Official Report 811KB pdf
Social Security Spending
The Auditor General today confirms that the Scottish National Party has a £1.2 billion black hole in social security spending for this year alone. The SNP’s benefits black hole is going to get even bigger, reaching £2 billion by 2030. The Auditor General says:
“The Scottish Government has not yet set out a detailed strategy for how it will manage the forecast gap between social security funding and spending within its overall budget.”
The Government will spend £2 billion a year more on benefits than budgets provide, yet it has no plan to pay for it. Will John Swinney tell us what his plan is, or whether he even has one?
As Mr Findlay knows, the Scottish Government is obliged to balance its budget annually. We have done so on every single occasion since we were elected to serve the people of Scotland in 2007. The issue that Mr Findlay raises essentially comes down to whether we are prepared to follow the benefit policies of the United Kingdom Government, which include making cuts to support for people with disabilities, who are some of the most vulnerable people in our society. My Government will do no such thing.
Of course, social security is an essential safety net for every citizen, but it has to be fair and affordable. The SNP has created an agency that takes claimants at face value when it reviews benefit claims. Claimants have only to tick a box on a form that says, “My needs are the same,” and that is it.
The Auditor General also says that there is no system to investigate the fraud that is not only inevitable but happening right now. He highlights that
“there is no timescale for when Social Security Scotland can consider incorrect payments due to client error or fraud.”
Can John Swinney tell us when those vital checks will be introduced?
One of the facts that Mr Findlay omitted in putting his question was that the Scottish Government, through the establishment of Social Security Scotland, has presided over the safe and effective transfer of personal independence payments to adult disability payments for 350,000 disabled people in Scotland. I take this opportunity to thank the staff of Social Security Scotland for doing such an excellent job in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
If errors are made in the system, or if there is evidence of fraud, those issues are already addressed by the systems that Social Security Scotland has in place. Those mechanisms are there to ensure that the public purse is protected and that support reaches those who need it.
One of the undertones of Mr Findlay’s question, which he never gets round to answering, is: whose benefits does he want to take away? We hear all his rhetoric, but when it comes down to the hard, specific realities of whose benefits are getting withdrawn, Mr Findlay has no answers.
It sounds to me as if John Swinney is saying that the Auditor General is wrong. He is not. It is black and white: there are no systems in place to prevent fraud.
The Auditor General also reveals today that 20 per cent of personal independence payment benefits are reduced or ended following standard review elsewhere in the UK but that, for Scotland’s equivalent benefit, that figure is just 3 per cent. Again, that means that, in the words of the Auditor General,
“Social Security Scotland does not have a reliable figure for the amount that is lost to fraud and error.”
The SNP’s approach is not only naive and negligent; it is a betrayal of those in genuine need and of taxpayers. Can John Swinney tell us how much benefit fraud is taking place, or does he really have absolutely no idea?
Mr Findlay omitted to say in his question that the data about the United Kingdom system shows that a substantial proportion of the cases that he mentions are overturned on appeal. Therefore, the point that he advances is not a valid one to put to me.
As I have indicated to Mr Findlay, the Scottish Government has put in place a system that is designed to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable people in our society. I think that that is the right purpose for our social security system, which the Government is proud to have in place in Scotland and which is delivering support to almost 350,000 of our most vulnerable citizens.
Every week, John Swinney omits to give a straight answer to basic questions.
There are no checks on fraud or error. There is not even a timeline for when checks might be introduced. Scotland’s soaring benefits bill is unsustainable, but John Swinney has no plan to pay for it. We are talking about a £2 billion black hole, made by the SNP.
At committee this morning, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, Angela Constance, was asked five times how that bill would be paid, and the best answer that she could come up with was that the money would come from “the people of Scotland.” That will send a shudder down the spine of every taxpayer in the country. By exactly how much will the SNP raise taxes to pay for its £2 billion benefit black hole?
As Mr Findlay knows, all the issues around tax are dealt with in the budget process, and there will be an opportunity for the Conservatives to engage in that process to discuss those issues. I know that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government will engage in those discussions constructively, but the Conservatives have to be able to come to them with some proposals. [Interruption.]
Stop the fraud.
Let us hear one another.
It is not good enough to come here and talk about the soaring benefits bill and then not say whose benefits are going to be taken away.
