Foreword by Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform
This document provides a final report on the Executive's progress against the targets that we set as part of the 2002 Spending Review, and in doing so outlines the real progress that the Executive has made in recent years, across our key priority areas:
- in relation to our top priority of growing the economy, unemployment is down and employment is up, we have increased our investment in transport and other infrastructure and our efforts to promote Scotland overseas are yielding results, with more people choosing to study, live and work in Scotland;
- our far-reaching reforms to the criminal justice system and measures to promote greater respect for individuals and their property are helping build safer communities and a more tolerant Scotland;
- we have taken very significant steps to improve the nation's health, with the successful implementation of the smoking ban reminding us that we can make a real difference to people's lives;
- educational attainment is improving with most pupils performing at or above the expected level for their stage and clear evidence that our efforts to improve literacy and numeracy in the early years are paying off; and
- our commitment to safeguarding the environment has seen good progress made in implementing Scotland's first ever sustainable development strategy, promoting a healthy rural economy and continuing to support our thriving renewables industry.
We believe that our spending plans allow us to deliver better public services, greater economic prosperity and an improved standard of living for the people of Scotland.
Tom McCabe MSP
Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform