SNPJohn Swinney will suggest that more support for struggling families is on its way when he delivers his closing speech to the SNP conference on Sunday.
The First Minister is set to tell a crowd at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre that he will work “harder” and “smarter” to deliver on the priorities of the people of Scotland.
The SNP leader is not expected to reveal what the policy is but it will be announced next week during the programme for government.
Finance secretary Shona Robison is expected to unveil a series of cuts then after Swinney confirmed at least £250m needs to be saved in Scotland’s budget.
Speaking to SNP members on the last day of the annual SNP conference, Swinney will pledge “smarter policy-making” from his government.
He will use his speech to set his focus on delivering what he sees as the “people’s priorities”: ending child poverty; reaching net zero; delivering strong public services; and boosting the economy.
“In an era of Westminster cuts, we are going to have to work harder, and smarter, if we are to deliver on our ambitions for Scotland,” he is expected to say.
“But this party has never been afraid to work hard in pursuit of a better Scotland. That is what we all came into politics to do.
“So next week, I will set out how we can tailor support better to families ensuring they get the help they need, when they need it to lift those families out of poverty.”
Swinney will say that “whole-family support” will not “have the effect of ending the two-child cap” but “is an example of the sustained, smarter policy-making we are delivering in government”.
He will add: “The baby box, the expansion of early learning, family nurse partnerships, the Scottish Child Payment.
“These policies are all helping to transform the life chances of children in our country.
“There is no greater investment we can make in Scotland’s future.
“And my pledge is this. Even in the toughest of financial circumstances, the SNP will do everything we can to give every single child the best possible start in life.”
Swinney will also restate his desire for politics to be “less polarised” as he commits again to “work to bring our country together” and to “serve everyone who chooses to make Scotland their home”.
While parts of England saw riots in the wake of the killing of three young girls in Southport, Swinney will say those events were the result of “far right, Islamophobic and racist thugs trying to stoke division”.
As a result, he will say how “people fleeing oppression overseas feared for their lives in the United Kingdom” – adding that while the “expected and deserved sanctuary” they had “ended up under attack”.
Swinney will say: “People applying for asylum should never have to face that – they should feel safe – they should not feel fearful.”
He will tell how in the wake of the riots he “reached out and I heard first hand” from leading figures in various religious communities.
The SNP leader will go on the pledge: “This party will never denigrate people who honour us by choosing to make Scotland their home.
“Migrants have enriched our country in so many ways. Refugees are welcome here.
“And whether it is anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or any form of prejudice, the SNP will always stand up for a country free of hatred and intolerance.”
Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said: “John Swinney is right when he says the Scottish Government should serve all those who make Scotland their home but, while NHS waiting lists grow, our school children struggle and he cuts funding to frontline local services, he is failing them.”
She insisted: “After almost two decades of SNP misrule our NHS is on its knees and our public services are at breaking point.
“Quite simply, the SNP’s stewardship is failing Scotland.
“This is a Government that has completely lost its way and we are all paying the price for its incompetence.”
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