Members: The fraudsters.
Let us hear one another.
I am certain that the Conservatives will want to do exactly what their London equivalents did: pursue and harass vulnerable people in our society. This Government will not go down that road.
Alexander Dennis Ltd
I welcome this week’s news about the furlough scheme at the Alexander Dennis bus manufacturing sites in Falkirk and Larbert. That will provide welcome respite for the workforce, and Governments continue to work to secure a future for ADL at those sites. However, what guarantees has the Scottish Government secured that, if contracts come, Alexander Dennis will keep those sites open and maintain the jobs that are currently in Scotland? The Government has now reopened phase 2 of the Scottish zero-emission bus challenge fund with public money, but what guarantees can the First Minister give that that will lead to Scotland’s buses being built in Scotland?
I am pleased that Mr Sarwar welcomes the progress that the Scottish Government has made in collaboration with Alexander Dennis and its workforce. I take the opportunity to thank the company and its workforce for engaging substantively with the Deputy First Minister on all these issues to get to a position in which the Scottish Government has been able to support the company to retain hundreds of manufacturing jobs in Scotland, which is very welcome.
The Government has engaged with the company, and we have put in place the offer of a furlough scheme. The furlough scheme can be activated only if the company demonstrates success in securing orders. There is growing confidence that satisfactory orders will be secured.
In relation to ScotZEB 2, there is a procurement process that must be pursued, and the Government will report to the Parliament on the conclusions of that exercise.
The workforce will want to hear commitments on contracts in Scotland, as well as guarantees from the company in response to the very welcome furlough scheme.
Industrial strategy must be more than simply crisis management. Whether in relation to buses or ferries, we need a joined-up approach. On Monday, the GMB union led calls for the Ferguson Marine yard to receive a direct award for the next ferry for Scotland’s fleet. We welcome that call. John Swinney has spoken of his support for the yard, but, when pressed on a direct award, his Government will say only that it is complicated. Guaranteeing a supply of work for that yard is essential to the workers there, but it is also essential to protect taxpayers’ investment and to secure those jobs for generations to come. In the spirit of collaboration, what legal advice has John Swinney sought on a direct award of contracts to Ferguson Marine? Will he share any existing legal advice with the Parliament?
I think that Mr Sarwar was in the chamber to hear the Cabinet Secretary for Transport give a detailed response to Katy Clark’s question on exactly that: a potential direct award to Ferguson Marine for the contract for the successor to the MV Lord of the Isles. I said on Monday that it is complicated but that the Government is doing the detailed work to enable that to be considered. I give Mr Sarwar the absolute assurance that the Government is strongly engaged in exploring that as a possibility. The transport secretary gave comprehensive details of the work that is under way.
Mr Sarwar will understand that I cannot disclose the legal advice that is available to the Government on this question, because we need to consider all those elements. However, I give him the fundamental assurance that the Government is actively considering such a proposition, along with other propositions, as the transport secretary has set out.
Our work on the contract and continued support for Ferguson Marine is part of a comprehensive industrial strategy for Scotland, which is essential. We are now getting into territory in which more progress is being made on manufacturing opportunities in Scotland. I welcome that, and the Government is committed to making that happen. Our agencies, whether that is Scottish Enterprise, Transport Scotland or any other bodies, are actively engaged in that work.
We need a more coherent industrial strategy, whereby we build our vital infrastructure here in Scotland. That means building buses in Scotland so that Scottish companies can thrive, and it means building ferries in Scotland so that Scottish shipyards can thrive. However, under the Scottish National Party, we have had buses for Scotland built in China while Scotland’s bus companies struggle, and ferries built in Turkey and Poland while Scotland’s shipyards go without.
I am clear that a Scottish Labour Government that I lead will build Scotland’s buses, ferries and other crucial infrastructure right here in Scotland. [Interruption.] Will John Swinney make that same commitment and stop sending—
Let us hear one another.
SNP members do not want to hear it, Presiding Officer.
Will John Swinney make that same commitment to stop sending public contracts to Poland, China and Turkey and give those jobs to Scotland?
I am sorry to break some sombre news to Mr Sarwar, but, when the Labour Party was the leading party in the Scottish Executive, it sent contracts for ferries to Poland and to other European countries. Mr Sarwar will have to check up on his history—
I was at school.
Let us hear one another.
He will have to check up on the history of the performance of the Labour Government. If people want to know what a Labour Government might be like, they need only look at the shambles that was in here before us and the shambles that is in place in the United Kingdom at present.
I am all for buses being built in Scotland. I am all for ferries being built in Scotland—
When?
Mr Sarwar.
I am all for developing the skills to make sure that we can do that, and I am all for ensuring that we invest to make that happen. That is what I was doing this week—making sure that that is likely to happen—and I am proud of that record for the people of Scotland.
Ferry Services (Compensation Scheme)
The Scottish Government’s ferry fiasco is a national embarrassment. It has cost us a fortune, but no Scottish National Party minister has ever had the decency to resign. Scottish Liberal Democrats have been arguing for years that islanders and coastal communities deserve compensation for the colossal disruption to their lives. Now, the Scottish Government has belatedly set up a scheme, but far too many are excluded from it. Why do businesses on Mull, Iona, Coll, Tiree, Islay and Jura all get absolutely nothing?
First, I accept that there has been disruption to ferry services in Scotland. We are working hard to replace the fleet. As Mr Cole-Hamilton will know, one of the large vessels is now in service, another is being finished at the Ferguson Marine yard, and four further vessels are coming from the Cemre yard in Turkey. That will give us six new vessels for the fleet in the current period—those contracts are taking their course—which will strengthen the ferry network.
The Government has put in place a compensation scheme that examines the degree of disruption in different island communities and considers where that disruption has been acute and where the delivery of payments is merited. In the islands that Mr Cole-Hamilton has cited, the level of disruption has not been comparable with the level in areas with more significant disruption. That is the judgment that has been applied by ministers in putting in place a compensation scheme, and we discuss and consider such schemes with the relevant island communities.
The First Minister should tell that to the communities that have seen their timetables altered to hide the cancellations. That is “unfair, arbitrary and divisive”. That is what Joe Reade from Island Bakery on Mull says about the scheme, and that is what everyone in excluded communities thinks.
The Scottish Liberal Democrat consultation on the future of ferries closes tomorrow. We are listening to everyone who is affected. The Scottish Government clearly is not, because there is no compensation for Mull, where the toy shops of Tobermory are genuinely displaying signs that say that their toy ferries are more reliable than their real-life counterparts.
There is no compensation for Cumbrae or Ardrossan, which has lost its link to Arran because the SNP Government built a boat that does not fit its harbour. There is no compensation for the islands and port towns of the west Highlands or in Argyll and Bute, where timetables were stripped back to hide cancellations.
Sympathy does not pay the bills. When will the First Minister enrol those communities in the scheme? When will they get the cash?
I will take the example that Mr Cole-Hamilton puts to me about the ferry service to Arran. The Government has put in place a two-vessel service between Troon and Brodick. I accept the disruption to Ardrossan. That is why Mr Gibson has been given the solemn commitment of the Government on the acquisition of Ardrossan harbour, so that we can take it into public ownership and ensure that it gets the enhancements that it requires.
I have demonstrated that there has been a two-vessel service between the mainland and Arran on a constant basis. There are, of course, other ferry links from the mainland to Arran, at Lochranza. A variety of other opportunities are available. Where the service has, unfortunately, not been satisfactory, we have provided compensation. That has come about by examining and exploring the disruption that has taken place and providing the support that our islanders deserve.
Food and Drink Costs (Inflation)
To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the potential impact on households in Scotland of the forecasts from the Food and Drink Federation that food and drink inflation could reach 5.7 per cent by December. (S6F-04313)
I agree with Mr MacDonald and with the comments from the Food and Drink Federation, whose forecast is concerning, particularly for low-income households in Scotland that are already grappling with cost of living pressures and are disproportionately affected rising food prices.
I will quote the chief economist of KPMG, who summarised the situation as follows:
“Since April, the rise in inflation has been driven largely by domestic policy choices, including the increase in employer national insurance contributions.”
The Scottish Government is taking steps to try to support households. Our most recent intervention has been the abolition of peak rail fares, and we have other interventions, such as the Scottish child payment. What does not help us is to have significant negative economic impacts coming from policy choices such as the United Kingdom Government’s decision to increase employer national insurance contributions, which is damaging the economy.
