This briefing summarises the key policy pledges in the Scottish Labour manifesto, published on 13 April 2026, relevant to the work of actuaries. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has published its initial response to the Scottish Labour manifesto.
Anas Sarwar MSP, Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, unveiled his party’s manifesto during a speech in Edinburgh where he laid out a series of election pledges to provide families with a £3,000 childcare tax break, lift property taxes for first-time buyers and build 52,300 affordable homes, while hiring 2,000 extra teachers to increase literacy and numeracy.
Economy
- Commit to no further income tax rises over the next Parliament.
- Create a Scottish Treasury.
- Create a single source of public investment capital, consolidating the Scottish Futures Trust and investment funds of Scottish Enterprise into the Scottish National Investment Bank so firms of all sizes have clarity about where to access capital.
- Reduce tax for first time buyers, increasing the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax relief threshold to £200,000, saving first time buyers up to £1,100 off the cost of buying a home.
Health and social care
- Tackle delayed discharge, with 300 step-down beds in care homes and 1,000 more care at home packages.
- Bring back the family doctor to deliver continuity of care and guarantee a GP appointment within 48 hours for everyone who needs one.
- Create new neighbourhood health hubs that co-locate general practice, pharmacy, dentistry, community health, physiotherapy, social care and other health services in the one place.
- Invest in new AI-enabled scanners and the diagnostic workforce, upgrading NHS Scotland’s outdated infrastructure and helping to catch cancer earlier so that Scotland finally hits the 62 day referral target.
Education and skills
- Set new national standards for numeracy and literacy setting out what pupils should know at each stage and embed digital skills across the curriculum.
- Redirect at least £2m of dormant asset funding into money advice services.
- Implement a new Skills for Schools programme which demonstrates the range of career possibilities in industry. Instead of the current patchwork provision, this new programme will ensure every school builds links with local workplaces and delivers classroom visits from industry role models, workshops related to the world of work, enterprise projects and visits to workplaces.
- Create a Digital Skills Passport, so that everyone has a digital record they can share with employers and use to move between jobs and careers.
Transport and infrastructure
- Upgrade Scotland’s road network, dualling the A9 by 2035, commissioning a business case for the dualling of the A77 and 75, and creating a new National Roads Plan to prioritise upgrades based on economic need, public safety, and local connectivity.
- Create a dedicated Housing Bank, to direct investment into homebuilding and deliver 125,000 homes by 2031, with at least 52,300 affordable homes within the overall target.
- Help renters to save for a deposit, setting aside more than 5,000 new mid-market rent homes for working people who want to save for their own home.
Energy and environment
- Set clear nature targets, using the powers from the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act to outline a route to nature restoration.
- Widen eligibility for energy-efficiency support, dropping the age threshold for the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme to 70 and increasing rural grant uplifts by £500.
Government
- Publish a charter for fiscal transparency, committing the government to deliver consistent presentation of budget figures, respect the role of the Scottish Fiscal Commission, and be open about the costs of government legislation so government spending plans can be properly scrutinised.
- Publish all government files relating to recent scandals, including the Salmond inquiry, Ferguson Marine ferries and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
- Implement the right of recall, legislating so the public have the right to replace MSPs who do not uphold public standards in advance of the next election.
