The First Minister has set out the Scottish Government's plans for the coming year at Holyrood.

Nicola Sturgeon outlined her 2018/19 programme for government with a dozen new bills focusing on areas including mental health, education and the environment.

Scotland's economy and infrastructure will also see investment in the coming year, the First Minister said.

But she said this work would be done in the "shadow of Brexit".

Ms Sturgeon said: "We cannot ignore Brexit or the UK Government's shamefully shambolic handling of these negotiations.

"For our part, we will continue to make the case for EU membership. Short of that we will press the UK Government to remain in the single market and customs union."

She said as details of the Brexit deal become clearer in the coming months, her government would consider "how Scotland's interests can best be protected and advanced".

But Ms Sturgeon said it was "clear that an increasing number of our fellow citizens believe as we do that the best future lies in becoming an independent country".

National Investment Bank to become a reality

The First Minister said her government would introduce legislation to formally underpin a Scottish National Investment Bank as a "long-term commitment" to improve the economy.

She also pledged a year-on-year increase in capital investment.

By 2025/26, capital investment will be £1.5bn higher than the 2019/20 baseline of about £5bn, Ms Sturgeon said.

This would mean investment in hospitals, schools, houses, transport and low carbon technology would be around £7bn higher than current spending projections, she told MSPs.

Ms Sturgeon also announced a "major new drive to increase exports", with a national export plan to be published in the spring.

Key strands will include "intensive support for 50 high-growth businesses" to help them grow their overseas activity, 100 new business-to-business peer mentorships each year to help new exporters and increased export finance support for firms looking to enter new markets.

Protection for EU citizens

The importance of immigration to the Scottish economy was also stressed by the First Minister.

She said the Scottish Government would argue that EU citizens already living in the UK should not have to pay post-Brexit settled status fees.

However, she confirmed "if the UK Government persists" her administration would meet these costs for those working in the devolved public services.

Ms Sturgeon also announced a "major new drive to increase exports", with a national export plan to be published in the spring.

Key strands will include "intensive support" for 50 high-growth businesses to help them grow their overseas activity, 100 new business-to-businesses peer mentorships each year to help new exporters and increased export finance support for firms looking to enter new markets.

On education, the government plans to publish a new Headteachers' Charter by the end of the year, to "put teachers much more in control of the important decisions" in schools.

Ms Sturgeon also announced the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child will be incorporated into Scots law.

Investment in the environment

The environment remains a key part of SNP policy, and the First Minister said Scotland would be "carbon neutral" by 2050, with no net emissions of C02.

She pledged the Scottish Government intended to move towards zero net emissions of all greenhouse gases "as soon as we credibly can".

The Ms Sturgeon said: "It's worth being clear about the scale of our ambition.

"The targets in the Climate Change Bill for 2020, 2030 and 2040 are the most stringent statutory targets anywhere in the world - without exception."

Making the switch towards a more environmentally-friendly economy was "first and foremost an overwhelming moral imperative," she said.

The First Minister also stressed it was a "huge economic opportunity" for the country as she insisted Scotland was a "global leader living up to our international obligations".

She confirmed legislation in the coming year to ban the sale and manufacture of plastic stemmed cotton buds.

There will also be a push towards modernising Scotland's transport networks, with £15m pledged for 1500 new vehicle charge points across the country.

A total of 500 ultra-low emission vehicles for Scotland's public bodies will also be brought into service.

The Government will also open the way for a public sector bid for the ScotRail franchise.

'Housing first' approach to homelessness

Another major infrastructure announcement saw Ms Sturgeon announce that every house and business in Scotland would be connected to superfast broadband over the term of this parliament.

On housing, the government is to adopt a "housing first" approach to tackling homelessness.

"This ensures that a homeless individual or household is moved directly into their own settled accommodation rather than through a variety of different housing options," Ms Sturgeon said.

The government will also work with councils and house builders to increase the supply of affordable homes to disabled people, she added.

Meanwhile, the community land fund - which enables community land purchases - will be extended to 2021.

To improve animal welfare, she said the Scottish Government would also bring in "Finn's Law" by 2021, which will lead to tougher punishments for those who attack service animals such as police dogs.

Better protection for victims of crime

Ms Sturgeon also pledged £31m this year for police reform so Police Scotland can invest in new technology.

She went on to announce a "major package of reforms that will better protect victims in the criminal justice system".

These will include a new support service to help the families of those killed and murdered, and more funding to support the victims of rape and sexual assault.

The Scottish Government had already pledged £1.1m extra cash to help ensure sexual offence cases can come to court as quickly as possible.

Ms Sturgeon revealed there would also be a further £2m over three years to speed up access to support for victims of rape and sexual assault - with £1.5m of this going to rape crisis centres.

To help those affected by domestic violence, the Scottish Government will look at introducing new protective orders which can bar abusers from their victims' homes.

£250m boost for mental health services

Legislation establishing new drug-driving limits, covering 17 different types of drugs, will be introduced, Ms Sturgeon pledged.

Combined with Scotland's lower drink-drive limit, she said this would "ensure we continue to lead the way in the UK when it comes to improving road safety".

A package of measures will be launched to tackle mental ill health backed by £250m of extra funding, with a focus on improving the provision of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

This will include £60m for school nursing and counselling services to support 350 counsellors and 250 extra school nurses to "ensure that every secondary school has a counselling service".

An additional 80 counsellors will be funded to work across further and higher education while a community mental wellbeing service for five to 24 year olds will be developed.

The First Minister also confirmed that Scotland's Social Security Agency will make the first payments of the Best Start Grant before Christmas, six months ahead of schedule, helping parents on low incomes with £600 on the birth of their first baby and £300 for subsequent children, to buy family essentials.

Ms Sturgeon said: "Last year's Programme for Government set us on a path to address the big challenges faced by Scotland and developed economies around the world and it presented a clear vision of the kind of country we want to be.

"This Programme for Government flows from that vision and builds on the progress of the last year and indeed the last decade.

"And it ensures that we remain focused on delivering for today and investing for tomorrow.

"It continues and accelerates the major reforms underway in our health, education and justice systems - underpinned by our new progressive system of income tax.

"It seeks to make further progress on tackling inequality and reducing poverty.

"It sets out the next steps in the operation of our new social security system.

"And it builds on our work to support Scotland's economy and encourage innovation.

"As the terms of Brexit become clearer in the months ahead, we will consider and set out our view on how Scotland's interests can best be protected and advanced.

"This Programme for Government will be impacted by Brexit, but it is not defined by it - instead it sets out how we intend to deliver on our vision of a healthier, wealthier and fairer Scotland."

The 12 Bills announced by Ms Sturgeon are: