Scottish Government publish 2023-24 programme for government with focus on poverty

Government agenda includes a welcome reopening of the Independent Living Fund, but must back up warm words on Community Links Practitioners.

The Scottish Government have published their 2023-24 Programme for Government (PfG), “Equality, Opportunity, Community”, outlining the actions they intend to take in the coming year, with a particular emphasis on tackling poverty, economic growth for a purpose, and action on climate change. As part of his statement, First Minister Humza Yousaf also emphasised that he would not shy away from progressive taxation to fund public services.

Amongst the commitments contained within the PfG this year are:

• Convening an expert group to progress work on a Minimum Income Guarantee, whilst calling on the UK Government to use reserved powers to meet the calls in the Essentials Guarantee campaign.
• Undertake an independent review of Adult Disability Payment.
• Introduce long term rent controls, introduce an action plan for rural housing, and allow local councils to apply a premium on Council Tax for second homes.
• Confirmation that the Human Rights Bill will be brought forward to incorporate a range of international human rights treaties into Scots law.
• Consulting on a Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity Bill by the end of 2023.
• Re-open the Independent Living Fund with a £9 million investment for 2024-25, aiming to support up to 1,000 disabled people access support to realise their right to independent living.
• Provide funding to ensure that people employed in direct social care roles, including in the third and independent sectors, will be paid £12 per hour.

The government also included a specific commitment under the heading of “investing in primary and community care” to target support to GP practices in the most disadvantaged communities in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, highlighting Community Links Practitioners (CLPs) as a “vital specialist service”. However, the recent tender issued by the Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership for CLPs would amount to a significant cut to the service within the city. The ALLIANCE currently employs 44 FTE CLPs across the city.

In response to this commitment Sara Redmond, the ALLIANCE’s Chief Officer – Development, said:

Whilst the ALLIANCE welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to continuing to fund targeted support in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, the current Community Links Practitioner tender reduces the number of links workers in Glasgow by a third. This vital service needs to be adequately funded to respond to local needs, and we call on the Scottish Government to demonstrate this commitment by ensuring the cuts do not go ahead.

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