Amid the Brexit farce, here’s 7 ways we’re getting on with the day job

by Olaf Stando
Posted on
6 years ago
3 min read

While Westminster descends ever deeper into chaos, with the Brexit deal vote postponed and the Tory party in disarray, the SNP is getting on with the business of governing Scotland.

Here are just some ways we’re continuing to take Scotland on a path of progress:

1) We’re creating a record number of jobs

We’re working with businesses, empowering entrepreneurship and fostering an economy fit for the future.

As a result, unemployment in Scotland has fallen to 3.7% – the lowest rate on record. This also means that Scotland has the lowest unemployment rate in the UK.




2) We’re delivering affordable homes across the country

Making sure everyone has a safe, warm and affordable home is central to our drive for a fairer, more prosperous Scotland.

Since taking office in 2007, the SNP has delivered over 80,000 affordable homes. 
And we’re not stopping here: we have an ambitious target to deliver at least 50,000 high-quality affordable homes – including 35,000 for social rent – during the course of this Parliament.

Per head of population, 50% more affordable homes and more than five times as many social rented properties exist in Scotland compared to England.



3) We’re giving babies the best start in life

On top of the Baby Box, which provides essential items for the earliest stages in life and is available to every child born in Scotland, we’re now accepting applications for the Best Start Grant.

These payouts are available to mothers who are past 24 weeks in their pregnancy, or have babies under 6 months, and receive welfare benefits.

4) We’re refurbishing schools and increasing the number of teachers

This year alone, there are 447 more teachers, and we now have the highest number of teachers since 2010. 
We’re also refurbishing schools at a record rate: 96 schools across Scotland were built or substantially refurbished in 2018.

Meanwhile, the proportion of primary pupils achieving the targets in listening, talking, reading, writing and numeracy is higher than last year. This coincides with the first year of our £120m Pupil Equity Fund, and demonstrates the impact of our investment in schools and in teachers.

5) We’re taking bold steps to tackle homelessness

Everyone deserves a safe and warm place to sleep this winter. That’s why we recently announced £370,000 of extra funding to support those facing rough sleeping, which will help more people into temporary accommodation.

Since 2007, we have made huge progress in tackling homelessness and Scotland now has some of the strongest rights for homeless people in the world. However, there’s still lots more to do and we have set out our ambitious and detailed 5-year action plan for homelessness.



6) We’re supporting world-class research and innovation at our universities

Scotland has the highest proportion of global top-200 universities, with the exception of Switzerland. And for as long as we’re in government, we pledge to keep university education free. We fundamentally believe that everyone, regardless of their background, should be able to benefit from university and college education.

Our global reputation is enhanced by European research funding, and as Brexit threatens research projects, the Scottish Government is standing up for Scottish universities in the heart of Brussels.

7) We’re protecting our forests and taking the lead on tackling climate change

A week after Nicola Sturgeon received wide-ranging international praise for Scottish environmental policy at the COP24 summit in Katowice, the Scottish Government committed to a global ambition to restore landscapes and forests.

The First Minister committed to the Bonn Challenge, which aims to regenerate 350 million hectares of deforested and degraded landscapes by 2030. Restoring natural landscapes will benefit people and the environment, and we hope that Scotland’s leadership will galvanise other governments to support reforestation.