Government will act to ‘repay trust of people of Scotland’, vows Swinney

John Swinney has said his Government’s agenda for the next five-year parliamentary term will “repay the trust of the people of Scotland by relentlessly delivering for them”.

The First Minister is due to present his Programme for Government to MSPs when the Scottish Parliament returns after the summer recess on Tuesday.

This will be a roadmap of the Government’s priorities and policy agenda through to 2031.

Mr Swinney has said the programme will aim to build a stronger economy and “eradicate child poverty”.

The SNP leader also said his Government “will continue to advance Scotland’s democratic right to determine its own future”.

Earlier this week, Scottish ministers published draft legislation to hold a second independence referendum.

The UK Government has said another independence referendum is “off the table”.

Mr Swinney said: “My Government is focused on making tangible improvements to people’s lives.

“We will repay the trust of the people of Scotland by relentlessly delivering for them.

“That means building a stronger economy to eradicate child poverty and create jobs, attract investment, raise living standards and put more money into the pockets of working families.

“Our approach will be guided by the values of inclusion, compassion and equality. We want every person, family and community to have the opportunity to fulfil their potential and share in Scotland’s success.

“We will also focus on prevention, drive public sector reform where it is needed, and ensure investment is directed towards frontline services to improve outcomes for people and communities.

“At the same time, we will continue to advance Scotland’s democratic right to determine its own future.

“By ensuring decisions about Scotland are taken here, we can build a fairer and more prosperous country, strengthen public services, reduce energy costs and do more to eradicate child poverty.”

The Scottish Green Party said the upcoming programme should see action taken against large data centres in Scotland.

Economy spokesperson Patrick Harvie said: “All over the country people are deeply concerned about the impact that hyperscale data centres could have on their community.

“Councils are being asked to rule on these huge new developments, which could have massive demands on our electricity system, without any clear plan from the Scottish Government.

“We cannot let Scotland become a dumping ground for energy-hungry data centres.

“When the First Minister unveils his programme this week he must finally put the brakes on these speculative developments and bring forward a proper national strategy.

“The stakes are high. If we get this wrong, we risk locking Scotland into huge new energy demands, putting pressure on our electricity system and undermining our climate commitments.

“There is still time to act, but that window is closing. I hope this is when we will finally start to see real action from the Scottish Government.”