Five policy areas Humza Yousaf must make headway with in early weeks as First Minister

Humza Yousaf has inherited a bursting in-tray on his desk as the newly-appointed First Minster, but what policy areas does he need to urgently tackle?

Gender Recognition Reform and Section 35

The dispute between the UK and Scottish governments over Holyrood’s gender reforms was a key dividing line during the SNP leadership race, with Mr Yousaf the only candidate of the three stating he would, as a starting point, challenge the section 35 order.

There is limited time to do so, with the deadline within the next few weeks. The First Minister must decide, soon, whether to challenge the order. The legal advice from the Lord Advocate will be key to his decision making.

First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf

Conversion therapy

The next battleground on social issues will be the planned ban on conversion therapy. Plans for a total ban are already causing backlash from faith groups.

This policy is a key tenet of the Bute House Agreement and will not be dropped, but making urgent progress on it will also be central to Mr Yousaf’s early weeks in power.

Will he be able to cope with the intense scrutiny on the Bill, which will anger internal opponents who believe it criminalises aspects of gender critical beliefs, as well as the UK Government, which is, at best, undecided on the final scope of its own ban?

Deposit return scheme

Mr Yousaf has repeatedly said he wants the maligned deposit return scheme to be simplified for small businesses, as was trailed in the dying days of the Sturgeon government at First Minister’s Questions.

His spokesperson also suggested in a briefing the First Minister was also considering whether to delay the scheme’s implementation beyond the August 16 ‘go-live’ date.

However, as yet, neither move has seen much serious movement in the public eye, and there is also the unresolved issue of the Internal Market Act and the lack of an exemption for the scheme.

Progress on this is needed sooner, rather than later, if the SNP are truly to reset its relationship with the business community.

National Care Service and health

As a former health secretary, the new First Minister’s overriding priority should be to help progress NHS recovery so that is no longer a buzzword and is instead a reality.

The future of the National Care Service, billed as the most significant public service reform in Scotland since the NHS was created, is also up in the air.

Mr Yousaf said he would consider delaying the passing of legislation, and doing so sooner rather than later would be less painful for the Government.

SNP party reform

One of the SNP’s biggest problems is not a government one, but a party one, and that is the perception – fair or not – that the party is secretive, opaque, and bordering on deceptive and fraudulent.

The ongoing police investigation into the party’s finances is an unwanted distraction for Mr Yousaf, but he pledged reform of the party machine throughout the campaign.

What this actually means in practice will be key to whether he can silence internal critics who made it clear throughout the leadership contest they believed the machine was behind him.

Merely making cosmetic changes will do nothing to quieten the voices of discontent. Serious change and reform is required to allow the SNP move on.

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