SNP 2017

We will not support further reductions to Corporation Tax.
At a time when household budgets are under pressure and
consumer confidence in Scotland is low, SNP MPs will back
a freeze on National Insurance contributions and Value Added
Tax. We will back the continuation of VAT-exemption on
essential items like children’s clothes, and will hold the UK
government to a commitment to remove VAT from sanitary
products. Until VAT is removed from sanitary products, SNP
MPs will call for Scotland’s population share of the Tampon
Tax Fund to be transferred to the Scottish Government so
that a fair and proportionate amount can be distributed to
organisations working with and for women across Scotland.
Improving tax collection
SNP MPs will back improvements to tax collection and
tougher action on tax avoidance, including:
• a moratorium and review of the closure of HMRC offices
in Scotland and across the UK;
• beneficial ownership of companies and trusts to be
made public;
• measures to improve the transparency of tax paid by
major international companies;
• and further action by the UK government to tackle
international tax avoidance.
Protecting our health service
We all rely on our NHS – that is why we are committed
to making sure it is fit for the future. The SNP Scottish
Government is already committed to an increase in the NHS
revenue budget of £500 million more than inflation by the end
of the current term of the Scottish Parliament. That means the
budget will increase by £2 billion in total.
Latest statistics show that overall health spending in Scotland
is around 7 per cent per head higher than in England. If the
UK government were to match Scotland, England’s Health
investment would increase by over £11 billion above inflation
by the end of this Parliament.
At Westminster, SNP MPs will argue for an increase in frontline
health spending – and the Scottish Government will ensure
that any consequential funding from this goes to Scotland’s
health service.
We will always vote to protect the health service in all parts
of the UK from privatisation – as any moves to privatise the
NHS in England could lead to the erosion of the budget that is
available to Scotland. We will work on a cross-party basis to
support an NHS Reinstatement Bill that returns the NHS south
of the border to its founding principles.
We are committed to an NHS that is free to those who need
it. That is why we abolished prescription charges in Scotland
in 2011, ensuring there is no tax on ill health. We remain
committed to free prescriptions.
Scotland’s population is changing and our health service must
change with it. To meet the challenge of an ageing population
an additional £1.7 billion will be invested in Scotland’s health
and social care partnerships over this term of the Scottish
Parliament. We are also reforming primary care and increasing
the share of the total NHS budget that is committed to it - this
will support an increase in the numbers of GPs and nurses
working in our communities.
In Scotland, we are taking new action to promote health and
well-being in children’s early years. We are increasing the
number of health visitors, introducing the Baby Box for every
new-born child, and delivering the Childsmile programme to
improve oral health. We are also developing and implementing
the Child and Adolescent Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
Obesity is one of the biggest challenges facing our nation’s
health, but the UK government’s strategy falls short on key
measures to make meaningful progress.
SNP MPs will press the UK government to re-commit to
key policies which can only currently be implemented at
Westminster – such as closing the loopholes in the sugary
drinks tax, tightening regulation of broadcast and digital junk
food advertising seen by children, and introducing clearer
food labelling.
16 SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY MANIFESTO 2017