Social Justice
Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is portfolio question time, and the portfolio is social justice. I advise members that there is quite a bit of interest in supplementary questions, so brevity in questions and responses would be appreciated.
Disabled People (Support)
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve support for disabled people, including when seeking employment. (S6O-04632)
We recognise the need for greater support for disabled people, including in employment. That is why we have committed an extra £2 million to our disability equality plan. We have also provided £5 million, through the equalities and human rights fund, to support people’s rights. Since 2018, we have invested £4.5 million through the workplace equality fund and a public social partnership to help employers tackle labour market barriers.
Learning from those initiatives is being shared to ensure that employers across Scotland can access tools and guidance to implement fair work and support disabled people to secure and sustain employment.
As the Westminster Government launches a green paper proposing more cuts to the financial support for disabled people, more disabled people will be forced into seeking employment without the necessary support being available to help them overcome their physical and mental barriers to that often daunting, if not impossible, process. Does the minister agree that, thanks to the poorly thought-out decisions of the Labour Government, it is clear that an already vulnerable community may now face even greater fear and alarm over their future? Will she tell me, and the local community organisations I met recently to discuss their fears and concerns about the impacts of those cuts, how the Scottish Government can further support them at this time of ever-increasing need?
The welfare reforms set out in the United Kingdom Government’s “Pathways to Work” green paper make it clear that the UK Government has prioritised spending cuts over the welfare of sick and disabled people across the UK. The Scottish Government, however, is clear that the chancellor should not be looking to balance the books by targeting the benefits that sick and disabled people rely on. We strongly reject the welfare proposals, and we call on the UK Government to scrap them immediately.
I reaffirm that the Scottish Government aims to take a different approach to welfare, ensuring that everyone is treated with dignity, fairness and respect. As is set out in the new programme for government, we will offer enhanced support for disabled people to move into sustainable employment through specialist employability support from July 2025 onwards, and we have provided a £5 million uplift to support that.
The minister rightly criticises the Westminster Government, but does she recognise that the disability plan that she has been working on has been overwhelmingly rejected by disability charities and disabled individuals? Will she re-engage with the disability community in a meaningful way, instead of imposing stuff that it knows will not work in practice?
I thank Mr Balfour for his continued interest and for championing the issue, but I take issue with his view on the matter. We are investing £2.5 million in the disability equality plan, which is an increase of £2 million. That will drive meaningful change in the lives of disabled people.
Priorities have been informed by recent engagements with disabled people’s organisations, and we are working to align that investment with the areas that have been identified. We remain committed to listening to disabled people and ensuring that their voices shape the decisions and delivery of the funding.
Child Poverty Support (Coatbridge and Chryston)
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce child poverty and ensure that targeted support reaches local families most in need in Coatbridge and Chryston and other deprived areas. (S6O-04633)
We are providing a range of support that will benefit families in Coatbridge and Chryston and across Scotland, including investment in the Scottish child payment, early learning and childcare, and free bus travel for under-22s. Between February 2021 and December 2024, more than 530,000 Scottish child payments worth more than £77 million were made to low-income families in North Lanarkshire. That action is making a real difference. On average, households with children that are in the poorest 10 per cent of households are, this year, estimated to be £2,600 a year better off because of Scottish Government policies.
I welcome the steps that the Scottish Government is taking, which the cabinet secretary has outlined. With evidence suggesting that poverty is increasingly affecting working families, can the cabinet secretary provide details of how the Government is working with local employers and job support services in Coatbridge and Chryston and across Lanarkshire to tackle in-work poverty, especially for parents who are juggling low-paid jobs with caring responsibilities?
Last year, we made up to £90 million available to local authorities to support the delivery of our no one left behind approach to employability services, including more than £2.1 million for North Lanarkshire Council for parental employment support, which supports parents both in and out of work to increase their earnings. Between April 2021 and September 2024, we supported almost 20,000 parents through our devolved employability services. The programme for government, which was published this week, has committed us to further action, with a further £90 million for employability services and funding for pilot projects that will focus on inclusive recruitment practices to support people to enter and progress in the workplace.
