John Swinney has scrapped plans to extend free school meals to all primary pupils in Scotland, instead targeting those from the poorest families.

Currently, all children in primary 1 to 5, at schools run by their local council or funded by the Scottish Government, can get free lunches during term time.

The SNP's 2021 manifesto included a promise to expand that to include all P6 and P7 pupils, and last year, the then first minister Humza Yousaf promised it would be rolled out by 2026.

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However, in his Programme for Government – his first since taking office – Mr Swinney said the administration would instead focus on those P6 and P7 pupils whose parents receive the Scottish Child Payment.

A Scottish Government source told The Herald that they still intended to expand the programme to cover all primary school age children, but only when they could afford it.

The move from a universal approach to a targeted approach came just 24 hours after his Finance Secretary announced £500 million worth of cuts to public services.

A number of other previous pledges were also dropped or tweaked, including a Scottish ban on conversion therapy.

Instead, the Government said they would work with Labour in Westminster “towards complementary approaches across the UK".

There were promises of changes to the controversial Housing Bill, with Mr Swinney saying amendments would be brought forward to ensure "tenants have the protection they need and that Scotland is able to attract more investment".

There was also a commitment to invest nearly £600m in affordable housing and £100m for mid-market homes to rent.

He also said there would be 210,000 more outpatient appointments on the NHS and 20,000 more procedures at Scotland's National Treatment Centre.

In his speech to MSPs, the First Minister said the commitments in the Programme for Government – his first since taking office – were “practical, not partisan” and “affordable, impactful and deliverable".

He added: “Together, they reflect my optimism, that even though we face an incredibly challenging set of circumstances at this moment, the inherent strengths of Scotland, our people and our communities, can create great possibilities for our country.”

A total of 14 bills will be introduced during the 2024-25 parliamentary year.

Mr Swinney said tackling child poverty was “first and foremost” among his priorities.

“Our goal is to lift every child in Scotland who is in poverty out of it, so, we must do more,” he said.

One of the changes announced by the First Minister was the promise of a “system of whole-family support,” which, he said, would be “easy to access, well-connected and responsive to families’ needs”.

He added: “Over the coming year, we will work with partners to enable greater local flexibility, so that services can be more easily tailored to the needs of the families they support.”

He said the Scottish Government would “consider where greater investment is needed”.

“The key objective of the approach we will take forward will be to deliver significant reform of the work of public services to deliver whole-family support extensively across the country", he added.

Other promises included two green freeports and two new investment zones, and the publication of the long awaited Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, 

Mr Swinney also pledged to strengthen the ministerial code, by giving independent advisers the power to launch their own investigations "whenever they feel it is warranted."

Previously, a probe needed to be ordered by the first minister. 

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said the Programme for Government was "a list of empty platitudes by an SNP government that is out of ideas and out of money".

“The proposal to beef up the ministerial code – one of precious few concrete proposals from this clapped-out SNP government – is welcome and overdue. But it’s also an admission by John Swinney that he shamefully mishandled the Michael Matheson scandal," he added.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the First Minister had failed to recognise the scale of the challenges facing Scotland.

He said: “At a time when our country needs change, the SNP has given us more of the same – the same sticking plaster approach, the same rehashed announcements and the same level of denial from the third First Minister in three years."

He accused the SNP of “simply running down the clock” until the next election.

Scottish Greens education spokesperson Ross Greer hit out at the government's failure to expand free school meals to all pupils.

“It is outrageous that so many children live in poverty across the UK, one of the richest countries in the history of the planet," he said.

"That’s why the Scottish Greens secured the expansion of free school meals to all P4 and P5 pupils in Scotland, and a commitment to include P6 and P7 before the next election. 

“The SNP have dropped that commitment, despite claiming that tackling child poverty is their top priority. At the very same time though, they are throwing millions of pounds of tax breaks at big businesses and elite landowners. They had a choice and they made the wrong one.”