Scotland's First Minister John Swinney unveils plans to cut health boards, introduce misogyny bill and roll out £2 bus fare cap

John Swinney has unveiled his programme for government - which includes axing the number of health boards from 14 to two and introducing a misogyny bill to tackle violence against women and girls.

Scotland's first minister revealed his plans for the parliamentary year and beyond in a keynote statement to MSPs at Holyrood on Tuesday.

Highlights included:

• The current 14 territorial health boards will be replaced with two strategic health boards.

Mr Swinney described it as the "most significant structural reform of the NHS in the era of devolution".

It is hoped the shake-up will help deliver additional capacity to ensure that by the end of 2031 no one is waiting more than 26 weeks for treatment.

• A misogyny bill will be brought forward through parliament in a bid to tackle violence against women and girls.

Mr Swinney branded it a "serious issue" as he pledged a new multi-year fund for specialist third sector organisations to help sustain vital services and deliver "critical preventative work".

Enhanced protections will include recognising pregnancy as an aggravating factor in domestic abuse cases and a public health campaign to "challenge and to change problematic misogynistic attitudes in boys and young men".

• The roll out of the £2 bus fare cap - which is currently in place in the Highlands and Islands - will be extended to Glasgow, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, Dunbartonshire, Lanarkshire and Inverclyde from Monday.

A national roll out is expected by the end of the parliament term.

• Breakfast clubs will be available in all primary schools from August 2027. After-school and holiday provision for all primary pupils will also be available from August 2029.

• The number of quangos in Scotland will be "substantially reduced" over the next five years, and there will be a "rebalancing of power" for the nation's 32 local authorities.

• Mr Swinney pledged investment to deliver 111,000 affordable homes by 2032, with at least 70% available for social rent.

• As well as an extra £100m for culture by the end of the 2028/29 financial year, the first minister also announced a plan for a pilot programme for a national Scottish artists' minimum income.

• Bleed kits will be rolled out to community settings across the country as part of efforts to tackle youth knife crime and violence.

• Mr Swinney reaffirmed his commitment to Scottish independence, but noted that Prime Minister Andy Burnham had "opened the door to new powers" for Holyrood.

Mr Swinney said: "My commitment to the people of Scotland is clear. You come first.

"Government works for you and we will always be alive to the realities of your day-to-day experience.

"That is the starting point for this programme for government - a programme for government that will deliver more money in people's pockets, shorter waiting lists, more homes, easier access to GPs, action on the climate, public services fit for the future, decisive action on violence against women and girls.

"These are the aims of a government that is ambitious for Scotland. The people of Scotland have put their trust in this government, and we will deliver what we have promised."

Following the SNP leader's statement, Unite branded the health board plans a "slash and burn programme for the NHS".

Sharon Graham, general secretary of the union, said the measures would "inevitably result in swingeing cuts and thousands of job losses across the public sector", as she warned that workers "will not be the collateral damage for the Scottish government's failings".

Roz Foyer, general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, also said the proposal could be "more reckless than revolutionary".

Scottish Rape Crisis Alliance (SRCA) welcomed the pledge to tackle violence against women and girls but called for urgent and sustained action.

Claudia Macdonald-Bruce, of the SRCA, added: "After years of commitments, women and girls need to see meaningful change, not simply another set of promises. Enough is enough."

Reform UK Scotland's leader Malcolm Offord said it was the "same old empty promises, just rebranded" as he accused the first minister of "rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic".

Scottish Labour's acting leader Dame Jackie Baillie also said she had "heard many of these promises before".

She added: "There are new NHS targets replacing those missed so far, familiar promises on new legislation and infrastructure projects, and lots of well-trod rhetoric - but delivery is what matters.

"Warm words are no substitute for action and that is what needs to change in this government.

"We need real action to improve our NHS, make life more affordable and help our communities and our economy flourish."

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