Housing and Homelessness Systems (Racism)
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle any racism in Scotland’s housing and homelessness systems. (S6O-04634)
Scotland is determined to play our part in eradicating racism, inequality and injustice and in building a better, fairer world. We are investing £768 million in affordable housing in 2025-26. Local authorities are responsible for assessing local housing need and demand, as well as setting out how that will be met through local housing strategies and strategic housing investment plans. They should ensure that equality is central to housing and housing service delivery. The Scottish social housing charter, which is monitored by the housing regulator, also requires social landlords to provide fair access to housing in a way that recognises individual needs.
Statistics recently highlighted by Shelter Scotland show that black people and people of colour are bearing the brunt of Scotland’s housing emergency, with 27 per cent of all failures to provide temporary accommodation and 28 per cent of unsuitable accommodation order breaches being experienced by those households. They can also expect to spend longer in temporary accommodation than white Scottish households. Will the cabinet secretary update the chamber on the actions that the Scottish Government can take to target support for those families who are facing systemic inequalities in Scotland’s housing system?
I thank Elena Whitham for raising an important issue. I hope that I can reassure her that the theme of equality runs through our homelessness strategy, “Ending Homelessness Together”, which is underpinned by a person-centred approach. We expect local authorities to meet the needs of each homeless household and to pay due regard to the public sector equality duty as they carry out those functions.
The number of children in temporary accommodation is too high. Of the £768 million that we will invest in affordable housing in 2025-26, £40 million will be targeted at local authorities with sustained temporary accommodation pressures, in order to increase through acquisitions the supply of social homes, including larger homes that are suitable for families. I hope that that will assist local authorities to address the challenges that Ms Whitham has highlighted.
Question 4 has not been lodged.
Accessible Housing Stock
To ask the Scottish Government what further action it can take to increase the stock of accessible housing. (S6O-04636)
We are increasing the supply of accessible and adapted homes across Scotland. To support tenants to live safely and independently, we have increased the budget for registered social landlord adaptations for 2025-26 by more than 150 per cent, to £20.9 million. We have also consulted on proposals to enhance the accessibility and adaptability of Scotland’s homes, which include proposed updates to the “Housing for Varying Needs” design guide as well as the introduction of a Scottish accessible homes standard through changes to building standards and guidance. The analysis of that consultation will inform our next steps.
A constituent in Irvine has been waiting for housing with wheelchair access since May 2022. Another constituent in Ardrossan, who also has serious health conditions, has been informed that they will have to wait 12 years, even though they are sleeping on the sofa and the lack of a downstairs toilet means that they have to use a commode. As the cabinet secretary knows, this is a Scotland-wide problem. What more can the Scottish Government do to increase the stock of accessible housing across Scotland? Does the cabinet secretary think that there is consistency of provision in different local authorities?
That is an important aspect that we should, rightly, be discussing in Parliament. It ties into Elena Whitham’s question about the challenge for the Government and local authorities to ensure that housing is available to everyone and that their particular needs are taken into account. In my answers to Elena Whitham, I mentioned the responsibilities not just of the Scottish Government but of local authorities through their local housing strategies and through the public sector equality duty and equality impact assessments, which we are all required to have at the heart of our discussions.
I appreciate that there are challenges that we all need to rise to. I hope that my original answer detailed some of the work that is going on at Scottish Government level to increase provision in the area. As the providers of housing, local authorities also need to take that into account very seriously.
Will the cabinet secretary provide an update on the impact of Scottish Government investment on levels of affordable and accessible housing? Will she also provide an update on how the Scottish Government continues to invest in voids and acquisitions as part of its affordable housing supply programme to address temporary accommodation pressures?
It is very important that the increased investment that the Scottish Government is putting into affordable housing, which amounts to £768 million, is used to unlock the new affordable homes that are required. We estimate that the money for 2025-26 will deliver more than 8,000 affordable homes. Important work is also going on through the housing investment task force, and the Government will look very keenly at that work to see what more can be done to unlock new investment opportunities across all tenures. I reassure Stuart McMillan that an estimated 2,669 households with children have been helped into affordable housing in the year to December 2024. That is an important part of the work that we must all undertake to ensure that children and their families are well housed.
