Humza Yousaf will tell the SNP conference today that the Scottish Government will invest £300m to reduce NHS waiting lists.

He is expected to announce the money, £100m a year for the next three years to deal with the number of people waiting for treatment.

In his first party leader’s speech to the conference, the First Minister is expected to say: “Post-pandemic, we are working hard to reduce NHS waiting times - and we have seen a significant reduction in the longest waits since targets were announced last July.

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“I am announcing today that in each of the next three years we will invest an extra £100 million to cut waiting lists.

“This additional funding will enable us to maximise capacity, build greater resilience in the system and deliver year-on-year reductions in the number of patients who have waited too long for treatment.

“That will reduce waiting lists by an estimated 100,000 patients by 2026.”

He will also tell his party that it can persuade a majority of people in Scotland that independence is right for the country.

After the conference voted for his strategy of dealing with Westminster’s refusal to grant a second referendum he said he would focus on why independence is needed not the process of achieving it.

The First Minister is expected to say: “Around of half of our fellow Scots already support independence. 

“I have no doubt that we can turn that half into a sustained majority.

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“We will do so when we concentrate not on the how – but on the why.

“At the next election, page one line one of our manifesto will say “vote SNP for Scotland to become an independent country.” 

“And that’s because independence is about building a better Scotland.

"It’s about raising living standards. It’s about protecting our NHS. Above all, it’s about a stronger economy. An economy that works for everyone who lives here.”