Alex Salmond: My plans for a safer, stronger, greener, wealthier Scotland

Published on Wednesday 3 September 2008 22:06

YESTERDAY, I set out the second legislative programme of this government at Holyrood. It is a programme that sets out a clear, consistent and confident direction for Scotland. It is, of course, the programme of a minority government, so we remain dependent on the support of other parties across this chamber to secure progress.

This government has a single, overarching purpose: to increase sustainable growth. That purpose is supported by our strategic objectives: building a Scotland that is safer and stronger; greener; healthier; smarter; wealthier and fairer.

Currently, the most powerful lever that any Scottish Government can use is the Scottish Budget. However, that budget is fixed, and the Scottish Government has no ability to borrow and very limited discretion on taxation. Thus, if we spend more in one area, the consequence is lower spending elsewhere.

This is a particular frustration at a time when it seems glaringly obvious that the economy requires a substantial fiscal stimulus, a reflation, to boost demand and confidence.

This year's Budget Bill will seek parliamentary approval for our spending plans for 2009-10, and will include fast-tracked investment designed to encourage and support key areas of Scotland's economy.

In line with our commitment to a fairer Scotland, this year we will also introduce the Council Tax Abolition Bill. This government is committed to replacing the regressive, unfair, deeply unpopular council tax with a fair system of local taxation, based on the ability to pay.

This change will help to lift thousands of Scots out of poverty. And, by delivering a net tax cut of 281 million, it will provide a vital financial boost to low and middle-income households across the country as the biggest tax cut in a generation. The abolition of council tax will lift 85,000 individuals from poverty and save the average Scottish family between 350 and 535 per year.

A key tenet of driving Scotland's economy forward lies in harnessing our stock of natural capital. There is no dispute that climate change is the one of the most serious threats we face. Urgent action is needed to cut emissions which cause climate change. The Scottish Climate Change Bill will introduce a target to reduce emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 – and a statutory framework to support its delivery.

This goal not only substantially exceeds the UK government's 60 per cent target, it goes further still: placing Scotland at the forefront of global action on climate change.

Annually, Scotland's seas generate at least 2.2 billion of marine industry – excluding oil and gas – and support approximately 50,000 jobs. Our seas are also home to 40,000 marine species, including 6,500 animal and plant species. Our Marine Bill aims to balance the long-term viability and growth of all these industries with enhanced protection of our special marine environment, and simplify existing marine legislation.

The Flood Risk Management Bill will strengthen co-ordination and co-operation and create a single enforcement authority for the safe operation of Scotland's reservoirs and help deliver a sustainable, risk-based approach to flood-risk management.

To make Scotland's communities safer, we are working with police forces to ensure that, by 2011, there will be an additional 1,000 police officers recruited to police our streets. And last year, as we promised, 150 officers were recruited and paid for by the Scottish Government – and are already working in Scotland's communities. This year we will recruit an additional 450 officers over and above forces' own recruitment plans.

As of June this year, we have a record number of 16,339 police officers on our streets, keeping Scotland safe. There are three new bills designed to improve Scotland's justice system.

The Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill will ensure that prison remains the correct disposal for serious and violent offenders, reform community punishments available to the courts and a Sentencing Council to ensure public confidence in sentencing decisions.

This bill also proposes to prohibit off-sales to under 21s, set a minimum price for alcoholic drinks and introduce a social responsibility fee to improve Scotland's relationship with alcohol.

The Legal Profession Bill will improve the structures of the profession and The Arbitration Bill will ensure the arbitration procedure becomes more accessible to benefit those wishing to settle disputes outwith the court system, while maintaining the legal profession's independence and strength.

Our Health Bill will help ensure that the future of GP services in Scotland remains within the NHS family and tackle the huge problems caused by tobacco – a major factor in health inequality in Scotland and a major cause of the "big three" killers: cancer, coronary heart disease and strokes – by controlling its availability and control. We will introduce a tobacco sales registration scheme and restrict display of tobacco products in shops.

In education, local government is fully supportive of the ambitions we share for our young people and also firmly behind the proposals in our Children's Hearings Bill, which will modernise and strengthen the Children's Hearings System, bringing 33 separate organisations under one new national body, leading to better outcomes for children and families.

The trend of rural schools closures causes us concern – Scotland has around 1,000, representing 41 per cent of our primaries and 23 per cent of secondaries. Since 1999, more than 50 rural schools have been closed, but Our Rural Schools Bill will introduce a presumption against their closure.

We will also introduce amending legislation through the Additional Support for Learning (Amendment) Bill to enable parents and young people to make out-of-area placing requests.

Finally, there are three new bills concerning the governance of Scotland. Our aim to introduce a Referendum Bill on Scottish independence is widely known and we will introduce it in 2010, exactly as we promised in our manifesto.

The Public Services Reform Bill will introduce further substantive improvements in Scottish governance by help achieve this government's commitment to reduce the number of Scottish public bodies by 25 per cent by 2011. This will also give legal status to Creative Scotland, subject of course to parliamentary will.

The Legislative Reform Bill will take forward recommendations made by the subordinate legislation committee and cover the scrutiny of secondary legislation.

Lastly, we will introduce the Scottish Parliament and Local Government Elections Bill to separate the timing of Scottish parliamentary and local government elections and create a chief returning officer for Scotland to increase public confidence in the electoral process.

This legislative programme is an important step towards building a strong and purposeful Scottish society that will move Scotland forward.