First Minister to outline ‘significant measures’ to improve quality of housing

Significant measures to safeguard the environment and improve the quality of housing are expected to be announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon when she sets out her legislative plans for the coming year.

Due to be unveiled tomorrow, the 2017/18 Programme for Government, which will include 16 bills to add to the 11 currently in progress, is also expected to include major reforms in education, health and justice.

The First Minister said: “In the last decade, we have achieved many things. We have fashioned Scotland as a modern and outward-looking place.

“I am proud of our work and all that we have achieved. Now we again look to the future. It is time to refocus our efforts and refresh our agenda to meet the changing needs of our people and the unprecedented challenges of our times.

“As technology rapidly advances, so too must our economy. We have a moral responsibility to tackle climate change and an economic responsibility to prepare Scotland for the new, low carbon world.

“This Programme for Government is our plan to shape the kind of Scotland we all seek – an inclusive, fair, prosperous, innovative country, ready and willing to embrace the future.

“It includes major reforms in education, health and justice, new opportunities for our communities and important measures to safeguard the environment and improve the quality of housing.

“Crucially, this Programme for Government also sets out a bold and forward-looking economic vision – sending a clear message to our people, businesses, schools, colleges and universities, and to the wider world: Scotland‘s ambition is to be the inventor and the producer, not just a consumer, of the innovations that will shape the lives of our children and grandchildren.”

The First Minister added: “Of course, Brexit will continue to provide the backdrop to much that we do over the next year. The Scottish Government will continue to make the case for remaining in the single market and customs union. We will take whatever steps we can to protect our economy from the damage Brexit will do.

“But Brexit poses a threat to more than just our economy. It is also a threat to our rights as citizens. That’s why we will work to protect human, environmental, employment and consumer rights. And we will protect the Scottish Parliament by resisting any attempt at a power grab by the UK government.

“Over the next few months, we will also set out the case for further extending the powers of the Scottish Parliament in areas such as immigration, social security, employment rights and trade – and highlight where additional powers would enable us to better achieve the ambitions in this programme. We will seek to build consensus across the political spectrum and civic society.

“This programme sets out our next steps in creating the better future we all want for our nation.”

Scottish Labour urged the SNP to commit to using the powers of the Scottish Parliament to end austerity in Scotland.

The party has outlined a series of policies it believes would make Scotland fairer, including using the social security powers to increase Child Benefit; tackling the cost of living by scrapping the council tax and increasing the number of Scots receiving tax credits.

Interim Labour leader Alex Rowley said: “After a decade in office, the SNP must finally outline a bold and radical agenda in government.

“Holyrood has the powers, now it needs a government with the political will and the ambition to end austerity and tackle poverty head on.

“We have over a quarter of a million children living in poverty in Scotland. The time for tinkering round the edges is over.”

Scottish Greens co-convener, Patrick Harvie MSP, said his party has laid down a challenge to the SNP and Holyrood’s other parties by outlining an alternative Green Programme for Government ahead of this week’s return to parliamentary business.

The six-strong group of Green MSPs are urging the First Minister to prioritise legislation and investment to make Scotland fairer and create a clean economy.

At the top of the Greens’ priorities is bold use of income and local tax powers to tackle inequality, lift communities out of poverty and fund essential public services.

The Green group’s priorities also include empowering councils to build affordable homes and for the forthcoming Climate Bill to include a target of net-zero emissions by 2040 rather than the government’s proposal of a 90% reduction by 2050. They say this will drive job creation in industries with a long term future, instead of leaving Scotland dependent on a dwindling fossil fuel industry, and would improve public health and housing.

Patrick Harvie MSP said: “Ministers must be prepared to go further, and traditional SNP timidity must give way to a bolder, braver agenda. A Green Programme for Government would make the most of new devolved powers to tackle poverty and inequality and would prioritise a shift towards a clean economy that does not rely on oil and gas. With these ideas we will continue to push the SNP beyond their comfort zone, and challenge Holyrood’s other parties to bring forward constructive proposals.”

Scotland’s homelessness membership organisation called for housing and homelessness to be given cabinet-level status within the Scottish Government.

Homeless Action Scotland said that the pace of progress on issues around homelessness need to be accelerated with someone in the heart of the cabinet arguing for the necessary resources to move towards the eradication of homelessness in Scotland.

Homeless Action Scotland chief executive, Gavin Yates, said: “It is heartening to see political parties of all hues energised by the debate over housing and homelessness. Our members on the frontline want to be assured that they will have someone at the heart of government making a passionate case for resources. They also want assurance that every arm of government including the NHS put a forensic focus on ensuring services deliver for vulnerable people.

“Building housing for social rent is huge part of the eradication of homelessness but we need joined up government too with a champion at the cabinet table.

“The new Programme for Government is an opportunity for the Scottish Government to show their ambition to ensure that homelessness becomes a relic of the past and not a stain on our future.”