Programme for Government 2025 to 2026

First Minister’s foreword

Times are tough for households and businesses across Scotland and the world around us is changing in ways that are difficult to predict. These two realities shape this Programme for Government, a programme designed to deliver renewed and strengthened public services and to ensure that people in Scotland are better protected during the cost-of-living crisis compared with elsewhere in the UK.

It is a programme that is focused on delivery and hope. Delivery in response to the challenges we know people are facing in their everyday lives. Hope because we are making the most of Scotland’s vast resources to deliver higher standards of living and an improved quality of life for people in all corners of this land.

I want people to read this Programme for Government and see that they have a government that wants what is best for Scotland, a government that understands the realities of their life, a government with the experience needed to chart the right course for Scotland during these times of uncertainty.

People tell me time and again that they are happy with the quality of care they receive within the NHS, which is invariably world class, but the problem is accessing that care. That is why we will be using technology and an expansion of specialist regional centres to deliver 150,000 additional appointments and procedures to reduce waiting times and waiting lists. That includes a 50% increase in surgical procedures such as hip and knee replacement compared with last year.

People speak to me about the difficulties getting appointments at their GP, in particular the lottery of the 8 am call. That is why GPs and other community health services are receiving a bigger share of new NHS funding, extra investment that will build capacity, allowing us to deliver 100,000 extra appointments in GP surgeries focused on addressing the root causes of ill health.

I know that cost-of-living pressures continue to be at the front of people’s minds. Over the years, our choices have delivered Council Tax that is on average over 30% lower than in England. Water bills, currently almost 20% lower than in England and Wales, will remain lower, as will income tax for a majority of workers in Scotland. Prescriptions, eye examinations and bus travel for over 2.3 million people will also remain free, students will pay no tuition fees and families with young children will continue to receive a package of early learning and childcare support worth more than £6,000 for each eligible child each year. Together, this is my cost-of-living guarantee.

And we will do more to put more money in people’s pockets. This year, the Winter Fuel Payment for Scottish pensioners will be restored, with the poorest receiving the most, and once again, for thousands of commuters, peak fares on our railways will be removed.

Among the many other measures in this programme, parents and carers will find action to address concerns about attendance and behaviour in our classrooms, more help for pupils with additional support needs and steps to better equip our youngsters to navigate the online world.

We have heard the concerns of young people about sky-high rents or their difficulties getting on the housing ladder and, as a result, we are taking forward an ambitious series of initiatives which will give tenants more rights and stronger protections, directly support the delivery of more than 8,000 affordable homes, including for social and mid-market rent, and remove barriers on stalled building sites with the potential to deliver up to 20,000 new homes.

Record funding for local government means that they have the resources to address people’s concerns about the state of many public spaces, whether rubbish collection, boarded up high streets, or poor-quality roads. Local action is being supplemented by a national regeneration fund that will support at least 26 projects to renew and restore communities, with a focus on delivering more local jobs.

Alongside addressing key challenges at home, this Programme for Government is designed to prepare Scotland, in particular our economy, for challenges emerging at a global level.

In response to concerns about trade with the USA and the wider impact of US tariffs, we are putting in place a new Six Point Export Plan, with a focus on actions to unlock target markets, showcase Scotland to global buyers and enable more companies to participate in trade missions to both established and emerging markets.

In order to create new jobs and opportunities within the Scottish economy, we are intensifying our programme of targeted engagement with investors to secure investments from our new National Project Pipeline. We will be supporting innovation with multiple measures to help businesses grow, including a new Proof of Concept Fund and an improved system of grants to increase the scale and quality of the Scottish start-up ecosystem.

At the heart of our approach though is a determination to ensure a green industrial future for Scotland. Our work to bring investment to the Grangemouth site is well under way, but I have no doubt that these efforts would be substantially enhanced by the development of carbon capture and storage in Scotland. The UK government has given the go ahead to two sites in England, and it is now time for the Acorn project in Scotland also to be given the green light. The Scottish Government has previously committed up to £80 million to make this happen if the UK Government made the necessary commitments. Given the importance of this keystone project for the Scottish economy, we are now willing, as part of a wider package of investment in industrial transformation, to increase Scottish funding for Acorn, subject to investment from the UK Government as was given to the English projects.

My passion to ensure that Scotland is the best that Scotland can be, is what makes me believe in Independence. I believe Independence will transform the life chances of the people of Scotland.

Within the current powers of the Scottish Parliament, I will always strive to ensure the Scottish Government achieves as much as is possible to improve people’s lives.

We have set out bold measures to eradicate child poverty, build a stronger economy, renew the NHS, reduce pressure on family finances and take effective climate action. These priorities are all part of our ambition for Scotland.

Delivering for the people of Scotland is about policy choices but it is also about how we govern.

Over this coming year, I will build on the approach I have taken in my first year as First Minister. I will continue to lead a government that brings people together, because the most effective solutions emerge when we work together.

It will be a government that seeks to empower people and communities, brought together to in common purpose to improve the lives of our people.

It is, and will always be, a government that wants what is best for Scotland – always focused on the priorities of the people of Scotland and working flat out to get Scotland on track for success.

John Swinney MSP

First Minister