Building a Better Scotland: Spending Proposals 2003-2006: What the money buys

Building a Better Scotland

FOREWORD
By First Minister and Deputy First Minister

Building a Better Scotland

Growing our economy and increasing opportunities in our communities. Inspiring our young people and realising our aspirations for Scotland. Improving our public services and safeguarding our environment. These are the ambitions that have shaped our spending proposals for the next three years.

Our plans outlined within this document for growth in the economy and in increasing the opportunities for all our people will deliver substantial improvements across the whole of Scotland.

Young people will have a much wider range of choices available to them than ever before, including 25,000 Modern Apprenticeships and the option to be supported in staying on at school with Education Maintenance Allowances available across the country. Older people will enjoy more support and there will be new initiatives on central heating and to reduce the number of households who suffer from fuel poverty by almost a third.

In health, we will treat more people better, faster. We will train 10,000 nurses and midwives and increase the number of NHS consultants by 600. Improving the health service is for the first time matched by our determination to improve the nation's health. So we also set out a programme of health improvement, focused particularly on young people.

Pupils, teachers and parents will benefit from a dramatic investment in our schools and teaching, including more than 300 new or refurbished schools.

In all of our communities, people will enjoy improved public services and better safety and security. Action will be taken to reduce serious violent crime, increase the seizure of illegal drugs, and reduce the number of persistent young offenders.

Taken together, our proposals will help to meet our ambitions for growing the economy. New jobs will be created in construction industries associated with our new schools, hospitals and transport investment. More importantly, we are making the improvements in infrastructure, in training, in tourism, in science, in skills, in research and development and in enterprise that will support businesses, make them more competitive and help the economy to grow. We are laying the foundations for continuing economic prosperity in the longer term.

But a growing economy also means that we have to grow the opportunities that exist within our communities. We need to make sure that everyone in Scotland has a fair chance to play their part in realising the ambitions for our country. Our spending proposals prioritise investment in young people and the opportunities available to them. Our plans work to close opportunity gaps across Scotland.

However, our investments cannot be made at any cost. We must make sure in all that we do that we are safeguarding our environment for the future. That is why you will find a commitment to sustainable development running throughout all of our spending proposals, backed up by specific environmental improvement initiatives and ambitious plans to improve the quality of life for all, long into the future.

One of the earliest benefits that our communities will experience as a direct result of our proposals will be better public services. Patients, pupils, passengers, and parents will enjoy improvements inspired by government investment and secured by a commitment to reform, innovation and modernisation.

Efficient and effective public services are the bedrock of secure and strong communities with opportunities for all. And these vibrant communities, in turn, are the essential ingredients in growing our economy and encouraging further investment in the long term.

These proposals build on the progress that Scotland has made since the Scottish Parliament was established and take the next critical steps to reverse the decades of under-investment that preceded it.

Our spending proposals will ensure that we can all build a better Scotland.