Charities respond to John Swinney’s Scottish Government agenda for the year

Campaigners say the Scottish Government’s final programme for government before the next election falls far short of the decisive action needed to deliver perceptible progress on poverty, inequality and the climate crisis – branding it a failure of ambition at a critical juncture.  

Speaking one year since he was elected first minister and one year before the end of this parliament, John Swinney committed to a package of cost of living initiatives for households and businesses and a new Six Point Export Plan to unlock target markets. 

He set out plans to strengthen the NHS with the delivery of extra GP appointments for key health risks such as high blood pressure, and 150,000 more NHS appointments and procedures, including a 50% increase in surgical procedures such as hip and knee replacements.  

The SNP leader said his governments plans came at a time of global economic challenges.

The first minister said: “This programme for government is focused on providing the best cost of living support across the UK, as well as delivering a renewed and stronger NHS.   

“When I became first minister a year ago, I heard loud and clear people’s concerns about the NHS which is why I am taking serious action to ensure the NHS meets the needs of the public.  

“This PfG also shows decisive action to protect Scotland’s economy and maximise our economic potential in the face of global challenges.   

“It is being published earlier than usual, in part because it allows a clear year of delivery on the NHS and other public services, but also due to the scale of the looming economic challenge.    

“It is a programme for a better Scotland, for a stronger NHS and a more resilient and wealthier Scotland. It is a programme for government that gets our nation on track for success.” 

Ahead of the PfG, Oxfam Scotland said it had laid out a clear, practical set of recommendations for progress, one that didn’t rely on distant promises, but focused on actions that could be delivered now. 

Campaigners are now calling on all parties at Holyrood to step up as they shape their 2026 election manifestos. With poverty and inequality rampant and the climate crisis deepening, Oxfam Scotland says now is the time for bold near-term action, not empty long-term promises. 

Jamie Livingstone, head of Oxfam Scotland, said: “This programme for government is too quiet on inequality, too soft on polluters and too slow on change: Scottish ministers are once again treading water while the storms of poverty, inequality and the climate crisis rage.  

“Warm words and promises of a future child poverty delivery plan aren’t good enough. While compensating those impacted by the UK-wide two-child limit is welcome, not raising the Scottish Child Payment is a political and moral failure.  

“And while permanently scrapping peak rail fares is positive, if we’re serious about making Scotland fairer and greener, we need much bolder action, backed by fair taxation. Scottish ministers must stop dithering and start delivering.” 

This view was echoed by other social justice charities. 

Claire Telfer, head of Save the Children Scotland, said: “We needed to see bold action from the Scottish Government today on child poverty, but this programme for government simply doesn’t do enough. A month ago, the Scottish Government learned it had missed its own child poverty targets. It is appalling that 22% of children across Scotland are being held back by poverty. This programme for government offers little to suggest a brighter picture for families next year.

“But that said, progress is being made and child poverty is falling in Scotland. That is welcome and a result of good policy choices. The first minister is right to recognise the huge bills families are facing. We welcome further help for families with essential costs, but the changes are at the margins. We need bolder, quicker action to realise the scale of the challenge.

“People in Scotland want to see decision-makers show leadership and invest in our children to realise the next generation’s potential. The Scottish Government could have used this opportunity to increase the Scottish Child Payment to give more children a decent start in life.

“Heartbreakingly, the poverty rate for families with a baby rose last year. One in three babies begin life in poverty. Having a baby should not push families into poverty. We need to see clear action from the government to support families at this critical time in a child’s life.

“We are now just a year away from the next Scottish election and the government is at risk of missing its own targets for reducing child poverty. We need all political parties to step up to the plate and work together for children.”

Climate campaigners said the programme for government risks “greenwashing” fossil fuels after the first minister pledged more than £80 million to the struggling Acorn carbon capture project.  

Earlier this week, campaigners released a list of ten major climate policies that have been “scrapped or vanished” in the last 12 months under John Swinney as first minister.

These included dropping the targets to cut car use, weakening plans to phase out fossil fuel heating and the disappearance of the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan.   

Friends of the Earth Scotland head of campaigns Caroline Rance said: “Scottish Government ministers have been guilty of paying lip service to climate action for too long, and this hollow programme contained very little to suggest that they will deliver the transformative change needed to improve lives and cut pollution.  

“Climate solutions are the same as the solutions to the cost of living crisis – cheaper energy in warmer homes, affordable public transport and secure jobs building the green infrastructure we need. While it is welcome to see ministers committing to ending peak rail fares once and for all, far more is needed to give public and active transport the priority they deserve.  

“Tens of millions of pounds of public money should not be going to subsidise the carbon capture greenwash of big oil companies. Decades of evidence of carbon capture failures should not be outweighed by the demands of oil lobbyists who are using it to try and obscure their climate-destroying fossil fuel burning plans.”

Karen Blackport, co-convenor of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance and chief executive of Bright Green Nature, added: “Once again nature is the Scottish Government’s blind spot, undermining John Swinney’s promises to make Scots healthier and wealthier. This is a missed opportunity for transforming Scotland from one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries to a forward-looking Rewilding Nation with 30% nature recovery across land and sea.

“Rewilding boosts health, jobs and local economies, and helps tackle climate breakdown – but the government still lacks a nature minister or a plan for the large-scale recovery of Scotland’s ecosystems. Instead, ministers are backtracking on beavers, stalling on real protections for marine areas, and showing a loss of nerve on lynx reintroduction by dodging reasoned debate on this crucial issue.

“We want to see a programme for government that makes Scotland healthier, wealthier - and wilder.”

Sara Redmond, chief officer at the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE), called for the focus on the NHS to be matched with support for social care. 

She said: “The ALLIANCE welcome actions in the programme for government to deliver a Fairer Funding Pilot for the third sector, more social security payments, and more NHS procedures and GP appointments. It is however critical that the focus is on improving the health and wellbeing of the population rather than merely on counting the activities delivered. 

“We are also disappointed to see the lack of equivalent focus on social care, compared with the NHS. The social care sector is facing multiple crises, and in the wake of the National Care Service being shelved, facing an uncertain future with inadequate funding and a lack of much-needed transformational change. 

“The ALLIANCE would urge the Scottish Government to match the commitments to funding and reform in the NHS with a similar focus on social care in the next year – in particular taking urgent action to mitigating the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance Contributions which are threatening the viability of the third sector.”