It’s been a fairly quiet start to the SNP’s new government; the timing of the May elections meant that parliament was immediately on summer recess and they had little time to get the ball rolling.
Well, as of the 1st of September, the Scottish parliament is back and First Minister John Swinney is ready to show us what the future of his government looks like.
In terms of immediate announcements, Swinney has announced the expansion of a £2 bus cap to the west of Scotland (Tragically, not including Stirling) from the 7th of September.
There’s also plans to launch a ScotGov app over the autumn to enable people to access a range of services in one place As for other policies, it seems there’s quite a bit longer to wait.
Consultations are beginning on a radical plan to introduce a food price cap for several essential food items. Such a plan is not unprecedented and has been used by a significant amount of Eastern European governments already. It’s not clear what items would be targeted yet or whether the measure would be allowed under devolution.
Swinney also floated a voluntary food price limit, much like the one in France, by meeting with retailers and encouraging them to lower prices on their own. With that being said, such a measure still appears to be a ways off.
To assist parents, Swinney is encouraging the roll-out of primary school breakfast clubs to all schools by 2027 and an expansion of after-school care by 2029. For older pupils, he’s suggested there could be a national mobile phone ban in schools.
In healthcare, another radical plan to cut the number of NHS health boards in mainland Scotland from 14 to just two has also been proposed as well as a plan to build a new university hospital in Monklands.
Finally, a significant portion was devoted to women’s rights through a new Misogyny bill targeting misogynistic harassment and abuse and the establishment of a new sexual offences court.
Overall, it seems Swinney is using his fresh mandate to enact more wide-sweeping change. Though his government has been in charge for more than two years, they seem to want to revitalise their government through incredibly ambitious proposals. Time will tell whether any of this will come to pass.
Featured Image Credit: Scottish Parliament