Chamber and committees

We took steps in the budget to make provision to expand a number of relevant areas. The bright start breakfast fund is one example of that and the expansion of free school meals to around 25,000 more pupils in low-income households will be another. The steps that we are taking to lift the two-child benefits limit will help to address some of the points that Rona Mackay has raised.

I will address some of the specific points that Jackie Dunbar raises with me. Average council tax charges for band E properties are £600 lower in Scotland compared with England and £400 lower than in Wales. Our provisions on early learning and childcare essentially represent a benefit of about £6,000 per child per year. In relation to tuition fees, students in England pay £28,605, while Scotland-domiciled students have continued to have free university tuition. I think that those are some of the answers that Jackie Dunbar was looking for.

On the A9, the programme for government reaffirms the timetable that has already been shared with the Parliament. There is no deviation from that timetable. Last week, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport was up at the Moy to Tomatin stretch of the A9 to see the start of the works there. In line with the timetable that she has shared with the Parliament, further steps will be taken for new sections to be put out to tender. Indeed, there is already a tendering exercise out for one of the other sections of the A9.

In relation to the A96, we remain absolutely committed to dualling the Inverness to Nairn section, including the Nairn bypass. Made orders were published on 12 March 2024 to deliver that particular road. Progress is under way, and we will continue to keep the Parliament informed of developments.

I welcome Lorna Slater’s encouragement on peak rail fares. The Government faced difficult financial choices at the time of addressing that issue. We have got public finances into a stronger position, so we are now able to afford that policy, which we will be delighted to introduce. Of course, it will make a big difference for travellers around the country.

On the question of cheaper buses, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport has progressed the pilot work that we agreed in the budget process, and we will examine its results with interest. Financial support through concessionary travel for people aged under 22 or over 60 and for disabled people is making a significant contribution to supporting bus travel in Scotland.

Working to deliver a stronger NHS, giving the people of Scotland the best cost of living support of any part of the UK, and taking action to protect Scotland’s economy and maximise our economic potential in the face of global challenges, this is a Government that has at its heart what is best for Scotland.

Since becoming First Minister last year, I have sought to focus Government efforts on four central priorities. We seek a wealthier Scotland, with higher standards of living for the people of Scotland and action to grow Scotland’s economy; a fairer Scotland, with Scotland’s growing wealth shared more fairly so that we can remove the scourge of child poverty from our land; and a greener Scotland, with action to maximise the benefits felt by the people of Scotland from our renewable energy wealth, benefits in terms of lower bills and well-paid jobs, and action to reduce emissions and protect and restore our stunning natural environment. We also seek public services that meet and, indeed, exceed the expectations of the people of Scotland. Have no doubt that many of our public services already meet those expectations, but, where action is needed to reform and renew, this Government will take it.

Progress for Scotland underpins each of our priorities and is at the heart of everything that we will do. I want a Scotland that we can be proud of—a Scotland that is the best that it can possibly be. That ambition is what gets me up every morning, and at the very heart of that is the eradication of child poverty.

Last year, when I presented my programme for government, I referred to the eradication of child poverty as

“the moral compass of my Government”.

It remains so, and it will until there is not one child left in poverty in Scotland.

I also said:

“it is the greatest investment in our country’s future that we can possibly make.”—[Official Report, 4 September 2024; c 24.]

In these times of cost of living pressures, that investment becomes ever more important, because these things disproportionately hurt our society’s poorest. That is why, over the current session of Parliament, we have increased the Scottish child payment from the original proposal that was put to us of a £5 payment to £27.15, and created a broader package of family payments that can be worth roughly £25,000 by age 16.

Our policies are making a difference. It is estimated that, on average, the lowest-income households with children will be £2,600 better off this year as a result of Scottish Government policies. By 2029-30, that is expected to grow to an average of £3,700.

The proportion of children who are living in relative poverty has reached its lowest level since 2014-15, and Scotland is making deeper and quicker progress than the rest of the United Kingdom. While the Joseph Rowntree Foundation predicts that child poverty will rise in other parts of the United Kingdom by 2029, it states that policies such as our Scottish child payment, and our commitment to end the cruel two-child limit,

“are behind Scotland bucking the trend”.

However, if we want to truly eradicate child poverty in Scotland, we must go further, and I recognise that. We are taking steps to lift the two-child limit, and we remain on track to deliver that measure to lift more children out of poverty next April. We must also ensure that public services are more joined up in their response, and more family centred and person centred, so that vulnerable families receive the focused help that they need rather than simply the help that is available.

