The Scottish First Minister said his Programme for Government statement on Tuesday will be ‘focused on the priorities of the people of Scotland’.
Tackling cost-of-living pressures will be the “principle issue” for John Swinney as he sets out a Programme for Government that he said will be “focused on the priorities of the people of Scotland”.
With MSPs returning from their summer recess on Tuesday, the Scottish First Minister will make his keynote statement, setting out his government’s plans for the coming year – and also for the five-year term at Holyrood.
He has already told how he wants to bring “radical change” to Scotland over that period, with “significant” reform of the country’s public services.
But he also said his plans “will be focused on the priorities of the people of Scotland”, adding that “the principle issue in that will be tackling the cost of living challenges members of the public face”.
The SNP leader however has faced a backlash from the business sector over his proposed food price cap – which could see the Scottish Government step in to limit the amount that can be charged for some staple products.
Elsewhere it has been reported that ministers could be about to cut the number of health boards in Scotland in a bid to save cash.
The government has already stressed the need for change in Scotland’s public services, with the country facing a projected near £5 billion black hole in the budget by the end of the decade.
Mr Swinney has already said that this Holyrood term will be one of “radical change” with the government looking to “embrace very actively public service reform”.
Speaking on Monday, the SNP leader vowed he would “set out the practical steps we are taking forward in relation to public service reform”.
Mr Swinney said: “It is vital that we have public services that have people right at the centre of those public services and they are able to deliver for the people of our country.
“That has to be done within the resources that we have available, and in a way that strengthens the delivery of public services.”
With the SNP having won a record fifth consecutive term in government after May’s Scottish Parliament election, Mr Swinney said: “The Programme for Government will be about me delivering to the people of Scotland on the basis of the trust they have placed in the government.”
The First Minister insisted that “the government’s programme around eradicating child poverty, around growing our economy, around making the transition to net zero and strengthening our public services is the right agenda”.
But he added: “We have to adapt to tackle the issues that are concerning members of the public, and cost-of-living issues are central in that respect.”
Mr Swinney also stressed however the importance of measures to grow Scotland’s economy – saying this would help provide the necessary resources for work such as tackling child poverty and improving public services.
His comments came as he visited Ingenza in Edinburgh, with Mr Swinney saying firms like it were “at the heart of Scotland’s economic possibilities and opportunities”.
He described the business as being “a highly sophisticated research organisation that is able to work with our universities in taking forward some of the research ideas that emerge from our universities and putting them out for commercial application”.
Mr Swinney added: “That is how we generate economic opportunity and economic growth within Scotland and that whole issue and ambition will be central to the government’s programme, because the more we grow our economy the more we can eradicate child poverty, the more we can strengthen our public services.”
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said called on the First Minister to use Tuesday’s Programme for Government statement to “ditch his high-tax, high welfare spend approach that is harming Scotland”.
Mr Findlay said: “He’s spent the months after the election chasing quick headlines and promoting gimmicks instead of tackling the major issues affecting the country.
“This SNP Programme for Government should focus on bringing down people’s bills which are continuing to soar everywhere they look.
“He should start by reining in the nationalists’ ballooning benefits bill which is completely unsustainable and will have to be paid for by higher taxes and more cuts to public services.”
Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay meanwhile said her party wanted to see action on both the cost of living and the climate crisis.
She said: “This must be a bold and ambitious plan that puts money in people’s pockets and protects our communities from climate chaos.”
In the wake of a “summer of wildfires and extreme weather”, she insisted that “Scotland must stand firm against new oil and gas drilling, as the SNP Government did under Nicola Sturgeon, and take action against climate-wrecking hyperscale data centres that threaten our communities”.
