Ten key takeaways from John Swinney's new Programme for Government

The First Minister set out the SNP Government’s new Programme for Government on Tuesday.

John Swinney promised Scots will benefit from 100,000 more GP appointments as he announced his “programme for a better Scotland” – which will also see peak-time rail fares scrapped “for good”.

But with the next Holyrood elections being held in a year’s time on May 7, 2026, two of his keynote announcements – on GP appointments and ending peak-time rail fares – echo commitments already made by Scottish Labour.

Claiming the SNP had “nicked” the policies, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “It’s not exactly the borrowing powers I thought the SNP had in mind.”

Ten Key Points from SNP’s Programme for Government

ScotRail peak rail fares ditched for good
ScotRail booze ban “removed and replaced” with time and location restrictions
An extra 100,000 GP appointments promised for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, obesity and smoking conditions
Winter fuel payments for pensioners restored
Anti-misogyny and anti-conversion practice bills scrapped from current SNP agenda
Commitment to keep council tax, water bills “substantially lower” than England and Wales
Prescriptions, eye appointments, bus travel for young, disabled and older people, and university tuition to remain free
Free school meals to be expanded
More rights and stronger protections for tenants
Removing barriers on stalled building sites with the potential to deliver up to 20,000 new homes

Cost of living guarantee

Swinney vowed to keep council tax and water bills “substantially lower” than elsewhere in the UK, while promising to keep prescriptions, eye appointments and university tuition free for the people of Scotland over the next 12 months.

Bus travel for young, disabled and older people in Scotland will also remain free, and parents will continue to benefit from a package of early learning and childcare worth more than £6,000 for every eligible child.

Free school meals will also be expanded, and more breakfast clubs will be introduced, he said.

“Together, this is my cost-of-living guarantee. A package that year on year delivers savings for the people of Scotland, a package that exists nowhere else in the UK,” Swinney told the chamber on Tuesday.

Swinney reaffirmed the Scottish Government’s decision to restore winter fuel payments for Scottish pensioners as well. He said those payments will be made this year.

‘Improving the NHS of central importance’

The First Minister is also planning to make an additional 100,000 GP appointments available over the next 12 months for “key risk factors” – including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, obesity, and smoking.

The programme has also promised to deliver more than 150,000 extra appointments and procedures, including surgeries, diagnostic tests, and targeted cancer pathways, to tackle backlogs and improve wait times.

“While many people’s experience of their GP is excellent, for many others there is deep frustration over the difficulty making appointments and what has been described as the 8am lottery,” Swinney said.

“This is of central importance to me. That is why we are acting to reduce pressure and increase capacity in the system, so that it is easier for people to get the care they need, when they need it.”

His plan also includes a further expansion of Pharmacy First services in the year ahead.

‘Not sufficient time’ for misogyny and conversion therapy bills

The First Minister’s Programme for Government provided a long list of promises and plans for the next 12 months, but he said there were “clearly limits on the amount of legislation” that can be presented.

The SNP Government’s standalone anti-misogyny and anti-conversion therapy bills have both been shelved.

“This government – and I personally – remain entirely committed to tackling misogynistic abuse against women,” he said.

“Regrettably, I do not believe there is sufficient parliamentary time to make progress through a standalone Bill which I would plan to bring forward at the start of the next Parliament.”

In the meantime, SNP ministers will be working to add sex as a protected characteristic to existing hate crimes legislation to protect women and girls, the Government announced last week.

Likewise, the Scottish Government will not seek to bring a standalone bill to ban conversion practices to change or supress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity to the chamber in the next 12 months.

Swinney said conversion practices were both “harmful and abusive”, and he said the Government would work with the UK Government to deliver a nationwide ban.

“If agreement is not possible, we will publish legislation in the first year of the next parliamentary term,” he said.

Tory MSP Alexander Burnett has also pointed out that John Swinney’s Programme for Government also failed to commit to fully dualling the A96 in the next 12 months.

Tenant protections

The new Programme for Government also vowed to introduce new protections for renters in Scotland in the coming year.

The Scottish Government said the programme includes: “More rights and stronger protections for tenants, helping deliver more than 8,000 affordable homes, including for social and mid-market rent, and removing barriers on stalled building sites with the potential to deliver up to 20,000 new homes.”

Peak rail fares ‘scrapped for good’

Swinney also announced his plans to relax the ScotRail booze ban and ditch the reintroduction of peak rail fares – bringing the SNP party in line with Scottish Labour promises.