Image source, PA

As we draw our live coverage of the SNP conference to a close, here's a reminder of the headlines from Humza Yousaf's speech:

• Council tax rates are to be frozen across Scotland next year
• The SNP government will spend an additional £300m on tackling NHS waiting lists in the next three years
• Arts and culture funding will increase by £100m over the next five years
• The first minister called on the UK government to create a refugee resettlement scheme for people wanting to leave Palestine amid the Israel-Gaza conflict
• He urged delegates to unite behind the party's independence strategy
• He announced plans to issue the first ever Scottish government bonds on the international bond market to raise funds for infrastructure projects
• There are plans to "anchor a new offshore wind supply chain" in Scotland with up to £500m in funding over five years
• The SNP will introduce a pilot scheme for £1,000 to be given to domestic abuse survivors fleeing their partners as part of a £500,000 fund
• The government will commit £400,000 to the redevelopment of Union Street in Aberdeen city centre, as well as supporting the Eden Project in Dundee, the Clyde Mission in Glasgow and improvement works in the St James Quarter in Edinburgh

That's all from us, thanks for joining our coverage today. The editors were Paul McLaren and Emily McGarvey. Imogen James and Craig Hutchison were the writers.

Whoops and ovations - but a smaller SNP conferencepublished at 17:53 British Summer Time 17 October 2023

17:53 BST 17 October 2023

David Wallace Lockhart
Political correspondent

Humza Yousaf’s speech went down very well with those in the conference hall. There were whoops, standing ovations and applause aplenty.

But there’s no denying the SNP conference is smaller (and perhaps feels a bit flatter) than previous years.

Not only has the conference been moved to a smaller hall than last year, but there were still quite a few empty seats for Humza Yousaf’s speech.

Aberdeen can be a long journey for many delegates, and attending any political party conference isn’t cheap.

But the SNP will hope that a quieter conference won’t mean fewer activists willing to put a shift in for the party at the next election.

Image source, Getty Images

Cosla, the umbrella body for Scotland's local authorities, said it had not been aware of the council tax freeze before it was announced.

A spokesperson said: "This has longer-term implications for all councils right across the country, at a time when we know there are acute financial pressures, and where we are jointly looking at all local revenue raising options.

“We will need to consider the implications for Cosla and local government with our members when we get more of the detail."

Cosla said that it also needed to be examined against the principles of the Verity House Agreement, a new pact between central and local government.

A close watch on spending promisespublished at 17:42 British Summer Time 17 October 2023

17:42 BST 17 October 2023

Douglas Fraser
Scotland business & economy editor

Scotland's bond will require scrutiny and requires openness. Investors want to know if their money is secure and the issuer is sound. So bond issuers carry credit ratings.

That means a Scottish government bond will be assessed by credit rating agencies, which will judge its fiscal discipline and future plans.

Getting into the bond market is a vital part of any route towards independence. An independent Scotland would have to borrow.

It’s a normal activity for governments, in moderation. So it could be useful to get the process under way, reducing uncertainty about Holyrood's creditworthiness and ability to borrow through a transition to independence.

Ratings agencies such as Moody's and Standard & Poor will watch closely the spending promises being made - for instance, the promise by the first minister of £300m more for NHS waiting lists and a council tax freeze, when there's not much room for such manoeuvres.

That gives council tax another lease of life, 17 years after the SNP promised to abolish it and 32 years since the last property valuation on which it is based.

The name's bond. Scotland's bondpublished at 17:39 British Summer Time 17 October 2023

17:39 BST 17 October 2023

Douglas Fraser
Scotland business & economy editor

The name's bond. Scotland's bond.

It's an initiative that has been talked about for a long time by the SNP, but mainly to assert that it can't be done under current powers.

Humza Yousaf now thinks that it can and should, having been an option handed to Holyrood nine years ago.

Councils can also go to the money markets to raise funds, though few have done so. Aberdeen took a pioneering role in issuing bonds seven years ago, raising £370m, some of that to build the conference centre where the SNP has gathered.

A bond is exchanged for investors' cash, in return for a fixed "coupon" each year, and repayment at the end of a set period. They are often then rolled over to new bond issues.

Bonds can be traded between investors, if there’s liquid demand for them.

If they're seen to be a sound investment, the value can go up and the effective interest rate goes down. Or vice versa.

SNP MP David Linden welcomed the announcement on freezing council tax.

He told Radio Scotland's Drivetime: "The cost of living crisis is the single biggest issue facing families right across these islands.

