Key highlights from Humza Yousaf's programme for government - what has the First Minister announced for Scotland?

First Minister Humza Yousaf has focused on poverty and supporting children in his programme for government

Humza Yousaf has revealed his Programme for Government, with a focus on tackling poverty and supporting more children in Scotland.

He began his speech by recounting the experience of his grandfather Muhammad Yousaf, who came to Pollokshields from Pakistan as a young man, and said he was only able to thrive because of the support he received.

Mr Yousaf used this as a jumping off point to go through what he plans to achieve as First Minister, particularly focusing on tackling poverty.

A child carries a tray with food. Free school meals are being extended to P6 and P7 pupils. Picture: Getty Images

Here The Scotsman takes a look at some of the key highlights from his Programme for Government.

Supporting children

The Scottish Government will remove the income thresholds for the Best Start food programme by February.

They say this will mean 20,000 more pregnant mothers and children will benefit from financial support to buy milk and healthy food.

First Minister Humza Yousaf has announced his Programme for Government. Picture: PA

The Government will also invest over £400 million in the Scottish Child Payment.

Free school meals

Humza Yousaf says the Government will increase universal free school meals to children in primary six and seven, starting with those from families receiving the Scottish Child Payment.

Expanding free childcare

Currently all three and four-year-olds and some eligible two-year-olds are able to get 1,140 hours of free childcare.

The Government will now look to expand this to all two-year-olds. Six council areas will also trial a scheme to offer access to childcare from nine months all the way through to the end of primary school.

Help to remove dangerous cladding

In the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster in London, there has been a push to review cladding on buildings and replace any that are deemed to be dangerous.

Mr Yousaf says the Government will bring forward a cladding remediation Bill, and will ask if the Scottish Parliament can be given the power to introduce a levy in Scotland to mirror the UK Government’s building safety levy in England.

Dualling the A9

The First Minister said his Government remained committed to dualling the A9 between Perth and Inverness.

He said Transport Scotland was now at the procurement stage for the Tomatin to Moy section. Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross pressed the First Minister to put a date on when the road will be dualled, but Mr Yousaf was unable to answer.

Increasing pay for social care staff

The Government will look to increase pay for social care staff to £12 an hour. This will result in a £2,000-a-year pay increase for many social care staff from April 2024.

Body cameras for police

The Government will look to get all police officers wearing body worn cameras.

The courts system in Scotland is also facing significant backlogs because of the coronavirus pandemic and because of issues with prison escorts – the Government says it will reduce the backlog by 2024.

Better support for miscarriage

During his speech, Mr Yousaf spoke about his own personal experience of miscarriage.

He says the Government will look to improve support for those experiencing a miscarriage, including not having women waiting until their third miscarriage to get help, improving access to progesterone prescriptions, and having separate spaces within hospitals for families experiencing miscarriages.