In the coming year, we will consult on, develop and publish a tackling child poverty delivery plan for 2026 to 2031, which will outline the actions that we will take with our partners for low-income families across Scotland to keep us on the journey to meet our poverty reduction targets for 2030. I can assure members that that will focus on reducing household costs, boosting incomes through social security and helping more people into fair and sustainable jobs, all of which play a central part in tackling not only the symptoms but the root causes of poverty in our society.

There is always much more that we are doing than can be mentioned in a short parliamentary statement. I therefore encourage members, and their constituents, to read the programme for government carefully. They will see our on-going commitment to achieving net zero by 2045; action to maximise the environmental and economic benefits from our vast renewable energy wealth; and steps to decarbonise heating and further decarbonise our transport network.

To give just one example, I am proud that we have achieved our target of installing 6,000 public charge points for electric vehicles, two years ahead of schedule. However, more is needed, which is why, in the year ahead, we will introduce a new rural and island EV infrastructure grant, supporting our commitment to establish approximately 24,000 additional public electric vehicle charge points by 2030.

The public will notice, in our programme for government, the priority that we are giving to the ABC of education—attendance and attainment, behaviour and relationships, and the curriculum. We are taking action in partnership with local government, parents, carers, pupils and schools to raise attainment and address problems of attendance; tackle behavioural challenges in our classrooms head-on; and reform the curriculum so that young Scots are fully equipped to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of this new age.

There is action to help to regenerate our town centres; investment in thousands of new homes; record funding for the culture sector; new protections for renters; expansion of dental provision; a focus on additional support needs in our schools, and much, much more.

It is a programme for government, but it is also a programme for a better Scotland. It is a programme for a stronger NHS, for a more resilient Scotland and for a wealthier Scotland. Centred on delivery and providing hope, it is a programme that seeks what is best for Scotland—a programme for government that gets our nation on track for success.

Two specific measures will help in that respect. One is the expansion of pharmacy first services, which will provide ever more access to healthcare interventions for members of the public. Secondly, the additional capacity that is being created in GP services will ensure that a range of appointments is available to deal with core health conditions. Together, those two measures will help to address many of the challenges that we face in accessing local healthcare services, which I recognise to be of vital importance to everyone in Scotland.

The second point that I would make to Mr Griffin—I made this point to him at First Minister’s question time last week, and I am surprised that he has not taken account of it—is that, in Scotland, in the face of austerity, we have delivered more affordable houses per head of population than have been delivered in England or Wales. The Government’s programme will build on exactly that.

We are investing about £185 million each year, enabling 25,000 people to undertake modern apprenticeships each year. We will continue to support around 38,500 apprentices who are already in training as part of our wider programme.

The issue that Mr Gibson raises touches on the availability of an adequately sized working-age population, which is a strategic challenge for Scotland and is made worse because of the loss of the free movement of individuals as a consequence of Brexit. There are steps that could help us to strengthen Scotland’s employment base if we had a larger working-age population who would be able to benefit from the training opportunities that we can provide.

Mr Ewing raises an important point about the need for energy security and for base-load capacity. I do not doubt the premise of the question that he puts to me.

The issues can be addressed in different ways, however. As part of the renewable energy mix, we can take steps on long-duration energy storage technologies; we can take forward work on pumped hydro storage; and we can take steps on battery storage.

Mr Ewing asked me specifically about gas power stations. He will know that there is a live planning application with ministers, so I will avoid commenting on that question, but there is a wider solution to the important issue that Mr Ewing puts to me, which has to be addressed to deliver security and safety for the population of Scotland.

It is factually accurate, Mr Marra, believe you me.

On primary pupils’ attainment, the literacy gap among pupils in primaries 1, 4 and 7 combined is at its lowest level ever, at 20.2 percentage points. That debunks what Pam Duncan-Glancy is saying to me.

When it comes to behaviour interventions, the Government is taking steps, which have been consulted on in Parliament, to support the teaching profession in tackling unacceptable behaviour in our schools. Further steps are being taken to address the issue of absence from schools, which I recognise, and the Government accepts, is unacceptable at its current levels, because it deprives young people of their engagement in learning. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills is bringing forward measures to ensure that the attendance issue is addressed by our communication and engagement with school communities in that respect.

I can assure Pam Duncan-Glancy that the Government is taking every step that we can to strengthen attendance and participation in education.