Programme for Government announcement – 1^st September 2020

Economy

• With forthcoming withdrawal of furlough scheme, Scottish Government is asking Westminster to extend job retention scheme for 12 months esp. for sectors hardest hit
• Focus on upskilling and re-skilling the workforce
• Youth Guarantee – a new partnership with employers with £60million of investment to guarantee everyone aged 16-24 a job, training, or education
• £10million for employers to recruit and retain apprentices
• National Transition Training fund of £25million launched this Autumn to help up to 10,000 people retrain
• Flexible Workforce Development Fund doubled to £20million to help employers address skills gaps
• £100million green jobs fund
• Greater flexibility over working patterns seen to be beneficial even as people return to offices – new Centre for Workplace Transformation to examine this and look at what support employers and business need to allow this to happen
• Investment in infrastructure by end of next Parliament will be £1.5 billion higher than last year
• £32billion of infrastructure investment over next 5 years, partly in digital infrastructure
• £600million programme to make superfast broadband available to all homes and businesses across Scotland
  • Voucher scheme to ensure everyone in Scotland has access to superfast broadband by end of 2021
• Eliminate digital exclusion – established Connecting Scotland during lockdown to provide tech to people on low incomes
  • By end of 2021: an electronic device, digital training and support, and data for 50,000 people who would not otherwise be able to access it
• Government intends to implement recommendations of Mark Logan review in full – create a network of tech incubators to mentor and train tech start-ups, an ecosystem fund to help start-ups to succeed, provide reskilling opportunities for new jobs in digital industries, work with technology sector on education and investment
• Scottish National Investment Bank launching soon

Greener Scotland

• 2045 net zero emitter
• Create £100million green jobs fund – half for businesses and organisations to grow employment in low carbon sector, half help businesses take advantage of investment in low carbon economy
• £62million Energy Transition Fund to help oil and gas businesses diversify
• Invest £60million to help industrial and manufacturing transition to net zero
• Grangemouth Future Industry Board to promote economic activity whilst moving to low carbon future
• More support for circular economy and new energy technologies
• Launch later this month the first round of a green investment portfolio

Brexit

• By the end of this year will publish a new Inward Investment Plan with aim of creating 100,000 high quality jobs over next decade
• Will publish a draft bill setting out proposed terms and timing for Scottish Independence referendum by end of this Parliament

Health

• Will be launching a new app later this month – ‘Protect Scotland’ – to notify people if they’ve been in close proximity to someone who’s tested positive
• £500million invested in enabling more active travel
• Implement low emission zones in 4 biggest cities by early 2022

Social care services

• Review of adult social care launched today, produce first report by January
  • looking at creation of a National Care Service

Housing

• Extend protection against eviction until March next year
• Establish £10million tenant hardship fund for those struggling due to pandemic
• Publish 20-year vision for housing later this year with promise of investment
• ‘20-minute neighbourhood’ – idea of finding shops, green spaces, work, etc. within 20 minutes’ walk of a good home – aiming to turn this into a reality with £275million for town centre revitalisation and community-led regeneration

Social welfare

• November will start taking applications for Scottish child payment to be received by February – £10/week per child under 6 for eligible families
• £200/child for parents of severely disabled children this winter

Education

• Allocated £80million for recruitment of teachers and support staff
• Will fund additional university places

United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child to be incorporated into law by the end of this year