Swinney vows action on GP appointment 'lottery'

NHS Scotland will deliver an extra 100,000 appointments in GP surgeries in a bid to end the 08:00 “lottery”, First Minister John Swinney has pledged.

The SNP leader made the announcement as he unveiled his administration’s programme for government 12 months ahead of the Holyrood election in May 2026.

As well as putting the NHS “at the heart” of the legislative and policy agenda, Swinney announced his government would permanently ban peak rail fares and end an alcohol ban on ScotRail trains.

The Conservatives said the statement was “more of the same” while Labour accused SNP ministers of wasting public funds after 18 years in power.

The programme for government sets out the policy and legislative goals for the next parliamentary year.

It is usually published after the summer recess, but Swinney moved the date this year to “enable a full year to delivery” before the Holyrood election.

He said the NHS would deliver an extra 100,000 appointments in GP surgeries focused on “key risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and smoking”.

The first minister said his government was “committed to not only increasing GP numbers but protecting Scotland’s advantage which means substantially more GPs per head here in Scotland compared with elsewhere in the UK”.

The announcement, coming just nine months after the last programme for government, was light on proposed legislation.

Swinney instead spent time emphasising his government’s previous record.

Among the concrete measures included in the programme for government document was a commitment to scrap peak rail fares on nationalised ScotRail trains.

A previous pilot scheme was axed by the government last year, with ministers citing low passenger numbers.

Ministers also say they will end an alcohol ban on ScotRail trains.

Ahead of the announcement, Swinney faced questions on anti-social behaviour associated with a scheme giving everyone under the age of 22 a free bus pass.

The government confirmed it was working on a scheme to suspend, or potentially permanently remove, passes from those engaging in anti-social behaviour.

Swinney told MSPs child poverty and tackling cost-of-living pressures were also among his priorities.

It came after figures released in March showed the Scottish government had missed its legal targets for reducing child poverty.

The Scottish government announced in December that it would effectively offset the two-child benefit cap north of the border by April 2026, or earlier if possible.

The cap, introduced by the UK government in 2017, prevents parents from claiming universal credit or child tax credit for more than two children, with a few exemptions.

Swinney said his government was “on track” to deliver payments to affected families by next year.

He said the government would publish a child poverty action plan for 2026 to 2031 “to keep us on the journey to meet our poverty reduction targets for 2030”.

To help stimulate the economy, the first minster announced a six-point export plan “to enable Scottish exporters to diversify and grow markets”.

He also said ministers would set up funds for research projects and start-ups.

The SNP leader said the Scottish government would increase funding to the Acorn carbon capture project beyond a previous £80m cap – if given the go-ahead by the UK government.

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay described the programme for government as “flimsy” and “more of the same”.

He told MSPs that it “would do little to restore public trust”.

Labour leader Anas Sarwar said billions of pounds of public money had been “wasted by the SNP” during its time in power, calling the announcement “embarrassing”.

He added: “This statement fails to meet the challenges or ambitions of the people of Scotland.”