THE Scottish Government will publish a “final overview” before ending its series of white papers on independence.
The decision marks a change in tack from the previous SNP government under Humza Yousaf, which had planned to publish at least two further independence papers – on net zero and pensions – before he was forced to resign after ending the Bute House Agreement.
On Thursday, Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson declined to give any details of plans for future papers.
Asked by The National if people could still expect “at least two”, Robertson said he did not know.
Asked what details he could give on future papers, he said: “I'm not sure I'm in a position to give you an answer to that. I'll check.”
The Scottish Government then issued a brief update on Thursday afternoon.
It said: “To confirm, the Scottish Government will publish a final overview independence paper.”
The white papers project was first started under the government run by Nicola Sturgeon. To date, 13 have been published in the series, which was titled "Building a New Scotland".
Earlier on Thursday, Finance Secretary Shona Robison had said that the white papers on an independent Scotland were “in the final stages”.
Independence was not mentioned in her Budget speech on Wednesday, and The National reported how both the Scottish Greens and Alba Party expressed concerns over this.
The Scottish Government’s white paper series was intended to form the prospectus for an independent Scotland, addressing a range of issues from the economy to migration.
