NICOLA Sturgeon is to lay out her plans for Scotland “shaping its own future” in the next decade, when she addresses SNP conference today.

Though her keynote address to conference will see the First Minister look back, and asses her party’s time in Government, she will say her main focus is now “on the next 10 years and beyond”.

Over the summer, after a particularly bruising general election campaign that saw the SNP lose 21 MPs, Sturgeon promised a refresh of her time in government.

She is expected to say: “That world around us is being shaped by events that no country on its own can hope to completely control.

“But we face the added uncertainty of a UK now being driven down the most uncertain path in modern times.

“We know that Scotland does better when decisions are taken here in Scotland.

“So, as we look ahead, we face a choice – we can trail in the wake of the change that is coming, or we can choose to shape our own future.

“Let’s resolve this today. Let’s not wait for others to decide for us. Let’s put Scotland in the driving seat.”

Yesterday, Sturgeon told STV that she still had a mandate to hold another referendum on independence before the end of the parliamentary term in 2021.

“Let me just, for the sake of clarity, we have a mandate for this parliament,” she told the broadcaster. “We won that mandate last year but after the general election I heard clearly people saying with the uncertainty of Brexit it was premature to be definitive about a timescale right now.”

She added: “So I have said I will not consider the timescale until there is a greater clarity about the Brexit talks.

“I am not going to go any further than that, that’s my position.

“But, of course, I and the SNP will continue to make the case for Scotland becoming an independent country.”

The SNP had initially called for a vote to be held in the autumn of next year or the spring of 2019, when the details of Brexit were known but, after June’s election, she put the timing on hold.

Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Sturgeon said: “Increasingly the UK right now is engulfed in chaos, we are seeing a developing disaster, in my view, with the Brexit negotiations.

“And the case for Scotland taking control of our own future, having the decisions that shape our future in our own hands, in my view gets stronger by the day”.

Meanwhile, the SNP leader will also use her speech to announce more details of Scottish Government plans to double free provision of early learning and childcare for three- and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds to 30 hours a week.

The First Minister will say the plans should see working parents save around £350 a month on the cost of childcare.

“Often when I have talked about this policy, I’ve been asked – sometimes sceptically – if we will really be able to fund it properly.

“Well, today, we put our money where our mouth is. Over the past few months, we have undertaken detailed work to assess the investment needed.

“We invest around £420 million a year in early years education and childcare. I can announce today that, by the end of this Parliament, that will rise to £840m a year.

“This is a commitment unmatched anywhere else in the UK. And it’s the best investment we can make in Scotland’s future.”

Scottish Labour’s interim leader, Alex Rowley, said: “Once again, Nicola Sturgeon has been forced to re-announce that education is her top priority – but the reality is schools are struggling under the SNP with 4000 fewer teachers, 1000 fewer support staff and an attainment gap that is as stubborn as ever.

“The situation is now so bad that she has been forced to re-announce a commitment made two years ago.”