to tackle the funding gap of £1 billion. This means that in 2024-25, the total of £660 million remaining Scotwind proceeds have been used to balance the books, rather than being ring fenced for climate investment.
Carbon capture, utilisation and storage is one of the five clusters to be covered in the upcoming Green Industrial Strategy. The Scottish Government has pledged to invest £80 million in the Acorn project once the UK Government has approved it. The UK Government have now committed to support this as part of track 2, but there has not yet been confirmation as to when and how the SG will make this £80 million investment, and it was not identified in the 2024-25 Budget so may not be available this financial year, given the financial pressures. The PfG does note that £2 million will be provided to support the repurposing of existing oil and gas infrastructure.
Climate legislation
Scotland currently has a system of annual targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions and has missed 9 out of the last 13 of these. On 18 April 2024 the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy (now Net Zero and Energy) accepted the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) assessment that the “acceleration required in emissions reduction to meet the [interim] 2030 target is now beyond what is credible”.
There is therefore a commitment to introduce a Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) Bill to establish a carbon budget approach to target setting, with budgets set through secondary legislation following expert advice from the CCC. Provision will also be made for a new Climate Change Plan to be published that reflects these carbon budgets, and for this Plan to be brought forward as soon as practicable once budgets have been set.
The PfG states that the:
“ultimate target of net zero by 2045 will not be changed, and the Government will retain annual reporting on emissions and our commitment to just transition principles.”
This expedited Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 5 September; the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee has recently closed its Call for Views and will commence scrutiny on 10 September 2024.
A further commitment is made for a Heat in Buildings Bill to be introduced this year. This 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”.
Woodland and peatland targets – alignment with climate plans
In the PfG the Scottish Government also commits to restore at least 10,000 hectares of degraded peatland and create at least 10,000 hectares of woodlands (including at least 4,000 hectares of native woodland).
It is worth noting that these levels do not align with the Scottish Government’s current climate plans, and there have been ongoing significant challenges with meeting those ambitions. In the 2020 Climate Change Plan update (CCPu) (Scotland’s current framework plan for climate action), the Scottish Government had committed to increase new woodland creation from the previous target level of 12,000 hectares annually in 2020/21 up to 18,000 hectares in 2024/25. The peatland restoration target in the CCPu is 20,000 hectares per year, although modelling had shown that in order to deliver on the emissions ‘envelopes’ for different sectors in the plan, annual peatland restoration would need to be “far higher” than that.
Tackling the Nature Emergency
In relation to the nature crisis – highlighted as a key issue for this Parliamentary session in the SPICe Key Issues for Session 6 briefing – the Scottish Government has committed to introduce a Natural Environment Bill. The PfG states that the Bill will “establish the framework for statutory targets to restore and protect nature” as well as provisions to modernise the way in which national parks and deer are managed, and “provide powers to update environmental impact assessment and habitats legislation to support delivery of our net zero and biodiversity goals”.
In relation to nature targets, this follows on from a 2023 consultation as part of the draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, which looked at possible areas for statutory nature targets – such as species abundance and habitat quality. The Strategy sets out an ambition for Scotland to be ‘Nature Positive’ i.e. halted ongoing biodiversity decline by 2030, and to have restored and regenerated biodiversity by 2045 – designed to be in line with the Global Biodiversity Framework.
International assessments have indicated that transformative change is needed to address the nature crisis and tackle accelerating and unprecedented species extinction rates. Scotland is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and has not yet turned the tide on nature decline. In the past week for example, five seabird species have been added to the UK ‘red list’ of species of highest conservation concern – species where a significant share of the UK (and in some cases, global) populations breed and raise their young in Scotland.
The announcement of the Natural Environment Bill has been welcomed by environmental stakeholders such as Scottish Environment LINK. It also comes in the same week that the Scottish Government has been criticised by environmental stakeholders for directing Local Authorities to use Nature Restoration funding to support local government pay deals.
International development
The PfG reiterates the Scottish Government’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and states:
“We will protect our commitments on climate justice, international development, and humanitarian assistance, launching new programmes to support good global citizenship, connecting Scotland to the Global South.”
The commitment to these issues is underpinned by the Scottish Government’s international development policy and set out in the Scottish Government’s Contribution to International Development report 2021-23 which provides information on the planned new programmes for Scotland’s partner countries of Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda and Pakistan.
Ensuring High Quality and Sustainable Public Services
The PfG recognises the importance of public services in touching “on every aspect of our day to day lives” whilst also contributing to the delivery of the actions required to address the Scottish Government’s other identified priorities.
In his statement, the FM referred to a 10 year public service reform programme that would guide their approach. However, it is not clear where this programme is set out.
Measures under this priority are set out in the following policy areas.
Health and Social Care
The PfG stated that the Adults with Incapacity Bill will be introduced during the 2024 to 2025 parliamentary year. The Scottish Government launched a consultation on this Bill in July 2024.
