Nicola Sturgeon calls for Holyrood be given the power to hold second independence referendum

The plan said officials were already working on a revised version of the independence White Paper which was published 11 months before the referendum of 2014.

READ MORE: SNP ministers propose longer government terms 

It said: “The Scottish Government produced a comprehensive plan for an independent Scotland in 2014. The Government will now undertake the necessary work to update that plan and ensure that people have the information they need to make informed choices over the future of the country.”

The 2013 White paper cost taxpayers more than £1.25m.

Ms Sturgeon later told MSPs she intended to ask the UK government for the missing power told hold another referendum - a so-called Section 30 order - within weeks.

Ms Sturgeon has already said she wants to hold Indyref2 in the second half of 2020.

She said she would ask during the passage of the legislation intended to pave the way for Indyref2, the Referendums Bill, which is due to finish its passage by the end of December.   

She said: “We intend to offer the people of Scotland the choice of a better and more positive future as an independent nation. The Referendums Bill introduced before recess is about to resume its parliamentary progress.

“I can confirm today that, during the passage of the Bill, we will seek agreement to the transfer of power that will put the referendum beyond legal challenge. 

“We have a clear mandate to offer the choice of independence within this term of Parliament - and we intend to do so.”

She said that if there was a general election the SNP would “put Scotland's opposition to Brexit and our right to choose independence at the very heart of that context."

READ MORE: NHS medical vacancies worst since SNP came to power 

The Programme for Government contained a raft of green measures to help tackle the climate change including a £500m investment in faster bus lanes to reduce car travel, and support for electric cars and low-carbon buses.

Ministers will consult on what action is needed for "zero-emission city centres" by 2030.

There will also be legislation to empower councils to charge a tourist tax for overnight stays, a measure opposed by the tourist industry but demanded by many councils.

A new £10 a week top-up benefit for low-income families will be brought forward from early 2021 to late 2020 for under-6s, and from 2023 to 2022 to all other children under 16.

Ms Sturgeon told Holyrood a raft of long-range plans to “decarbonise” transport would “consolidate Scotland's position as a leader in the battle against climate change”.

She said the coming year would also “see landmark policies, long in the planning, come to fruition”, citing Scottish National Investment Bank with its “primary mission” of moving the economy towards net-zero carbon emissions.

She said the legislative programme would “lay the foundation for a new Scottish Green Deal, with measures to reduce emissions, support sustainable and inclusive growth, promote wellbeing and create a fairer society".

Legislation that will allow charges to be applied to single-use coffee cups will be brought in under the Circular Economy Bill, the First Minister added.

She said: "Responding to climate change is not simply a moral obligation, it is also an economic and social opportunity."

To help reduce Scotland’s record drug deaths problem - 1,187 last year - there will be an extra £20m to deal with the “public health emergency” of drug deaths over two years.

In light of the Edinburgh Sick Kids hospital being shuttered because of building problems, a new body will be created to oversee NHS construction projects.

Scottish Tory interim leader Jackson Carlaw said: “It’s typical of the First Minister that her statement both began and ended with independence.

“It really is the be-all-and-end-all for her nationalist government.

“Not only did she confirm her plan to push ahead with an unnecessary and unwanted referendum bill.

“But we also learned the utterly discredited White Paper from 2014 is finally set to be binned.

“Perhaps, because she discards it altogether, she should apologise to the people of Scotland for the deceit contained within it. The people of Scotland have had enough of this. They simply want Nicola Sturgeon to give it a rest.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Willie Rennie said: "People across the country are paying the price for this government’s ineptitude.

“This a government whose eye has been taken off the ball because their primary focus is on independence. Communities shouldn’t lose out because of the SNP’s constitutional obsessions. Liberal Democrats demand better for our public services.”

Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: “This is an irresponsible and reckless threat from Nicola Sturgeon. The very last thing that Scotland needs at a time of constitutional crisis is more constitutional chaos.

“This is a stark reminder that the SNP never seeks to bring people together; only to divide people and make communities poorer.

“The First Minister should drop the threat of a divisive independence referendum and honour her promise that the 2014 referendum was a ‘once-in-a-generation’ contest.

“We are stronger together as part of the UK, pooling and sharing resources to grow our economy and protect public services, and keeping the pound.”

The Scottish Greens said the programme was a "cheap imitation" of their own plans for a new Green Deal to put carbon reduction at the heart of Scotland's economy.

MSP Patrick Harvie said: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all, and a week after we launched our Scottish Green New Deal, it is gratifying to see the First Minister adopt our language.

“But this programme for government is a cheap imitation of ours.

“Her version lacks the ambition, scale and courage required of an emergency response.

“We welcome her adoption of the idea that the Scottish Investment Bank should prioritise the climate emergency, but the funding is limited. This is not system change.

“The Scottish Government also seem infatuated with consumer choice and unproven technologies that apparently promise a quick fix - Carbon capture and storage, electric aeroplanes and hydrogen trains – yet the technology we need to solve the climate crisis is already here." 

Responding to the Scottish Child Payment being brought forward, Mhoraig Green of Citizens Advice Scotland Social said: “This is a welcome move and an acknowledgment of the urgent need to take action against the rising tides of poverty that we are seeing in communities across Scotland.

“Figures released from Citizens Advice Scotland just last week show that 1 in 4 working people are struggling on their present salary. Policy makers need to ensure money is getting into the pockets of people who need it the most.

“What is essential is that families who are entitled to this benefit claim it, and everything else that they are entitled to. Our research shows that people support the principles of our welfare state, and that people should claim what they are due.

“In the meantime people who are struggling can turn to their local citizens advice bureau for help. We help and advocate for hundreds of thousands of people each year and can ensure people are claiming the right support and not overpaying on bills.”