According to the Food and Drink Federation, the inflation increase is down to Labour policies such as the rise in national insurance contributions and skyrocketing energy prices, which means that families and businesses in Scotland are once again paying the price for Westminster policies. Will the First Minister outline what the Scottish Government is doing to provide support to families in Edinburgh Pentlands, and across Scotland, who are struggling with the ever-increasing cost of living?
The Government is taking steps, through our budget provisions, to allocate more than £3 billion to policies that tackle poverty and the cost of living. Those measures include the Scottish child payment, free prescriptions, supported bus travel for 2.3 million people and support for early learning and childcare of more than £6,000 per eligible individual.
The Government is taking steps, using our own resources, to support families facing difficulties, and we will constantly look to establish how best that can be undertaken, but we have to do that against the backdrop of decisions taken by the United Kingdom Government that create ever more challenges for families and for the Scottish Government in addressing those circumstances for families in our country.
Town and City Centres
To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government will support town and city centres as retail destinations. (S6F-04296)
Economic growth is at the very heart of the Government’s agenda and we are working closely with businesses to drive economic growth in our towns and cities and to support both consumers and local businesses.
That support includes funding the Scotland loves local campaign, more than £3 million in funding to address retail crime and the most generous business rates relief in the United Kingdom. Our competitive non-domestic rates regime in 2025-26 includes a freeze on the basic property rate, delivering the lowest such rate in the United Kingdom for the seventh year running and maintaining the lowest property tax rate in the UK for more than 95 per cent of non-domestic properties in Scotland. Those are some of the measures that we are taking to support towns and city centres.
All members will be aware of the decline of town and city centres as traditional retail destinations. This week, the Scottish Retail Consortium published a five-point plan to make retail investment more attractive, including changes in planning, a focus on retail crime and, crucially, a “more competitive” business rate than in England.
Despite what the First Minister has just said, in the past three years, the Scottish Government has not passed on to businesses here the far more generous rates relief that is available south of the border. Will the Government now rethink its position and give retailers here the support that they need?
I welcome the Scottish Retail Consortium’s contribution to the debate and we will further consider its proposals. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government met with the Scottish Retail Consortium this week and we will give every consideration to its ideas.
The Government has taken a number of steps to support town centres. As I indicated in my earlier answer to Mr Fraser, we maintain the lowest property tax rate in the UK for more than 95 per cent of non-domestic properties. The Government has a long track record of ensuring that businesses in our town centres are supported by a competitive business tax regime and we will look to reflect that in the policy and budget proposals that the Government brings forward.
It is well understood that hospitality businesses bring people to town and city centres, which benefits all, including retail, as happens in the superb Shore area in my constituency, and on Leith Walk and elsewhere.
However, I know that too many of our hospitality businesses are struggling at the moment, largely because of the increases in employer national insurance contributions that were made earlier this year, as well as other factors. Does the First Minister agree with the view, which I and UKHospitality share, that the United Kingdom Chancellor of the Exchequer must consider a VAT cut for hospitality in the UK Government’s upcoming budget?
Such a measure would certainly help the hospitality sector and would go some way towards dealing with the negative consequences of the increase in employer national insurance contributions. It is beyond my conception as to why it is a good idea for a United Kingdom Government that is supposedly interested in growth to apply an increase in employer national insurance contributions. Such increases stifle growth, and we are seeing the effects of that in many communities around the country.
Mr Macpherson set out the arguments that the UK Government will need to consider in the budget. We will, of course, make representations to the UK Government on that question. In addition to the steps that we are taking in Scotland to support many businesses in our town and retail centres, we will continue to consider any changes in regulation and in the planning system that we could apply that would make it easier for businesses to trade and to create the type of economic opportunities that we want to be available in our town and retail communities.
I welcome the UK Labour Government’s commitment to provide millions of pounds for Kirkcaldy town centre. That investment has the potential to kick-start the town centre regeneration of the lang toun. How will the First Minister work with the UK Government and the community to maximise the benefits?
