More Powers for Scotland

MORE POWERS FOR SCOTLAND

MORE POWERS FOR SCOTLAND SNP PROPOSALS

FOREWORD The people of Scotland were promised in 2014 that more powers would be delivered to the Scottish Parliament if they voted to remain as a member of the United Kingdom.

Nearly 2 years on, The Tories and Labour have made no progress to deliver on the promises that they made to the voters across the referendum campaign.

These are our proposals on what progress should be made to deliver on the promises that were made.

The UK Government need to deliver their promises in full, in order to maintain the agreement that was reached in 2014 between the Unionist parties and the people of Scotland.

If these promises are not delivered upon, I trust that the people will make the right decision and show the UK Government that they cannot rule on false hope and false promise.

We, the people of this great land of diversity and culture, will not be ignored nor disrespected by the powers that be at Westminster.

I want to remind the unionist parties that this is a union of equals, and if they are not willing to deliver on their end of the bargain, serious democratic action will be taken.

These proposals are our vision for the future of our Scottish Parliament, and our country.

Nicola Sturgeon, Leader

FOREWORD NICOLA STURGEON

KEY PLEDGES A transformation in early learning and childcare.

SNP councils will work with the Scottish Government to transform nursery provision.

By 2020, we will have almost doubled how much free early learning and childcare families receive to 1,140 hours – around 30 hours per week.

This provision will extend to all three and four year olds and eligible two year olds.

Itwill be flexible and delivered in a way which best suits parents and families’ needs, with parents able to choose how to access hours. Funding will follow the child to maximise choice.

Investing in our schools to give every child in Scotland the best start in life.

We’re prioritising closing the attainment gap and raising the bar for all. We are giving more power and resources directly to schools, to allow teachers, parents and communities to make the best decisions for their schools.

An increase in affordable housing.

In the last Parliament we built 30,000 affordable homes, now we’ll go further. SNP councils will work with the Scottish Government and housing associations to deliver 50,000 affordable homes by 2021, of which at least 35,000 will be for social rent.

More money for local communities to deliver local priorities.

SNP councils will work with citizens and communities to take the best actions for the local area and put people at the centre of our decisions. We will devolve at least one per cent of each council’s budget directly to communities, giving citizens the ability to choose where this money is spent locally on their priorities, based on their needs.

Support for small businesses.

We’re supporting small businesses by extending the Small Business Bonus Scheme to lift 100,000 small and medium sized business properties out of Business Rates altogether.

Local authorities also now have the power to offer targeted rate reductions – to attract new investment, help specific areas or sectors, or to alleviate the impact of business rate revaluations.

MORE POWERS FOR SCOTLAND SNP PROPOSALS

MORE POWERS FOR THE PARLIAMENT Transport & Infrastructure We demand that the powers for the Scottish Government to nationalise and make public sector bids into the ScotRail franchise are granted.

We will call for the devolution of the entire rail network in Scotland, including the Scottish Network Rail system. This includes some of Scotland’s Key Railway stations and railway infrastructure.

We will call for the devolution of the entire road network in Scotland and that Part 2 Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998 is devolved.

We will call for the devolution of the British Transport Police network in Scotland to be under the services of Police Scotland.

Energy Services We demand that Schemes for reducing fuel poverty are rested in the hands of the Scottish Ministers rather than the UK Government.

We will call for the powers for the Scottish Government to nationalise and make public sector bids into the operation of Scotland’s energy services.

We will call for the Scottish areas of the National Grid to be transferred to the control of the Scottish Parliament.

We will push for the Scottish Ministers to have control over the energy price cap, along with the regulation and roll-out of smart meters.

We will push for the Scottish Parliament to have powers over oil extraction, granting permission, and gas services in all Scottish Waters.

We will demand that the Scottish Parliament have powers over the expansion of renewable energy sources off-shore, including wind farms.

We will call for the Scottish Government to have more powers over climate emissions in Scotland.

MORE POWERS FOR THE PARLIAMENT

Economic Policy & Public Finances We will call for the Scottish Parliament to have full controls over the income taxes, income tax bases and bands that are raised here in Scotland.

We will call for the Scottish Parliament to have full controls over Value Added Taxes (VAT) on purchases of goods and services here in Scotland.

We will call for the Scottish Parliament to have full controls over the establishment of a Scottish National Banking Service that can set its own inflation rates, but must keep the same currency as the rest of the UK.

Constitution & Democracy We demand that the Scottish Parliament’s future is enshrined in the law, and that Westminster is stripped of any powers to abolish the Scottish Parliament.

We demand that the Scottish Government’s future is enshrined in the law, and that Westminster is stripped of any powers to abolish the Scottish Government.

We demand that the Scottish Parliament holds power over the future of Scotland within the United Kingdom.

We will demand that the Scottish Parliament holds all relevant powers over Local Government.

Rights & International Affairs We will call for the devolution of employment law and human rights to the Scottish Parliament.

We will demand that the people of Scotland are declared sovereign, and their right to decide their own future is enshrined into law.

We will call for powers over the minimum wage to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

Broadcasting & Media We will call for the devolution of broadcasting regulation and the powers to set the rates for TV licensing to the Scottish Parliament.

We will call for the powers for the Scottish Parliament to regulate the press and media to be devolved.

Drugs Policy We demand that powers relating to drugs policy are devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

MANIFESTO 2 017 SCOTTISH LOCAL ELELCTIONS

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