Consideration of the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill is ongoing, the Bill is currently at Stage 2.
The Scottish Government also committed to publishing draft provisions for a Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill. A consultation on this Bill took place in December 2023.
Most of the other commitments across the health and social care portfolio related to existing and ongoing programmes of work.
The PfG stated £120 million of additional funding had been given to NHS Boards to support continued improvements across a range of mental health services and treatments. This would appear to reflect funding that had previously been confirmed (May 2024) by the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport who said that the annual budget for the Mental Health Recovery and Renewal Fund (£120 million) was from 2023-24 incorporated into the overall direct programme budget for mental health.
It is worth noting that the fiscal pre-budget update announced savings of £115.8 million across the Health and Social Care portfolio. This included £18.8 million from mental health services, £11 million from General Medical Services (primary care) and £4.1 million from health improvement and promotion.
Further and Higher Education
The First Minister announced the Scottish Government will lead a new, national approach to skills planning and bring forward a Post-School Education Reform Bill to make changes to the funding body landscape. These commitments form part of the government’s response to the 2023 Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape carried out by James Withers.
The consultation on legislation to reform the funding body landscape was launched in June, putting forward two options for change:
- Consolidate all provision funding within the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and all student support funding within the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS).
- Consolidate all provision funding and all student support funding within SFC.
Currently, SFC and Skills Development Scotland (SDS) are each responsible for delivering funding for different parts of the apprenticeship system and SFC and SAAS both deliver different elements of student support. The consultation closes on 20 September 2024.
In last year’s PfG the Scottish Government committed to lead development of a new funding model for post-school education provision. This is not mentioned in this year’s PfG, however the consultation does state changes to the funding body landscape should help with the development of a new funding model. Further information on post-school education reform is available in our recent SPICe blog.
Improving part-time student support and Erasmus+ replacement the Scottish Education Exchange Programme (SEEP) are two commitments from last year that are not mentioned in this year’s PfG. However, the next round of the SEEP Test and Learn project is currently open for bids.
Care reform and The Promise
The Promise Bill – expected before the end of this Parliamentary session – was not announced in this PfG, and The Promise was not mentioned in the First Minister’s statement. The Bill has the potential to be wide-ranging, covering changes to the Children’s Hearings System, governance, inspection and accountability surrounding the care system as well as a range of other areas. The Scottish Parliament will face the challenging task of scrutinising this legislation within a short timeframe if the Bill is introduced next year ahead of the 2026 election.
The PfG does mention three consultations related to The Promise. Two are already underway: one on reforms to the children’s hearings system and another on support for those moving on from care. Another on the future of foster care has not yet been launched.
Justice
Three of the Bills which the PfG states will be introduced during the current parliamentary year cover aspects of criminal justice:
- Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews
- Misogyny
- Prisoners
The Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews Bill will include measures seeking to:
- make permanent some of the temporary justice measures introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic – a relevant consultation ran from November 2023 to February 2024
- provide a framework for a multi-agency domestic homicide and suicide review model – this follows on from the work of a Domestic Homicide and Suicide Review Taskforce established in December 2022.
The Misogyny Bill, which was also announced in last year’s PfG, is intended to provide for new offences relating to misogynistic conduct. It follows on from the work of an independent Misogyny and Criminal Justice in Scotland Working Group. The working group’s 2022 report recommended legislating to create:
- a statutory misogyny aggravation
- an offence of stirring up hatred against women and girls
- an offence of public misogynistic harassment
- an offence of issuing threats of, or invoking, rape or sexual assault or disfigurement of women and girls online and offline.
A Scottish Government consultation ran from March to June 2023.
The PfG refers to the prison population having “reached critical levels”. The Prisoners Bill is intended to make changes to the release process for certain prisoners. This follows a consultation (July to August 2024) which proposed to bring forward the point at which some long-term prisoners are released.
The planned bill is in addition to the emergency release of some short-term prisoners which took place following the agreement of relevant regulations by the Scottish Parliament on 12 June 2024.
The PfG also highlights other actions to “support a sustainable reduction in the prison population”. These include changing the criteria for release on home detention curfew and having an independent review of sentencing and penal policy
On the civil justice side, the proposed legislative programme in the PfG also includes the Leases (Automatic continuation etc.) Bill. This takes forward Scottish Law Commission recommendations for reforming aspects of the law of commercial leases, particularly as regards the circumstances in which commercial leases continue after termination. The Scottish Law Commission’s proposals do not apply to agricultural, residential or crofting leases.
Equalities
The PfG in 2022-23 reaffirmed a commitment to introduce a Bill on ending conversion practices in Scotland. The PfG in 2023-24 said there would be a consultation on legislative changes to end conversion practices. A consultation has been undertaken, but the PfG for 2024-25 now says that the Scottish Government will work towards “complementary approaches across the UK” and that it “will prepare legislation for introduction to the Scottish Parliament should a UK-wide approach not be achievable”. This appears to be in reference to plans set out by the UK Government to introduce a draft Conversion Practices Bill, as set out in the King’s Speech 2024.