I welcome the investment that the UK Government has made in Kirkcaldy town centre. I welcome any such contribution, but we must see the whole picture. Kirkcaldy town centre’s difficulties will have been exacerbated by the increase in employer national insurance contributions, which has made it more expensive to employ people in our economy. I am all for giving a warm welcome to the benevolence of the UK Government, but I will also point out its shortcomings, and there are plenty of those.
Homelessness (Protection)
To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to protect renters in the private sector from homelessness. (S6F-04300)
Scotland leads the United Kingdom in supporting private tenants, and that work is backed by some of the strongest homelessness legislation in the country.
In addition, we have recently announced an ambitious plan, backed by the provision of £4.9 billion, to accelerate action on tackling the housing emergency. The Housing (Scotland) Bill, which is now at stage 3, will further strengthen support by introducing new prevention duties, enhanced protections for domestic abuse victims and new tenants’ rights, including the introduction of rent controls. This year, we are also providing more than £99 million to local authorities for discretionary housing payments to mitigate Westminster’s cruel bedroom tax.
However, there are limits on how much the Scottish Government can do. One of the most significant levers of support is local housing allowance, and this Government has repeatedly called on the UK Government to commit to uprating housing support for tenants. I hope that that will be delivered in the upcoming budget on 26 November.
A renter moving into their new home today will have no clear sense of how long they can stay before they could be kicked out by their landlord. They may have as little as four weeks’, and a maximum of three months’, notice. Sarah and James and their two children were evicted from their home in Inverness and were unable to find a suitable home in the three-month notice period. A family of four was forced into a cramped one-bedroom flat that was so much smaller than what they needed.
Renters in England will soon be protected from eviction on the most common grounds for the first 12 months of their tenancy and will also get a longer notice period, but that right does not currently exist in Scotland. We can fix that when we consider the Housing (Scotland) Bill next week. Will the First Minister commit to supporting Green amendments that would ensure that Scotland does not fall behind and would improve protections from eviction for renters in Scotland?
I appreciate the significance of Maggie Chapman’s points. I want to make sure that families can rely on good-quality accommodation, which is why the Government is investing so significantly in housing. We are making progress on acquisitions and voids work, through which we are bringing more and more properties back into use. That is a consequence of the increased Government investment. Significant protections are already in place in existing legislation and, as Maggie Chapman indicated, consideration will be given to the Housing (Scotland) Bill as it goes through its final stages in the relatively near future. The Government will look at all policy proposals, but I encourage Maggie Chapman to consider the significant steps that have already been taken to provide greater protection for renters in Scotland and that provide substantial protection for individuals and tenants in Scotland.
The truth is that the Scottish National Party has had 18 years to get a grip of Scotland’s worsening housing shortage. Figures that were released this week show that the number of families in temporary accommodation has increased by 6 per cent, 10,000 children remain trapped in temporary accommodation, and rough sleeping is on the rise—[Interruption.]
Let us hear Ms Gallacher.
They do not want to hear it, Presiding Officer, but the figures speak for themselves. Can the First Minister tell the Parliament when the housing emergency will end? Is he confident that his Government can achieve the target of 15,000 affordable homes, especially when we are debating a housing bill next week that will not result in one single home being built?
What builds homes is the combination of private investment—and the Government has made changes to the Housing (Scotland) Bill to enable that to be sustainable—and public expenditure. The public expenditure for housing in the Government’s budget in 2025-26 is £808 million, which is £251 million more than it was last year. Meghan Gallacher was one of the Conservative members who, like the Labour Party, did not vote for that provision. This is another example of members of Parliament not being prepared to vote for the provisions that will solve the problems that they are raising with me at First Minister’s questions. That is not a way to solve the housing crisis—[Interruption.]
Let us hear the First Minister.
The way to solve the housing crisis in Scotland is to build on the strong record of this Government, which has built—[Interruption.]
Members. We have many members wishing to ask questions. Let us hear one another.
Let me explain my point: between 1999 and 2007, an average of 5,448 affordable homes were built each year under the Labour and Liberal Democrat Government. Under this Government, it is an average of 7,734 each year. The SNP Government has built more houses on average per year than our predecessors. That is because we are prepared to take the action to deliver on the housing emergency when everyone in the Labour and Conservative parties just postures.
We move to general and constituency supplementaries.