"That's why the first minister has shown bold leadership today, come forward with a plan to freeze council tax next year, in recognition of the fact that many people have been telling the SNP and the Scottish government that they need support.

"They need support now and that includes people in all income brackets."

One of the biggest reactions to Humza Yousaf's speech was his announcement on a freeze on council tax bills next year.

The SNP introduced a freeze on rates when it came to power 16 years ago.

In 2022, for the first time in 16 years, local authorities were given complete freedom to set their own rates. The majority plumped for a 3% increase.

This year, when setting their budgets for 2023-24, most authorities raised their council tax rates by at least 5%. The highest increase was 10% for Orkney Islands households.

Over the summer, a further shake up of bills looked to be on the cards with the Scottish government proposing rises of up to 22.5% for homes in higher bands.

But now Yousaf has pledged that council tax bills next year - the 2024-25 financial year - will not be higher than you are paying now.

Responding to the first minister’s announcement of a council tax freeze next year, a union leader has warned "across Scotland, our public services are in crisis".

Roz Foyer, general secretary of the STUC, said local authorities are increasingly "strapped for cash" and facing "huge budget cuts".

She adds: "Sequential council tax freezes without adequate compensation is one of the key reasons why local services are in such a mess."

She says that while it's right that people are supported through this cost of living crisis, "this cannot be at the expense of funding local services that we all rely on".

How the council tax freeze has caught councils off guardpublished at 16:58 British Summer Time 17 October 2023

16:58 BST 17 October 2023

Glenn Campbell
BBC Scotland Political Editor

The most eye-catching announcement in what was a fairly policy-rich speech was the decision to freeze council tax next year.

That means that whoever you are, wherever you live in Scotland, your council tax bill will not increase in the 2024/25 financial year.

That is a far cry from the possibility of big tax rises for those in higher value proprieties that were reported to have been under consideration.

Humza Yousaf did not spell out how the freeze would be funded at a time when councils are under major financial pressure and have been exploring all possible revenue-raising options.

The announcement has taken local government by surprise and the SNP’s power-sharing partners, the Greens, have warned that it must not lead to deeper service cuts.

When the SNP first took power in 2007 it was committed to abolishing the council tax in favour of a local income tax. That has long since been dropped but Humza Yousaf has recommitted to reforming how local taxation works.

Angus Cochrane
BBC Scotland political reporter

Cosla, which represents local authorities, has said it was not warned about the council tax freeze announced by Humza Yousaf.

“This has longer-term implications for all councils right across the country, at a time when we know there are acute financial pressures, and where we are jointly looking at all local revenue raising options,” a spokesperson said.

The Scottish Greens, who have a power-sharing with the SNP, said they were concerned the freeze could affect frontline services.

Finance spokesperson Ross Greer said: “Green MSPs will now work with our government colleagues in the SNP to work through the details, ensure that their decision is sustainably financed and that the most vulnerable people in our communities do not see the services they rely on being underfunded as a result,” he said.

The MSP called for the “deeply unfair” tax to be replaced by a “more progressive” system.

One speech.... one billion pounds spentpublished at 16:43 British Summer Time 17 October 2023

16:43 BST 17 October 2023

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

Party conferences are a chance to capture the political imagination and set out a policy platform to voters.

Humza Yousaf has tried to do just that with a number of spending commitments on the NHS, arts, support for abuse survivors and most eye-catchingly, bringing back the council tax freeze.

By my calculations, more than a billion pounds was spent over the course of that speech.

He will be hoping these policies give his activists something to fight for on the doorstep - a positive message to sell to voters.

But polls suggest the SNP's dominance of Scottish politics is under threat for the first time in a decade. Labour are making a comeback and could threaten the SNP is 20 or more seats at the general election.

There is a real battle happening for the Scottish vote and it will help shape the next election in Scotland and beyond.

First Minister Humza Yousaf began today's speech by condemning the war in Israel and Gaza, and called on the UK government to create a refugee resettlement scheme for people wanting to leave Palestine.

Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, with his voice breaking, he spoke about a phone call from his mother-in-law who is stuck in Gaza.

Elizabeth El-Nakla and her husband, Maged, had travelled to the south of the Palestinian enclave last week to see a sick relative.

Yousaf said he received a panicked call from her at 01:00 when neighbours believed there was going to be an imminent strike - which turned out to be a false alarm.

Cutting waiting times no easy taskpublished at 16:34 British Summer Time 17 October 2023

16:34 BST 17 October 2023

Lisa Summers
BBC Scotland Health Correspondent

With 12% of Scotland's population now sitting on an NHS waiting list, you can see why directing hundreds of millions of pounds at cutting waits might grab the headlines.

