John Swinney will today reveal details of how he plans to slash public spending over the next four years to plug a £4.7 billion blackhole in his Government's finances.
As first reported by the Record on Saturday, the First Minister will confirm he plans to axe multiple NHS health boards and instead centralise services - a policy supported by Labour but opposed by the Lib Dems.
The SNP leader is also expected to announce a review of the number of taxpayer-funded quangos operating across Scotland, which could see dozens forced to merge in order to save cash.
Programme for Government announcement
Swinney will set out the details when he announces his Programme for Government (PfG) at 3pm today. This is not a Budget statement, meaning there will not be firm details on spending commitments.
Instead, the PfG is used to flesh out how the SNP will turn its manifesto pledges into policies between now and the 2031 election.
Several of those big pre-election promises - including a commitment to hold an IndyRef2, and to freeze the price of basic food stuffs in supermarkets - have already ran into trouble.
Food price cap plan criticised
John Swinney's big pre-election promise to voters was he would impose a price cap on 50 food and drink staples in supermarkets. He claimed he could use the Scottish Government's emergency powers on public health - the kind used during the covid pandemic - to order retailers to slash costs.
The backlash from supermarkets has been intense. Doubts also remain over whether Holyrood has the legal powers required to make such a huge state intervention in the market.
Now, a former SNP minister has branded the plan "barmy" and urged senior civil servants to block it.
Writing in the Times, Fergus Ewing said: "The civil service has a clear and bounden duty to warn ministers against the pursuit of barmy policies."