Scotland’s Gaming Industry
Scotland’s gaming industry continues to go from strength to strength. This week, Scotland hosted the prestigious DICE Europe summit for the first time, which saw industry global leaders come to Edinburgh for key talks. What assessment has the Scottish Government made of the sector’s contribution to Scotland’s economy, and what steps is the First Minister taking to ensure that skills and support are in place to ensure that Scotland continues to be a hub for the games industry?
I very much welcome Clare Adamson’s points. It was my pleasure to host, along with the minister responsible for innovation, Richard Lochhead, representatives of the games industry at Bute house on Monday evening as part of the prestigious DICE Europe summit, which had come to Scotland for the first time. It is an industry that matters, and we brought its senior leaders to Bute house to consider how we can continue to build on the growth that has already been delivered. We now have an industry in Scotland that has increased in turnover by nearly 800 per cent since 2010—that is a huge vote of confidence in the industry.
The Government is investing in our skills system to ensure that our universities are able to produce the graduates who will support the industry, and we provide targeted enterprise support for our start-up ecosystem. We have a range of other programmes to support our creative industries, which again, this week, delivered formidable achievements in taking steps to engage young people and members of the public. I very much welcome the participation of the DICE summit in Scotland and I look forward to supporting the industry as part of the Government’s focus on growth.
Warmworks
Since last November, I have been assisting a couple and their baby daughter to obtain support from Warmworks to replace their broken heating system with a zero-carbon alternative. That process began more than a year ago, and in that time they have had no permanent heating or hot water in their home, where both the young child and their mother have chronic health conditions.
Warmworks has offered conflicting advice; it has lost reports; and, despite a helpful intervention from the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Màiri McAllan, when she instructed Warmworks to re-engage with my office, it has failed to respond to both my constituents and me in the timescales directed by the cabinet secretary.
Will the First Minister and his cabinet secretary please look into my constituents’ situation as a matter of urgency, before they spend another winter without heating or hot water?
I ask Mr Whittle to furnish me with the details of the case; it will obviously be familiar to the Government if the cabinet secretary has already intervened.
I have to say that I am not very happy with what Mr Whittle has recounted, because if a cabinet secretary directs an organisation to engage with a member of Parliament, I would expect that engagement to be substantial, regardless of the politics in the chamber. I have dealt with Warmworks on a constituency basis on a number of occasions, and have pursued cases where things had not worked out perfectly, so if Mr Whittle would give me the details of that case, I will pursue it on his behalf.
Fire Service Provision (Edinburgh)
What urgent action is the Scottish Government taking to ensure adequate fire service provision in Edinburgh, in the light of the reported proposal to close Marionville fire station, despite the area’s expanding population and the increased activity at Leith docks?
There is a consultation process under way, led by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, which is looking fundamentally at the basis for delivering a safe and sustainable fire service that is appropriate for our needs at this particular time.
I know that there is widespread concern about Marionville fire station; I have seen representations about that, and I encourage all interested parties to engage with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. I give Mr Choudhury an assurance that the SFRS will undertake the consultation on the basis of assessing the needs to enable sustainable and safe delivery of a service, and that must include a service for his constituents in the city of Edinburgh.
Whisky Industry (Tariffs)
I welcome the First Minister’s unwavering commitment to protecting and enhancing our Scotch whisky industry—a vital, thriving sector that creates thousands of jobs across Scotland.
Can the First Minister provide further details on his recent meeting with President Trump in Washington ahead of the United Kingdom and US trade talks? At that meeting, he made the case to reduce the tariffs on the Scotch whisky industry—something which the US industry supports.
As colleagues will be aware, I travelled to Washington DC last week to support the efforts of the Scotch Whisky Association and its counterparts in the United States in the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States and the Kentucky Distillers Association, which have a shared and symbiotic relationship in relation to the sustainability of the industry.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend about 50 minutes with President Trump explaining that argument, and I engaged substantially with the President on the issue.
I make it clear to Parliament that I was making representations on behalf of the industry—I was not negotiating a trade deal; that is the proper responsibility of the United Kingdom Government. However, I also had the opportunity last night, at the state event that was hosted by His Majesty the King at Windsor castle, to discuss the issue further with President Trump. I will continue to engage in order to ensure that I deliver the type of zero-for-zero arrangement that the United States whiskey industry and the Scotch whisky industry are seeking, because I think that that makes economic sense on both sides of the Atlantic.