There is a significant shortage of accessible housing in Mid Scotland and Fife, which impacts disabled individuals, particularly those who require wheelchair-accessible homes. Although some local authorities have committed to building more accessible homes, the current rates of construction are insufficient to meet the growing demand. What further action can be taken to achieve a resolution to this crisis?
As I mentioned, the £768 million of investment that has been allocated for 2025-26, which Alexander Stewart did not vote for as the budget went through the Parliament, is an important part of that, as is the work that has been undertaken to increase the budget for registered social landlords to allow for the adaptation of current homes. The investment in new builds and in adaptations by RSLs shows the Government’s commitment to helping to increase the provision of affordable homes, including for those who have particular design needs due to a disability or long-term condition.
Carer Support Payment (Earnings Limit)
To ask the Scottish Government what further consideration it has given to increasing or removing the earnings limit for recipients of the carer support payment. (S6O-04637)
The recent earnings limit increase for 2025-26, from £151 to £196 a week, means that carers in Scotland can earn £45 more per week and still get the carer support payment. That will help to remove barriers to work and provide more stable support. The earnings limit for the carer support payment will continue to be aligned with carers allowance until the case transfer process is completed later this year. We continue to consider stakeholder feedback, learning from live delivery of the carer support payment and from engagement with the Department for Work and Pensions on its plans for carers allowance in order to develop future policy on earnings rules from 2026-27 onwards.
The increase to £196 per week is welcome in the care sector, but it still involves a cliff edge. If people go £1 over the earnings limit, they lose the benefit in its entirety. The problem with that is that people face a choice between refusing to do more hours or accept pay rises, or putting in more working hours and perhaps being able to care much less. I do not think that either of those outcomes is good.
I ask the Government, in response to calls from Liberal Democrat members and the third sector, to give serious consideration to some form of tapering of the benefit so that there is not a cliff-edge cut-off. We hope that such an approach will get people back into work but allow them still to perform their caring duties.
As we have developed the carer support payment, I have had discussions with carers organisations. I assure Jamie Greene that I fully appreciate the importance of the point that he makes. I reassure him that we are already trying to undertake—and have undertaken—work with carers to make sure that the information on the earnings rules for carer support payment, as it stands, is clearer. For example, to provide more stable support, we average out carers’ earnings and use data from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and scheduled reviews to check and track earnings, in order, I hope, to assist with some of the challenges.
As we have gone on with the consultation, there have been differing views on the earnings taper. The analysis was that that would introduce significant complexity for carers and their interactions with wider support. As I said in my original answer, as future policy on earnings develops—and once the case transfer is complete—we will continue to consider that approach. I absolutely take the member’s point about the concerns that carers have raised. However, I urge caution, because it is an exceptionally complex area. We need to ensure that the differences that any change will make to the wider support for carers, some of which is still reserved, are taken into account. I assure Mr Greene that we will do that.
Collette Stevenson has a brief supplementary question.
Unpaid carers offer vital support to their loved ones, and it is important that they are recognised for that dedication while pursuing their ambitions.
How many young people in full-time education now benefit from the payment, and how will the Scottish Government continue to support young carers in education?
The carer support payment is available to many full-time students, who would have been unable to get carers allowance under the Department for Work and Pensions—we estimate that that will assist 1,500 more carers. Carers aged 16, 17 and 18 who are not getting carer support payment might be able to get a young carer grant, which supports 9,400 carers. Again, that is not available elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
Social Security Scotland (Benefits Delivery)
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made to ensure the timely delivery of benefits by Social Security Scotland. (S6O-04638)
Social Security Scotland has significantly improved processing times. In April 2023, processing time for adult disability payments was 96 working days, and the latest statistics from January 2025 show it as 42 days.
The agency’s flexible approach manages client demand effectively. Along with new applicants being supported, more than 390,000 people have now had their awards transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions. Client satisfaction remains high, and 90 per cent rate their overall experience as “very good” or “good”. I hope that that reassures Ms Thomson that the Government is taking very seriously the need for improvements in processing times.