In terms of equality policies more generally, there are continued commitments to work on existing strategies and delivery plans that focus on:
- Action to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls,
- Gender equality,
- Disability equality,
- Race equality,
- Refugees and asylum seekers.
In the PfG in 2020-21 the Scottish Government said it would develop an equality and human rights mainstreaming strategy. Each subsequent PfG has referred to the mainstreaming of equality and human rights. In the PfG for 2023-24 the Scottish Government said there would be a consultation on a mainstreaming strategy, as part of a commitment to embed equality and human rights throughout government and the public sector. There has been no consultation to date.
The PfG for 2024-25 now states:
“We will consult on and publish a framework to embed equality and human rights across the Scottish Government and the wider public sector. This framework will include an action plan and toolkit, setting out practical steps to progress this ambition. This will be complemented by action to enhance the effectiveness of the Public Sector Equality Duty.”
Human Rights
Proposals to incorporate economic social and cultural rights (ESC rights) into Scots law have been under consideration for at least ten years (see the SPICe briefing ‘Economic, social and cultural rights – some frequently asked questions’). The idea is to make rights in UN treaties such as the right to an adequate standard of living, right to social security etc. enforceable in Scotland by individuals.
The 2017-18 Programme for Government stated that the Scottish Government would consider this issue. An advisory group, “the First Minister’s Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership“, reported in 2018 that there was inadequate protection of these rights in Scotland and recommended legislation.
The National Taskforce for Human Rights Leadership, subsequently proposed a Bill incorporating ESC rights into Scots law – i.e. the UN treaty “the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights” (ICESCR) and three UN treaties on race (CERD), women (CEDAW) and disability (CRPD), as well as other rights such as the right to a healthy environment. For details see the SPICe briefing “Economic, social and cultural rights and the proposed Human Rights Bill”.
Legislation was part of the 2023-24 Programme for Government which stated that the Scottish Government would introduce, “our world leading Human Rights Bill.”
The Bill was, however, never introduced and is not part of the current PfG. A letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice to the Convener of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee explains the Scottish Government’s reasoning for the decision not to legislate. This includes arguments on the need to consider the proposals further and the potential impact on the Bill of the Supreme Court decision in the 2021 UNCRC Bill reference, as well as concerns that the proposed approach to incorporating the treaties on race, disability and women does not go far enough.
A number of stakeholders have indicated their disappointment with the Bill not being introduced, for example, the Scottish Human Rights Commission, Amnesty Scotland, and the Human Rights Consortium Scotland.
Wellbeing and sustainable development
The 2023-24 PfG included a commitment to “explore the development of legislative proposals on a wellbeing and sustainable development Bill, to support greater implementation of the National Performance Framework, and to ensure the interests of future generations are taken into account in decisions made today”. While the Scottish Government has consulted on a Bill in the last parliamentary year, there is no reference in the new PfG. It is worth noting that Sarah Boyack MSP has a proposed member’s bill on wellbeing and sustainable development, which has achieved cross party support, and is being drafted
Outcomes
The PfG makes no reference to the National Performance Framework (NPF) or how the measures set out under each of the four priorities will contribute to the National Outcomes which underpin the NPF.
The Scottish Government has published its proposed National Outcomes for the next five years for the Scottish Parliament to consider. The Finance and Public Administration Committee is leading on the scrutiny of these proposed National Outcomes. Committees may wish to consider how the priorities set out in the PfG will be represented in the National Outcomes.
The Legislative Programme 2024-25
The PfG sets out which Bills will be introduced in the coming parliamentary year. These are covered, where relevant, in the portfolio sections above.
In total the PfG sets out the Scottish Government’s intention to introduce 14 new Bills over the next Parliamentary year. These Bills are in addition to the 12 Scottish Government Bills which Parliament is already considering.
The new Bills proposed in the PfG will focus on the following areas:
- Adults with Incapacity
- Budget
- Building Safety Levy
- Climate Change (Emissions Reductions Targets)
- Community Wealth Building
- Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews
- Crofting
- Leases (automatic continuation etc.)
- Heat in Buildings
- Misogyny
- Natural Environment
- Post School Education Reform
- Prisoners
- UEFA EURO 2028
Conclusion
The 2024-25 PfG contains few new announcements and instead focuses on a number of previously announced commitments and reaffirming existing priorities. In addition, a number of commitments made in previous PfGs have not been taken forward and are now absent.
The fiscal challenges outlined by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government are also reflected in the funding available to support a number of previous PfG commitments.
SPICe will continue to support Parliament’s scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s policy and legislative programme during the final eighteen months of the Parliamentary session ahead of the election in May 2026.
SPICe Research, September 2024