SNP has been in power in the devolved Scottish Parliament, and since 2015, it has been the third-largest party in the UK Parliament. This unique situation allows the SNP to share devolution expertise and the experience of being in administration and opposition at the same time.
Here are a few examples and more details are the below
- Free instruction
- Prescriptions are free.
- Under-22s get free bus rides.
- Everyone who needs it gets free personal care.
- Increased the number of hours of free early learning and childcare to 1,140.
- Free feminine hygiene products
- Increased availability of free school meals
- The Baby box
The SNP provides the best value to Scottish taxpayers in the UK
Scottish council taxpayers receive the most excellent bargain in the UK, saving £590 per year compared to Tory-run England and £423 compared to Labour-run Wales.
In the meantime, Scotland’s average council tax increase for 2022/23 is lower (3%) than England’s (3.5 per cent).
Around 55% of taxpayers in Scotland pay less income tax than they would elsewhere in the UK.
Alister Jack, the Tory Scottish Secretary, admitted that
.✅ The majority of Scottish taxpayers pay less tax than anyone else in the UK (while receiving free education, free prescriptions, free personal care, and so much more)
SNP is investing record amounts in its NHS
- Health portfolio spending in Scotland is at an all-time high — £16 billion, up 70% since the SNP took office in 2007.
- The SNP has added 25,500 doctors, nurses, and other health professionals to Scotland’s NHS.
- Scotland has had the highest number of GPs per capita in the UK for over five years – 94 per 100,000 in Scotland, compared to 76 in England and 75 in Wales.
- After being the first county in the UK to set a target for mental health waiting times, they aim to ensure that mental health receives at least 10% of all frontline health spending.
- Scotland’s NHS employees are also the highest paid in the UK.
SNP is investing unprecedented sums in education
- Since the SNP took power, Scotland has invested the most in education per person in the United Kingdom.
- Over 1,000 schools have been built or rebuilt across Scotland, making them more accessible and better designed for students and staff.
- Scotland has much more instructors per student than the rest of the UK, and teacher beginning salaries are the highest outside Greater London.
- Since devolution began, the number of Higher passes has reached an all-time high, while the number of Advanced Higher passes has reached an all-time high since they were introduced in 2001. Scotland has some of the world’s most outstanding universities, and students in Scotland benefit from free tuition under the SNP.
They have created a more equitable and compassionate social security system
- In 2018, they took unprecedented steps to establish a new social security system that prioritises dignity, fairness, and respect.
- Social Security Scotland presently administers 12 benefits, including the Scottish Child Payment, which is new and unique use in the UK.
- The Scottish Kid Payment is the UK’s most ambitious anti-poverty scheme, and it has now quadrupled to £20 per weekfor each eligible child. It will rise to £25 by the end of 2022.
- They’re introducing the Adult Disability Payment to give disabled people more respect and end the DWP’s harsh assessment approach.
- They established the Carer’s Allowance Supplement, which gives carers an extra £460 per yearcompared to carers elsewhere in the UK.
Meanwhile, they’re investing roughly £600 million to counteract some of Westminster’s initiatives
- They guarantee that no one in Scotland is subjected to the Westminster Tories’ heartless Bedroom Tax.
- While the Conservatives have reduced Universal Credit by £20 per week, they have increased the Scottish Child Payment to £20.
- Through the Scottish Benefit Fund, they are safeguarding the most vulnerable households from Tory welfare cuts by helping them buy essentials like nappies, food, and stoves.
Under the SNP, crime in Scotland has decreased by 40%
- They’ve taken offence seriously and worked hard to keep Scotland safe throughout their tenure in power.
- According to statistics, Scotland is a safer place under the SNP, with crime down 40% since 2006/2007.
- Here’s a quick rundown of the six most important facts.
- The crime rate is at its lowest point in history.
- Scotland’s crime rate is most lacking for nearly 50 years since records began in 1974.
- According to the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey, only 11.9 percent of persons in 2019/20 experienced crime, compared to 20.4 percent in 2008/09.
- In addition, the figure is lower than the 13.3% in England and Wales.
Scotland has the highest proportion of police personnel in the United Kingdom
- Despite cuts to its core budget from Westminster, Scotland’s police officers have been preserved by the Scottish Government.
- Scotland has approximately 32 police officers per 10,000 people, compared to about 23 in England and Wales.
Scotland’s police officers are the highest paid in the UK
- They appreciate the hard work that police officers put in to keep us secure, so a new constable’s starting salary in Scotland is the highest in the UK, at £26,737, compared to £21,654 in England.
- In 2021/22, they also gave police a £700 wage raise and a £250 one-time payment, in stark contrast to England and Wales, where most cops received no raise.
Re-offending is at its lowest level in nearly two decades
- The Scottish Government has not only clamped down on crime, but its strategy has also resulted in the lowest level of re-offending in 22 years, demonstrating that the SNP’s wise approach to justice is paying off in Scotland.
The revenues of crime are being invested in community projects
- They introduced Cashback for Communities, a youth programme unique to Scotland that has helped over 105,000 young people better their lives in the last three years.
- Since 2008, £110 million in profits from crime has gone to community programmes, which reinvest seized illicit assets in aiding young people and combating anti-social behaviour.
SNP is defending their policing budget
- Despite the limits on Scotland’s public services imposed by 12 years of UK Tory austerity, the Scottish Government boosted the policing funding in the 2022/23 Budget by £40.5 million.
- This secures the police budget in real terms – guaranteeing their police services can be fit for the future and maintaining the safety and security of communities across Scotland.
