Scotland’s Programme for Government 2025/26

12th May 2025

Our analysis of the Government’s programme for the year ahead and what it means for the third sector.

The Scottish Government recently announced that it would publish its Programme for Government earlier than normal, to allow one full year of delivery before the Scottish Elections in May 2026.

In his parliamentary statement on 6 May, the First Minister highlighted cross-party working to pass the Scottish Budget for 25/26 and called for the same cooperation to progress the proposals within the new Programme for Government. He also highlighted wider global uncertainty affecting the UK and Scotland as another reason for bringing this forward. 

While the third sector featured in the Programme for Government, there were limited references.  Yet again, there was no real acknowledgement of its importance, detail on the valuable and critical work the sector delivers in communities, or how this directly contributes to economic growth and social wellbeing. Nor was the sector really acknowledged as part of the national response to existential challenges such as climate change.  

And yet, it’s very likely that many of the proposals and commitments made will directly affect how the sector is funded and operates.

The cost of living measures announced are welcome at a time when families and communities are still finding it hard to cover day-to-day costs, and there are some very worthwhile developments linked to employability.

However, Scotland still faces a mountain of challenges as we seek to eradicate poverty.  The voluntary sector in Glasgow sees this first-hand, with families reaching out for help in sometimes desperate circumstances. Planned changes to the benefits system at the UK level will have knock-on impacts for poverty and destitution here in Glasgow, and for public services and the sector more broadly.

Beyond the already announced Fair Funding pilot, there was little in the Programme that offers practical support or financial stability on the ground for the sector.  Whilst we are glad to see the role of the sector in public sector reform being recognised,  we share the concerns of others that these announcements could have been more ambitious and that our sector could have been directly involved in shaping the proposals within the Programme. 

There could also have been more included to acknowledge some of the real challenges facing voluntary organisations, even as demand for services increases.

All of this does not diminish our commitment to work with the Government to help achieve its stated priorities – for the sector, creating a successful, fairer, more equal and compassionate Scotland sits at the heart of what we do. We cannot, however, continue to do more with even less.

How has the sector responded?

The third sector reactions to the Programme for Government include :

• Poverty Alliance – “Government Programme misses the need for fundamental change.”
• Oxfam Scotland – “Treading water in a storm of poverty and inequality.”
• Volunteer Scotland – “..disappointing that yet again there are no concrete actions related to volunteering.”

Our summary of the Programme for Government provides an outline of the themes and some of the key proposals within it:

Read Our Summary

• What it says about the voluntary sector >>
• Growing the Economy >>
• Eradicating Child Poverty >>
• Tackling Climate Change >>
• Public Services >>
• You can read the full document here and also see details of planned legislation here.

The voluntary/third sector:

Fair funding – Recognising the importance of a thriving Third Sector in Scotland, we will deliver the Fairer Funding pilot, providing multi-year funding for Third Sector organisations across Scotland and identifying the lessons from an interim evaluation by May 2026 to inform future approaches. 

Housing – Investing £1 million in a fund administered by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and Homeless Network Scotland, bringing together registered social landlords, third sector organisations and community partners to prevent homelessness and protect tenants’ rights.

Reforming services for the future – We will publish our strategy for Public Service Reform in June 2025, which will set out the actions we will take, with local government, public bodies, the third sector and trade unions, to improve public services. Empowering staff and organisations to remove barriers and deliver more effectively, including supporting the third sector as a key delivery partner.

Social Enterprises/Community Wealth Building (CWB) – Progress the Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill, alongside investment in social enterprises, support for co-operatives and employee-owned firms, as well as continued investment in a CWB practitioner’s network.  This will be supported by the work of the new Economic Democracy Group.

Volunteering was not mentioned at all.

There were missed opportunities to consider the sector’s role and delivery in a range of policy areas, e.g. reducing car use, health and social care planning, better understanding and data on pupils with ASN, etc.

Priorities and Proposals

1. Growing the Economy

This section contains many of the cost of living measures announced or already being delivered as part of a ‘Cost of Living Guarantee’, including:

• A commitment to keep Council Tax and water bills lower than elsewhere;
• Train travel – 1^st Sept 2025, peak rail fares will be scrapped for good;
• Restoration of Winter Fuel Payments for older people, paid from this year;
• Delivery of free childcare and other measures, such as Scottish Child Payment, free school meals for some and access to breakfast clubs.
• A commitment to keep concessionary travel, free prescriptions and student finance as part of the wider Cost of Living support package.

On economic development and business support, some points worth noting include:

• Launching the First Minister’s Start-up Challenge to support young people from disadvantaged or under-represented backgrounds to start and scale innovative businesses;
• Further funding and support for women to start up/scale up businesses;
• National Artificial Intelligence programme for SMEs;
• Delivering increased funding for the Creative sector; other sector support is mentioned especially technology.
• On skills, delivery of a simplified post school funding landscape; establishing a national system for recognition of prior learning; a national approach to skills planning;
• Work with partners to further develop Regional Economic Partnerships with specific work in Glasgow City region on Investment Zones.

2. Eradicating Child Poverty

The First Minister announced plans to consult on a Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, 2026 – 31.

On social security:

• Work to continue to remove the impacts of the two child benefit cap;
• Complete transfer from DWP to Social Security Scotland for disability benefit and carer benefit claimants;
• Introduce additional Carer Support payment where someone is caring for more than one person;

Whole Family Support:

Extension of funding flexibility for whole family support to other areas; expansion of Fairer Future partnerships into other areas.

Employability:

• Reviewing delivery of employability programmes, proposals will be brought forward ahead of the Budget for 26-27, including consideration of a national model;
• Specialist employability support for disabled people delivered from Summer 2025; there will also be investment of £40 million in Local Employability Partnerships for parental employability support;
• Funding pilots to support inclusive recruitment practices e.g. to support disabled people.

Housing:

• Investing in homelessness services, £4m in 2025/26;
• Various commitments including cross sector work to look at improved tenants’ rights and preventing homelessness.

Early Child Development:

A range of proposals focused on all aspects of child development, covering areas such as breastfeeding, language development and building on work to expand childminding businesses.

The Promise:

• Introducing a new Care Leavers payment from 1st April 2026 – a one-off £2,000 payment to help the financial security of young people leaving care;
• Introducing the Children and Young People bill to support delivery of the Promise;
• Uprating Scottish Recommended Allowance for eligible foster and kinship carers;
• Testing the Bairns’ Hoose approach across ten areas,
• Establishing a National Social Work Agency by Spring 2026.

3. Tackling the Climate Emergency

Some of the key points include:

• Making sure that communities hosting infrastructure linked to the Green Industrial strategy and renewables benefit from this;
• Scottish Government will provide up to £8m through the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES), for communities to develop renewable energy projects;
• Working with the UK Government to reform the Planning and Infrastructure Bill – looking to ensure communities can engage earlier in planning for large scale energy generation and networks;
• Expanding support for skills to help businesses and the workforce to adapt to zero emission vehicles;
• Publishing jointly with COSLA a renewed policy statement on reducing car use in Scotland;
• Investing £300 million in 2025-26 to help households and other building owners install energy efficiency and clean heating measures;
• Introducing a Heat in Buildings Bill, setting targets for installing clean heating systems by 2045;
• Improving public-facing energy saving schemes;
• Extending the Nature Restoration fund (multi-year);
• Climate adaptation – expanding coverage of Regional Adaptation Partnerships such as Climate Ready Clyde; establishing a national flood advisory service, continuing to support projects through the Climate Engagement Fund.

4. High Quality and Sustainable Public Services

Any detail on social care improvement or delivery was limited, with a few lines covering:

• The existing plan to establish the National Care Service Advisory Board (already announced),
• The planned launch of a new health and social care app by the end of the year;
• Continued funding of the real living wage in adult and children’s social care
• Publication of a Services Renewal Framework – a 10 year plan to deliver the Scottish Government’s vision for health and social care and the steps for implementation (summer 2025);
• Delivering climate adaptation guidance for the social care sector, recognising that climate damage impacts fall unequally.

There was a strong focus on the NHS in both the First Minister’s statement and in the Programme for Government document looking at:

• Patient focussed reform, investment and ensuring additional capacity;
• Expansion of specialist regional centres, technology use to improve surgical efficiency and an expansion of early cancer diagnosis services;
• Developing frailty teams in A & E departments;
• A focus on waiting list backlogs and creating more capacity in the system;
• GP services – further expansion of Pharmacy First services; freeing up appointments to support health risks such as high blood pressure, obesity and smoking;
• A specific focus on drugs and alcohol addiction, with additional investment in each.  This includes increased investment in rehab beds;
• A focus on improving access to mental health support, including digital services, clearing CAMHS backlogs.

There was also a focus on pandemic preparedness, investment in specialist services for long COVID and ME, and responding to the COVID inquiry findings.

The Programme for Government looked specifically at digital access to care. However, that does risk further exclusion for people who do not have access to or who cannot afford digital devices and connection.  

On education:

• A strong focus on attainment – up to £200m invested in the Scottish Attainment Challenge;
• Supporting the ASN workforce – investing up to £29m in 2025/26;
• Holding a data summit with all local authorities in Scotland on Additional Support for Learning focused on action to improve identification, support and reporting of children’s needs;
• A specific focus on attendance and online safety activity (Ministerial Taskforce).

On public safety, a raft of measures linked to justice, victim support and a mention specifically of employability support for prisoners included, alongside a commitment to work with partners in the justice system to strengthen alternatives to remand.

On transport:

• Launch of a new Bus Infrastructure Fund;
• Abolition of peak rail fares.

On Public Service reform:

• Public service reform strategy will be published in June 2025; and there’s a nod to the role of the third sector in the Programme for Government;
• Aiming to instil a prevention first approach to delivery, alongside a focus on efficiency; digital remains a key part of public service reform;
• Scottish Government working towards the launch of a blueprint for democratic community decision-making models and testing these, including the citizens’ assembly approach.

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