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Home » News » Taking Scotland forward: priorities for the next five years

Taking Scotland forward: priorities for the next five years

25 May 2016

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon set out the priorities for her government over the next five years, calling this time “a precious opportunity” to work across parliament to make real improvements.

Education is at the heart of the First Minister’s priorities, with Deputy First Minister John Swinney to publish a delivery plan to close the attainment gap in Scottish education before schools break for summer holidays, and for the Scottish Government to hold a major summit on raising attainment in the next few months.

Sturgeon: Government to hold 'major' summit on school reformshttps://t.co/DMEH0KTQ4V pic.twitter.com/L9dJ3rsTHE

— STV News (@STVNews) May 25, 2016

In addition, an extra £750 million will be invested directly in school education over the next five years.

WATCH: @NicolaSturgeon repeats her pledge to close the attainment gap in Scotland's schools https://t.co/fvzFmRd53O pic.twitter.com/XmrNflHf6k

— BBC Scotland News (@BBCScotlandNews) May 25, 2016

The First Minister highlighted that equality of opportunity “starts well before the school years and extends far beyond the school gates”, and announced plans for a baby box for every child born in Scotland containing essential items to provide practical help for parents.

Every child born in Scotland will receive a baby box

Childcare – “the most important infrastructure project of this parliament” – will be expanded to help parents into work. Just as importantly, the First Minister announced that the Government will consider the introduction of a Young Carers’ Allowance to provide extra support for young people with significant caring responsibilities.

New powers over income tax will further increase the importance of the economy in the next five years as there will be a direct link between those who are in work and paying tax. In addition, broadband is at the top of the list of priorities for productivity: the government aims for all premises to have broadband connectivity by 2021, which will transform businesses in remote and rural areas, in particular.

We intend to reach 100% of premises with broadband

Small businesses, “the lifeblood of our economy” will also benefit from the government’s plans, as the Small Business Bonus will be extended by increasing the relief threshold which will lift 100,000 properties out of business rates.

The First Minister concluded that the priorities over the next five years emphasise:

a sense of empowerment – for individuals, for families, for communities and for our country as a whole…by doing so, we can make lasting progress towards true equality of opportunity.”

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Twitter

Watch First Minister @NicolaSturgeon wish everyone celebrating a peaceful and happy #ChineseNewYear ⬇️ #YearOfTheOx pic.twitter.com/Wb6TxVJQrS

A year on from the publication of the Care Review, First Minister @NicolaSturgeon has reaffirmed her commitment to delivering the changes needed to improve the lives of care experienced people #KeepThePromise pic.twitter.com/1y9gOn3HXf

Scotland is committed to ensuring that we use the full potential of the Coalition to deliver ambitious and deliverable plans for a just transition to net zero. We must work together to address the climate crisis and build a greener, fairer and more equal world. pic.twitter.com/hXFnBw0THV

First Minister @NicolaSturgeon has spoken to Minister-President Kretschmann from @RegierungBW to discuss the handover of the European co-chair of the #Under2Coalition from Baden-Württemberg to Scotland as well as a number of other shared priorities. pic.twitter.com/8OqDPpmu6f

“We must continue to try to be the light, wherever there is darkness.” On #HolocaustMemorialDay First Minister @NicolaSturgeon has honoured the victims of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides, and called for everyone to build a safer, more peaceful world. pic.twitter.com/5cOE8KIHoe

FM @NicolaSturgeon has met the National Advisory Council on Women and Girls to discuss the latest @NACWGScot report into tackling gender inequality in Scotland. Check out the full report bit.ly/2020NACWGReport #GenerationEqual pic.twitter.com/adbqX3gNuw

The Scottish Government has lodged a Legislative Consent Memorandum (LCM) with the Scottish Parliament, recommending that consent cannot be given to the UK Government’s “inadequate and damaging” Brexit deal with the EU. More information: gov.scot/news/brexit-de… pic.twitter.com/aF6hfFmDqX

First Minister @NicolaSturgeon has addressed the Zero Carbon Forum and committed to working with our European partners to fight climate change. We are delighted that Mayor @AnneHidalgo signed the Edinburgh Declaration on biodiversity this week, on behalf of the city of Paris. pic.twitter.com/V87NNkLQ2V

We have a winner! Sophie Blackett, Age 10 from Calderwood, East Kilbride has designed the First Minister's 2020 Christmas card.🎄📨 Well done Sophie and thank you to everyone who took part, we had almost 700 fantastic entries.🌟 Sophie's design along with the message inside⬇️ twitter.com/ScotGovFM/stat… pic.twitter.com/EjBNmEaPk4

“We want Scotland to be regarded internationally as a leader on human rights issues.” – First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during a message to mark #HumanRightsDay Watch the full message⬇️ pic.twitter.com/6NXzsQISfR

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