Nicola Sturgeon says Scotland has UK's best NHS service

Scotland’s stretched national health service is the best in the UK, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has claimed.

Unveiling the Scottish Government’s programme for 2018-19, she told colleagues at Holyrood today (Tuesday) there were “significant challenges” ahead, not least adapting to the ageing population.

She reaffirmed that NHS staff would receive a “minimum” nine per cent pay rise over the next three years and she pledged to continue investing record sums in the service while progressing reforms on delivery of care. Childhood obesity will be a key focus.

Ms Sturgeon acknowledged that rising demand had put “significant pressure” on waiting times and that “current performance is not good enough”.

A “waiting times improvement plan” will be published later this month.

The First Minister’s programme statement made only a passing reference to upgrading the north’s key transport link.

She said: “In the coming year, we will continue to make progress towards the dualling of the A9.”

Ms Sturgeon pledged that Scotland would remain “an open, inclusive and outward looking nation” and “make the positive case for immigration”.

Part of that, she said, meant protection for EU citizens already living in Scotland.

“We will argue that they should not have to pay settled-status fees post-Brexit,” she said.

EU migrants already here were also promised the continued right to vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections.

On the environment, she claimed Scotland would be “carbon neutral by 2050”.

Ms Sturgeon reminded colleagues that last year she announced an ambition for removing petrol and diesel-fuelled cars “by 2032” and that “further progress” would be made towards that goal with the investment of £15 million for 1500 more electric charge points in homes, business and council premises across Scotland.

She said the Scottish Government would outlaw the manufacture and sale of plastic-stemmed cotton buds and pursue action to reduce other plastic pollution.

The introduction of a “best start” grant in the next year, benefiting an estimated 50,000 families each year, will give new parents on low incomes £600 on the birth of a first child, £300 on the birth of a subsequent child plus £250 for each child starting nursery and again when they start school.

On Broadband, she said the Scottish Government had exceeded its target of making it available to 95 per cent of properties and that contracts would be awarded in the coming year to guarantee Scotland “universal superfast Broadband coverage”.

To boost exports, she promised to create 100 “business-to-business peer mentorships” each year and to increase export finance support for companies looking to enter new markets.

The First Minister said recorded crime was at its lowest level since 1974 and that the reconviction rate was at its lowest in almost 20 years.

She promised Police Scotland a £31 million injection for new technology and to aid “partnership working”.

The fire service was promised an extra £15 million to help with the introduction of rapid response vehicles and more full-time posts in rural communities.

More funding for rape crisis services was pledged along with a crackdown on drug-driving with a range of new limits from next year encompassing 17 different drug types.

Responding to the statement, Scottish Conservatives’ leader Ruth Davidson described the programme as a “hangover” from an SNP government “running out of time”.

Scottish Liberal Democrats’ leader Willie Rennie said it was “light on substance”.

Noting next year’s 20 anniversary of the Holyrood parliament, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said it was time to “re-awaken hope” by making radical change.

Scottish Greens co-convener Patrick Harvie branded the SNP government programme “a missed opportunity”.