SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has unveiled her party’s “transformational” manifesto, but said she could go further if Scotland was independent.
She outlined a £2.5 billion increase in NHS spending in the next five years if her party is re-elected on May 6, along with an £800 million boost in social care funding.
NHS dentistry charges will be scrapped, at an initial cost of £75 million a year and then rising to £100 million annually as demand grows, and government-supported childcare will be expanded to one and two-year-olds.
The rates of income tax will also be frozen over the next parliamentary term if Ms Sturgeon is re-elected to continue serving as First Minister.