Actually achieving the goal won't be easy. In the past year alone, over 50,000 people were added to a waiting list for non urgent care, either to see a specialist or to start hospital treatment.

You'd need to create enough extra capacity to stop the waiting lists growing, before you can start bringing the numbers down.

So far, the government has not managed this. Almost 8,000 people have been waiting longer than two years to be seen; such long waits were highly unusual before the pandemic.

National treatment centres are key to ramping up planned operations. New sites have opened in Kirkcaldy and Inverness, but others have fallen years behind schedule.

Some doctors tell me they can’t see their waiting lists being cleared for at least a decade. Even some private providers are now reporting waits for things like joint replacements or dermatology.

The biggest challenge is going to be finding staff. There are already significant shortages of radiographers, theatre nurses and consultants, so even if equipment can be bought and operating theatres can be built, there are just not enough people to provide the care.

Image source, PA Media

Here's a recap of the main headlines from the first minister's speech:

• Council tax rates are to be frozen across Scotland next year
• The SNP government will spend an additional £300m on tackling NHS waiting lists in the next three years
• Arts and culture funding will increase by £100m over the next five years
• The first minister called on the UK government to create a refugee resettlement scheme for people wanting to leave Palestine amid the Israel-Gaza conflict
• He urged delegates to unite behind the party's independence strategy
• He announced plans to issue the first ever Scottish government bonds on the international bond market to raise funds for infrastructure projects
• There are plans to "anchor a new offshore wind supply chain" in Scotland with up to £500m in funding over five years
• The SNP will introduce a pilot scheme for £1,000 to be given to domestic abuse survivors fleeing their partners as part of a £500,000 fund
• The government will commit £400,000 to the redevelopment of Union Street in Aberdeen city centre, as well as supporting the Eden Project in Dundee, the Clyde Mission in Glasgow and improvement works in the St James Quarter in Edinburgh

Image source, PA Media

The first minister briefly pops back onto stage after hugging members of the crowd.

"Right guys," he says. "We've got some work to get on with so let's get out there and let's do everything we can to deliver independence for our nation.

"Let's do it."

Stay with us as we bring you a round-up of the key announcements Yousaf made in his speech.

Image source, PA Media

Yousaf has been given a massive applause and standing ovation after his speech.

He turned briefly to get a photo with the large crowd.

Minus a few stumbles, his first conference speech as first minister was delivered without a hitch.

Humza Yousaf closes his speech on the "dream" of independence.

"Scotland has a lot more to offer tomorrow than we did yesterday. If we are willing to go on this journey together, then we can make sure that this is the case," he says.

He says they can step into this new world as an independent Scotland.

"One of the world’s oldest nations will become its youngest independent state. And with the vitality of youth, we can step out into that world anew.

"Into the bright light of a new dawn with our eyes wide open to a whole new world of possibility.

"Together – united – let's get out there and make it happen."

He thanks the conference.

Image source, Getty Images

"Scotland is at our best when we are confident," says the first minister.

"Just look at Steve Clarke and our magnificent Scotland men’s team."

Scotland have qualified for Euro 2024 with two games to spare thanks to Spain's 1-0 win over Norway, which has guaranteed Steve Clarke's side a top-two finish in Group A.

"In fact, given our scintillating run of form, can I say that by the time Scotland co-hosts Euro 2028, I look forward to defending Scotland’s title as European Champions!"

The conference crowd shares his optimism and this is met with laughter and applause.

Speaking about the steps the government has already taken towards independence, Yousaf says they've set up a new social security system, tax agency, national investment bank, and expanded overseas networks with new offices.

But more steps will be taken in their "most ambitious proposal yet", he adds.

He stumbles on his words, joking with the crowd that the proposal is so good it's left him "speechless".

"I can confirm that by the end of this parliament the SNP government will – subject of course to due diligence and market testing - go directly to the international bond market for the first time in our own right."

"To fund vital infrastructure, projects like affordable housing, we will issue Scotland’s first ever bond."

He says this will bring Scotland to the attention of investors across the world and raise its profile as a place where investment returns can be made.

Yousaf argues that the SNP seeks independence in order to deal with the challenges people are facing every day.

European countries similar to Scotland are "fairer and wealthier than the UK", he says.

"Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Austria, Finland and other comparable nations have higher national income per head than the UK.

He says they have higher productivity, lower inequality and lower poverty.

"With the hard-working, talented people of Scotland as our biggest asset, I ask the question: Why not Scotland?"