Since the agency was set up six years ago, there has been a quite remarkable delivery of 15 benefits. What assurances can the cabinet secretary give about the available capacity at Social Security Scotland, particularly given the transfer of some 66,000 disability living allowance recipients to Scottish adult disability living allowance? What progress has been made in approving accessibility of key performance indicator data in order to assist with the improved scrutiny of how Social Security Scotland is functioning overall?
In the past six years, the agency has grown at pace and is now delivering 15 benefits, seven of which are available only in Scotland. This winter, the agency will introduce the pension age winter heating payment, which will restore winter fuel payments for pensioners.
Social Security Scotland actively manages its workforce to ensure that resources are managed effectively and efficiently, ensuring that there is value for money for the public and that it delivers on requirements. That involves managing application peaks and the challenges that inevitably come with the roll-out of additional benefits, such as the pension age disability payment and the winter fuel payments that I mentioned earlier.
Affordable Homes Target
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on its own reported assessment that its target of delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 is at risk. (S6O-04639)
We remain focused on delivering 110,000 affordable homes across Scotland by 2032, with at least 70 per cent for social rent and 10 per cent in our rural and island communities, backed by the investment of £768 million in 2025-26.
We will continue to work with partners to increase the number and availability of affordable homes to help to tackle the housing emergency and deliver on our target.
Delivering more affordable homes is a vital component of tackling the tragedy of there being 10,000 homeless children in Scotland. No matter how much the First Minister would like the Labour Party to
“move on and find something else to talk about or to moan about”,—[Official Report, 6 May 2025; c 29.]
which I noticed that he doubled down on at First Minister’s question time today, when he told us to stop “whinging”, we will continue to hold the Government to account for that failure and to advocate for action to help those 10,000 homeless children.
On accountability, given that the affordable housing supply programme risk register, obtained by Scottish Labour through a freedom of information request, shows that staffing, financial and commercial risks are all so high that the 110,000 target is at risk, what is the Scottish Government doing to address those risks—or does the cabinet secretary, like the First Minister, think that we should all just move on from the issue?
I assure the member that the Government is absolutely determined to deliver on the 110,000 affordable homes target. What the First Minister was pointing to—and I make no apology for also doing so—is the hypocrisy of the Labour Party in coming to the chamber to talk about putting more money into housing when it would not even support the £768 million that is in this year’s budget. I will not stop going on about that this year, and nor will the First Minister.
There are a number of supplementaries, and I will try to get them all in. They will need to be brief, as will the responses.
The best way to make housing affordable for Scots is to build more homes, but we know that the Scottish National Party Government’s housing policy has led to the loss of £3 billion of investment from the private sector. Will the cabinet secretary work with the sector to ensure that housing providers can do their job without further interference from the Government?
I have heard loud and clear from investors who wish to invest more in Scotland about the importance of ensuring that we balance the rent controls that we are bringing in to protect tenants with the need to provide certainty. I find it astounding that Meghan Gallacher has asked that question two days after she made it easier for rent controls to apply in Scotland rather than take her supposed principled stand against them. She will have to answer for that to private investors directly.
I am proud of the SNP Government’s record on delivering affordable housing for families across Scotland. I am not sure that Mr O’Kane can say the same about his party, which famously delivered only six council properties in its last four years in government. Will the cabinet secretary outline how the Scottish Government will work tirelessly to meet the target of 110,000 homes by 2032, particularly through investment in the 2025-26 Scottish budget, which the Labour Party did not engage with, let alone vote for?
The budget for 2025-26 sees an increase of more than £211 million when compared with the 2024-25 published budget, which is more than £180 million in capital and almost £31 million in financial transactions. That is a demonstration of this Government’s determination to continue to deliver on affordable homes.
Purpose-built student accommodation, alongside affordable accommodation, is important. I do not believe that purpose-built student accommodation should be in the Housing (Scotland) Bill. Does the cabinet secretary agree?
As Willie Rennie will know, the Government has introduced a bill that does not include purpose-built student accommodation. I do not wish to see purpose-built student accommodation included in rent controls, and the Government will not support any amendment that seeks to include it.
That concludes portfolio questions on social justice. To allow members on the front benches to change over, there will be a brief pause before we move on to our next item of business.
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