ON Tuesday our First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon published the Scottish Government’s ‘Programme for Government’.

This sets out what the government of Scotland aims to deliver over the next year and the foundations it will start to lay to implement policies to come.

Of course, the policies the government delivers will impact upon the lives many people right here in Inverclyde.

Greenock Telegraph readers will remember that just before Christmas last year I invited Amanda Kopel, pictured, wife of former footballer Frank Kopel, to address a meeting of Inverclyde’s councillors to ask us to support her campaign for the introduction of ‘Frank’s Law’.

Currently people over the age of 65 across Inverclyde benefit from the Scottish Government policy of free personal care.

Part of the challenge for health services the world over is to reduce unnecessary admissions to hospital – providing more of the care that people need in their own homes or in a homely setting is key to meeting that challenge.

Free personal care for over 65s was designed with precisely that purpose in mind.

But there are some people under the age of 65 who also need personal care, for example people with conditions like MND or those with early onset dementia of which there are over 3,000 across Scotland, which means there will likely be over 50 across Inverclyde.

I was very proud when Inverclyde Council unanimously agreed to lend its support to Frank’s Law which advocates the extension of free personal care for under 65s.

Therefore I was very pleased when the Scottish Government announced that it will now begin to fully implement free personal care to everyone in Inverclyde that needs it.

As a trade unionist all my working life, I am also delighted that the pay cap for public sector workers will be lifted. While never desirable, it was necessary to protect jobs and services from the full on assault of the UK Government’s austerity programme.

However, as you will have noticed from your bills and prices in the shops, inflation is on the rise and it is not sustainable to limit the people that deliver the services we rely on every day to an annual pay rise that will see their wages drop in real terms.

Our nurses, teachers, police officers, firefighters and council workers deserve a fairer deal for the future.

Therefore as the government aims to secure fair pay rises from next year that are affordable, we too need to make sure our council staff get the same benefit, while ensuring that we maintain the same level of services people in Inverclyde require.

The programme for government sets out clearly what our national government aims to achieve for the betterment of the nation. However, over 100 days on from the election of a new Inverclyde council, do you know any of the policies, the proposals and indeed the vision of what your council aims to deliver to improve the lives of the people of Inverclyde?

Inverclyde Council has a budget which is in the region of £200m. Granted tough decisions may be required but that is what leadership requires.

Therefore as the SNP government has published its vision for what it aims to achieve over the next year and onwards, my challenge – indeed our challenge – should be to the Labour administration of Inverclyde Council ‘what is your vision for the future of Inverclyde?’.