Contents
- General Question Time
- First Minister’s Question Time
- Single-use Vapes (Environmental Impact)
- Portfolio Question Time
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill
- Football
- Decision Time
Portfolio Question Time
Social Justice
Good afternoon. The next item of business is portfolio questions, on social justice. I remind members who wish to ask a supplementary question that they should press their request-to-speak button or enter the letters RTS in the chat function during the relevant question.
Children in Temporary Accommodation (Dumfries and Galloway)
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent statistics showing that the number of children in Dumfries and Galloway living in temporary accommodation rose by 67 per cent between 2022 and 2023. (S6O-02504)
The number of households, and particularly children, in temporary accommodation in Scotland is too high. It is unacceptable and we are firmly committed to reducing it. In our response to the temporary accommodation task and finish group recommendations, which were published on 19 July, we said that we would work with councils to support the development of targeted plans to reduce temporary accommodation pressures. We provide councils with annual allocations of £8 million of rapid rehousing transition plan funding to support people into settled accommodation and £30.5 million for their work to prevent homelessness, with Dumfries and Galloway Council receiving over £950,000 in 2023-24.
We have seen an increase of over 90 per cent in the number of open homelessness cases in Dumfries and Galloway, compared with 2019-20. The crisis is so bad that housing officers are placing people in caravans and 50 bed and breakfasts across the region. Why was the number of homes that were given grant funding in the year to the end of June as part of the affordable housing supply programme down by 22 per cent? Why is the number of affordable homes started in the region at its lowest level since 2016, when we have this crisis facing the region? Surely that is going to make it worse.
There are a series of measures. I will come back to the task and finish group recommendations, but one of the recommendations that came through, which we have responded to, was about acquisitions. We will be working in Dumfries and Galloway in that regard, and we will also be looking at allocation policies.
This morning, I had a meeting with the task and finish group on prevention. We are talking about what we can do in that regard. There are things that we do at the moment, working in Dumfries and Galloway, on prevention. In addition, resource planning assumptions of £106.148 million over five years have been allocated to Dumfries and Galloway. Some of the issues are about how we can maximise the spend on that, and there is flexibility in the programme to look at temporary accommodation in that regard. I am happy to meet Mr Smyth to discuss that further if needed.
Affordable Housing Supply Programme
To ask the Scottish Government what impact its programme for government 2023-24 will have on the affordable housing supply programme. (S6O-02505)
The number of affordable homes that were completed in the latest year, to the end of March 2023, is the highest annual figure in more than two decades. The programme for government for 2023-24 reaffirms our commitment to invest £752 million this year towards the affordable housing supply programme. Since 2007, Scotland has seen over 40 per cent more affordable homes delivered per head of population than in England, and over 70 per cent more than in Wales. We will shortly publish a rural and islands housing action plan that is aimed at helping to retain and attract people in rural and island communities.
Thanks to the SNP Government, Scotland builds 13.9 affordable and social homes per 10,000 people annually, compared with 9.7 in England and eight in Labour-run Wales. As the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has said, affordable housing contributes to Scotland having the lowest poverty rates in Britain. With the Tory cost of living crisis and Brexit pushing up the costs of materials and borrowing, how can the minister ensure that we continue to meet our challenging investment targets?
The member is right. The current position is extremely difficult. The hard Brexit added to it and the economic mismanagement of the UK Government has obviously not helped the situation. We have seen construction inflation of around 15 to 20 per cent, including in the Stirling constituency, and that has caused soaring construction costs.
Despite that, the housing sector has done incredible work to deliver the highest annual rate of affordable homes since 2000. We are making £3.5 billion available in the current session of Parliament—members should remember that that £3.5 billion is being impacted by inflation construction as well—towards delivery of affordable and social homes. We recognise the need to keep pace with the demand for social housing and we are making more than £60 million available from this year’s £752 million budget to support the acquisition of properties to be brought into the affordable housing sector.
I was interested to hear both the minister’s and Colin Smyth’s spin on this topic, because new statistics published on Tuesday show that the number of affordable homes that were approved in the quarter between April and June has reached the lowest level in 10 years. Those are the facts. Why have SNP and Green ministers dropped their target for the number of affordable homes to be built during this parliamentary session?
That target has not been dropped. During my summer tour, I went round most local authorities. I have also spoken to private builders and housing associations on this issue. The two main reasons that they give for the situation with approvals are to do with construction inflation—given the inflation rate in the United Kingdom—and additional borrowing costs, which, again, have been caused by the UK Government’s mismanagement. If Miles Briggs speaks to them, they will tell him exactly the same thing: construction inflation, inflation rates and borrowing costs are why things are slowing down.
Child Poverty (Universal Free School Meals)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress with its “Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan”, including in relation to its commitment to pilot universal free school meals in secondary schools. (S6O-02506)
Our annual report on progress towards meeting the child poverty targets is published in June each year and will include updates on actions that have been taken on the delivery of the free school meals project.
Through the programme for government, we have recommitted to work with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to prepare schools and infrastructure for the expansion of universal free school meal provision to primary 6 and primary 7 pupils during 2026. That will start with those who are in receipt of the Scottish child payment and will save families £400 per child per year on average.
Back in 2021, ministers promised to expand universal free school meal support to all primary pupils in the first 100 days of this session of parliament. That expansion did not materialise, and this major delay to the manifesto commitment will make hungry children wait until 2026, if we are to believe the First Minister.
In addition to what the cabinet secretary said, when will we see detailed implementation plans around the timeline not just for P6 and P7 pupils, but for the pilot in secondary schools, which is also long overdue?
During this parliamentary session, free school meals provision in primary 6 has expanded. As I stated, that will continue, through our commitment in the programme for government.
Monica Lennon is right to point to the Government’s commitment also to pilot free school meals in secondary schools. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills has met officials and engaged with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on that issue. The discussions will conclude and something will be made public in due course.
Is the cabinet secretary as frustrated as I am by the audacity of Scottish Labour, which criticises the steady roll-out of free school meals in Scotland despite the fact that such a pledge by United Kingdom Labour was one of those that were abandoned over the summer by Keir Starmer?
It has been a bit difficult to keep up with the number of commitments—[Interruption.]
Cabinet secretary, please resume your seat. If a member wishes to raise a point, they know how to do that. Otherwise, the floor is with the person who has the floor—that is the cabinet secretary.
It has been rather difficult to keep up with UK Labour’s changes in policy. That is concerning, because we in the Scottish Parliament fear what the impact might be on policies for Scottish Labour. This Government has reaffirmed its commitment to helping families through the roll-out of free school meals. It is a disappointment that the UK Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has refused to follow that example, and I hope that that is not now a slippery slope for Scottish Labour.
My point earlier was that a question about Labour Party policy was addressed to a cabinet secretary. I find that not to be in order. That is not why we have these sessions. [Interruption.]
The heckling from a sedentary position aside, I have in front of me the stats on school meals take-up. Why are they down on 2016?
Before I call the cabinet secretary, I say to Stephen Kerr that, if he wishes to raise a point of order, he should do so; otherwise, he should just ask his question.
I will be guided by you, Deputy Presiding Officer, rather than Stephen Kerr as to what is in order in the chamber. His concerns for young people and children are just crocodile tears from a Government and a member who back the rape clause, the benefit cap and recent cuts to universal credit, and who support tax cuts for the richest. I will take no lectures from Mr Kerr on how we try to provide support—as we already do—to children throughout Scotland.
At your invitation, Deputy Presiding Officer, I would like to make the following point of order. Is it in order for members of the Government party to ask the cabinet secretary questions about Labour Party policy, or any other party’s policy, as opposed to asking questions in relation to the stewardship that lies within the realm of those ministers?
I thank Mr Kerr for his contribution. As far as I recall, the question was related to the social justice portfolio and, indeed, the issues raised in the principal question of Ms Lennon. I am not responsible for the manner in which any particular Government minister seeks to answer a question, which is not a matter for the chair, but I was satisfied that the issue that was raised fell within the scope of the question in the Business Bulletin.
Social Security (Investment)
To ask the Scottish Government what stakeholder input informed its decision to increase investment in social security. (S6O-02507)
We regularly engage with a wide range of stakeholders. In 2023-24, we will invest £5.3 billion in social security benefits, which will reach 1.2 million people, with those figures rising to £7.4 billion and 2 million people in 2027-28.
Social security is a fundamental right, which is why we have established a radically different benefits system that is built on dignity, fairness and respect.
I am heartened to see the professional input that underpins the Scottish Government’s compassionate and ambitious approach to social security, but I am painfully aware of how efforts to tackle poverty here are undermined by Westminster benefit cuts—which are now backed by not only Tories but Labour.
Does the cabinet secretary agree that it is likely that the Scottish welfare model will keep having to mitigate United Kingdom Government welfare policies in the years ahead, whether under Rishi Sunak’s blue Tories or Sir Keir Starmer’s red Tories? [Interruption.]
I completely agree with the premise of the question. I hear by their reaction that both Labour and the Conservatives are uncomfortable at that line of questioning. [Interruption.] I am not surprised.
We have spent more than £1 billion mitigating the impacts of 13 years of UK Government policies such as the bedroom tax and the benefits cap—and the Conservatives do not like to hear about that. Meanwhile, the UK Government is steadily dismantling the welfare system across the UK and enforcing a sanctions regime that is punishing the poorest members of our society. That is exactly the opposite to how our dignity, fairness and respect system in Scotland works.
I was slightly surprised by the part of the cabinet secretary’s answer that said that Social Security Scotland is “radically different” from the Department for Work and Pensions. With regard to the regulations that the Scottish Government has brought forward, will she tell me how adult disability payment, children’s benefits or any benefit that has so far been devolved to Scotland is radically different?
I do not have time to go through that in detail, but I would love to meet Mr Balfour to give him the full details. What I will say is that the client experience that is already being published in our surveys—[Interruption.].
If Mr Kerr is genuinely interested in the subject, he may wish to listen.
I did not say anything!
Members, please let the cabinet secretary respond.
We are radically different in our application process, in the way that we work with stakeholders to ensure that people are encouraged to come forward for the benefits and in making sure that we are delivering the right result, first time, which is very different from the appeals process that people are made to go through with the DWP and the barbaric personal independence payment process.
Those are a few examples, which I would be keen to elaborate on in a meeting with Mr Balfour in due course, should he wish to have one.
House-building Programme
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of any barriers to achieving a national house-building programme for Scotland. (S6O-02508)
The Scottish Government has set a clear ambition for the delivery of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, with 70 per cent for social rent and 10 per cent in rural and island communities. We have well-established partnership working with local authorities, registered social landlords and the construction sector to ensure that we deliver the right homes in the right places.
As I mentioned earlier, Scotland has led the United Kingdom in providing affordable homes. Since 2007, Scotland has seen more than 40 per cent more affordable homes delivered per head of population than in England and more than 70 per cent more than in Labour-controlled Wales.
I will quote Shelter Scotland director Alison Watson on the subject of how we in Scotland are progressing on housing. She said:
“The snail’s pace of delivery demonstrates clearly that the Scottish Government has got its priorities badly wrong and is neglecting social housing.
No minister can claim ignorance of what that means; it means more children with nowhere to call home, it means more people trapped in miserable temporary accommodation, and it means Scotland’s housing emergency continuing to devastate lives.”
Does the minister not agree that what we need is a national house-building programme that takes into account the land that needs to be made available, gives local authorities the power to give up that land—
Thank you, Mr Rowley. We will move to the minister.
—and trains in the skills needed to build houses?
We will now move to the minister for the answer.
I have met Alison Watson twice this week, on Tuesday and Wednesday. I regularly meet her to discuss the issue.
This summer, I have been on a programme of visits to all 32 local authorities. The key point that has come through them all is that there are 32 different local solutions. I have visited Fife on a number of occasions and have met representatives there to talk about homelessness and the affordable housing supply programme. I invite Mr Rowley to ask me about those discussions.
We have made £180 million available for Fife in this parliamentary term, which was an increase of £35 million. Part of the discussions that I have had with the representatives from Fife has been about how we can maximise capacity and the pace of building there. There are other barriers relating to those issues.
The key point for me has been discussing with local authorities what they need on homelessness and house building. I will be happy to speak to Mr Rowley about the discussions that I have been having on those matters.
Over the summer, the housing minister made an announcement of funding of £960,000 to support community housing trusts in rural and island areas. That is a welcome example of what is needed to boost progress towards Scotland’s ambitious housing goals. Will the minister say what role empowering local communities has in ensuring that we meet our affordable housing needs?
Earlier I mentioned the visits that I undertook over the summer. Last month, I had the pleasure of visiting Gairloch, where we launched that funding. We could see there the difference that community-led housing can make, and the local project was really driven by the community.
Community-led housing plays an important role in our broad approach to deliver more affordable homes in our rural and island areas. Many communities actively engage in pursuing projects in their own local areas, often supported by the rural and islands housing fund. That fund plays a critical role in supporting community organisations and others in implementing housing projects where they would otherwise be unable to access the mainstream affordable housing programme. The key point is to give them the capacity to drive projects forward on their own.
The recently announced core funding support will enable the Communities Housing Trust and South of Scotland Community Housing to continue to provide advice and support to communities.
Welfare Spending (Aberdeen City Council)
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent in the last five years, within the Aberdeen City Council area, to mitigate any effect of United Kingdom Government welfare policy. (S6O-02509)
Over the past five years, including this fiscal year, the Scottish Government has spent more than £733 million to mitigate UK Government welfare policies.
Although we are unable to break that down by local authority area, over the past five years we have invested £17.2 million in the Aberdeen City Council region, through the Scottish welfare fund and discretionary housing payments, to mitigate, among other things, the bedroom tax, the benefit cap and the local housing allowance. Additional funding has been made available through universal credit Scottish choices and advice services. Some £11 million has also been provided through the Scottish child payment.
Would the cabinet secretary agree that the £84 million per year spent on discretionary housing payments could make a huge difference in supporting folk through the cost of living crisis if it were not being spent on mitigating the UK Government’s cruellest policies?
It is frustrating that in 2023-24, the UK Government plans to spend £100 million on discretionary housing payments for England and Wales, whereas Scotland, which has a tenth of the population of those countries, will spend more than £80 million. If we did not have to spend that money on mitigating the UK Government’s cruel policies, it could be used to further our national mission to tackle poverty. I suggest that that shows that the UK welfare system—if not the UK itself—is not fit for purpose.
Cladding
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress in removing highly combustible cladding from buildings. (S6O-02510)
The safety of home owners and residents is our absolute priority. That is why the programme for government sets out proposals for a cladding remediation bill that will give ministers new powers to remediate buildings with unsafe cladding, and why we are seeking the transfer of powers that we need in order to create a building safety levy, about which we are in discussions with the United Kingdom Government at the moment.
We are undertaking a robust programme of single-building assessments. Those assessments are being completed and remediation is under way on one building. We are committed to undertaking a stock census to help alleviate buildings and explore ways to minimise cost and maximise revenue to ensure that the programme can deliver its objectives in full, efficiently and in a reasonable timeframe.
A loophole means that combustible cladding can still be used on schools and hospitals under 11m in height and on all hotels and office buildings. The Government is reviewing safety regulations this year, so will the minister close that loophole?
I am happy to discuss that further with Mr Golden.
I want to add a few things on the issue of cladding. There have been consistent meetings with residents groups. We have also been working closely with developers on the issue, and we have got them to sign up to the developer commitment letter and are moving towards long-form contracts in that regard. We have regular discussions with developers on the issue.
Two members have requested to ask supplementary questions, and, as we have some time in hand, I will take both.
My constituency is significantly affected by the issue and a number of my constituents have contacted me with questions regarding their developments. Although I appreciate that a different approach and solution will be applicable for each building, is the Scottish Government able to provide further detail on when home owners can expect to receive communications about the outcome of their single-building assessments, including a high-level timescale for any remediation work that is required, and clarity on where the responsibility for meeting costs will lie?
The First Minister’s mandate letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice sets out our commitment to focus on supporting residents by ensuring that each of the buildings that are already on the pilot programme is on a single-building assessment pathway by summer 2024. It is absolutely correct that the timetable and detail of work to be undertaken will depend on the circumstances of each individual building. I am happy to meet Mr Macpherson and residents in his constituency to discuss their specific needs.
The minister will be aware that I have been working closely with my constituents in Glasgow Kelvin on this issue, and I know that residents in a number of the buildings that we are talking about find themselves facing rising factoring fees and other costs as remedial work is rolled out. Can the minister provide us with an update on recent engagement by the Scottish Government with relevant stakeholders regarding insurance and mortgage issues?
I have met the member on a number of occasions to discuss those issues and have also met residents in her constituency on the subject. I sympathise with the difficulty that owners are facing. Regulation of mortgage lending is reserved to the UK Government, and we would expect any changes in the lending market in England to be extended to all nations of the UK. However, current arrangements are not applicable in Scotland, given that they involve UK Government funding schemes that apply only in England. Therefore, we have been exploring what actions will be taken to provide reassurance to home owners in Scotland, and I can confirm that, where requested, we will issue letters of comfort to home owners whose buildings are part of the pilot cladding remediation programme. Those letters provide factual information, and, although they will not completely resolve the difficulties that home owners face, they should help.
I am happy to discuss the matter further with the member.
Minimum Income Guarantee Expert Group
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further information regarding the minimum income guarantee expert group. (S6O-02511)
The expert group includes people from academia, trade unions and poverty and equality organisations, who bring a wealth of relevant knowledge and experience. Membership and terms of reference for the group, together with the minutes of meetings and papers prepared for the group and the group’s interim report from March 2023, are published and available on the Scottish Government website.
I was very enthusiastic to see the minimum income guarantee mentioned in the First Minister’s programme for government the other week. Can the cabinet secretary say whether we will need input from Westminster to go forward on that, and whether she has had any discussions with Westminster in that regard?
The expert group’s interim report acknowledges that the full potential of a minimum income guarantee might not be realised without our having full legislative powers. Although devolution continues to limit what we can do, we are determined to use the powers that we have to the fullest extent. Therefore, we will continue to use those powers to tackle poverty and inequality. The recommendations of the expert group are welcome, as they take the current situation into account as well as giving broader advice about what could be done if, in the future, we had additional powers. I look forward to receiving the group’s final report in due course.