Programme for Government… Some good things but no explicit reference to social work.

This week the First Minister set out the 2023-2024 Programme for Government (PFG) titled Equality, Opportunity, Community. The PFG sets out the legislative and policy agenda of the Scottish Government as the Scottish Parliament returns following summer recess. The PFG contains encouraging steps by government including the First Minister’s reiteration of support for and commitment to convening a sub-cabinet committee on The Promise. The focus on anti-poverty support and initiatives to tackle discrimination across Scotland are certainly welcome, though the proof of government’s commitment to tackling these challenges will be seen in people’s experience of the implementation.  

Major announcements that may be of interest to members include:

Poverty

  • Removing income thresholds for the Best Start foods programme from February 2024.
  • Expanding free school meals to include children in P6-P7 beginning with those in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment. This expansion will begin with families who are in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment, and is welcome although already delayed by years.
  • Calling on the UK Government to introduce an Essentials Guarantee to Universal Credit. BASW-UK echoes this call and has been advocating for an Essentials Guarantee to prevent poverty-related health harms.

Housing

  • Building more affordable homes, many in rural areas.
  • Introducing a new Housing Bill to reform rental sector including extending protections against evictions for private tenancies.

Social care

  • Supporting care leavers into employment, although we have seen little in the way of details yet.   
  • Increasing pay for social care workers to a minimum of £12 an hour.
  • Reintroducing the Independent Living Fund with initial funding of up to £9 million pounds.

Health and substances

  • Investing in drug and alcohol partnerships and following radical, evidence-led, approaches on the ground.
  • Consulting on the ban of single use vapes, having flagged child vaping as a particular concern.

Legislation

  • Introducing a Human Rights Bill.
  • Bringing forward legislation to criminalise misogynistic abuse.
  • Supporting MSP Gillian Mackay’s Bill on safe spaces around abortion services in Scotland.

As much as there is to support, it was very disappointing that the social work profession and proposed National Social Work Agency (NSWA) were not mentioned when the National Care Service (NCS) was referenced. As discussed in our latest Points to Ponder we are working hard with other stakeholders to secure the changes the social work profession so badly needs through the NCS programme. This will remain top of our agenda.