Energy Infrastructure (Community Groups)
In the coming days, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks will submit its planning applications to have megapylons span from the Highlands right through the north-east to the central belt. Community groups in rural areas feel ignored. Gillian Martin is happy to jet off to Japan next week to sell off Scotland’s countryside to foreign wind developers, but she still refuses to meet those community groups. Will the First Minister do something that his energy minister is too feart to do and meet those groups who are seeing their countryside trashed by energy infrastructure?
As a matter of fact, the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy is in Japan this week. She is at the Osaka expo, at which she is promoting the tremendous strengths of Scotland in renewable energy. That is exactly the type of work that ministers should be doing to promote the interests of Scotland to an international audience. I welcome all that the energy secretary is doing.
Mr Lumsden invites me to consider issues that will become the subject of live planning consideration by ministers. He knows the rules as well as I do: I cannot engage on issues of this nature that will be determined by ministers. The proper process will be followed.
Care Workers (Enable Scotland)
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests.
Care workers, 80 per cent of whom are women and many of whom are among our lowest-paid workers, make independent living possible. Indeed, I would not be in this chamber without them. However, Enable Scotland staff in Glasgow have been forced to strike because of recurring empty promises to deliver sectoral bargaining and fair pay. That has left carers across the sector rightly angry and third sector organisations really struggling. I stand in solidarity with those staff and their trade union, Unison, which has said that—I will quote care workers in Glasgow—despite promises,
“the Scottish government have delivered year-on-year disappointments.”
When will the First Minister and his Government stop disappointing? Will he acknowledge that care has been undervalued by the Government, and will he get round the table with care workers as soon as possible on sectoral bargaining and pay parity, starting with pay of at least £15 per hour?
I totally acknowledge the points that Pam Duncan-Glancy makes about the importance of care workers and supporting independent living. I express my admiration for those workers in general, and especially for the fine individuals who support Ms Duncan-Glancy, who are always a joy to see in the Parliament.
This is a pay dispute between Unison and Enable, so I have to leave it to the trade union and employers to resolve it. For its part, the Government is investing around £900 million in social care pay support. I value the work that care workers undertake; the state relies entirely on those care workers to provide that support. We continue to look at what more we can do in that respect. It will be a material part of the budget process and, as I said in one of my earlier answers, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government will engage with all parties on those priorities in the run-up to the setting of the Government’s budget for the next financial year.
Local Housing Allowance (Rates)
The United Kingdom Government’s harmful decision to continue the Tory freeze on local housing allowance rates will impact thousands of low-income renters in Scotland, widening the gap between housing support for private renters and private sector rents.
Will the First Minister join me in calling on the Labour UK Government to permanently repeg LHA rates to at least the 30th percentile of local rents? The Resolution Foundation states that that vital move would
“lift 75,000 children out of poverty”
by the end of the current UK parliamentary session.
I remind all members that questions should be put referencing the First Minister’s responsibilities in a clear manner.
The Scottish Government recognises the issue. In one of my earlier answers, I made reference to the local housing allowance; that uplift would assist us to tackle the issues of homelessness that we are wrestling with and to support families who are living with poverty.
In this financial year, the Government is making £7.9 million available to mitigate shortfalls in local housing allowance rates and help to protect tenancies. We are making a further £2 million available to support households in temporary accommodation to find settled homes.
There would be much greater assistance if a link were to be established with the local housing allowance. I encourage the UK Labour Government to do exactly that.
Whisky Industry
Further to Evelyn Tweed’s question about the whisky industry, I congratulate the First Minister on his attendance at the state banquet for President Trump and the first lady of the United States at Windsor castle yesterday.
The whole chamber will rejoice at the warm personal emerging relationship that is developing between the First Minister and the President. It fair gladdens all of our hearts. In fact, I feel the hearts of the Scottish Greens melting, even as I speak. [Laughter.]
What was not immediately clear from the answer that the First Minister gave to Evelyn Tweed, and what I think members wish to know, is what impression he got from President Trump of the representations that he made on behalf of the Scottish whisky industry. Does the First Minister hope or have any expectation that those representations might lead to good news for our industry in the near future?
One thing that I will always be able to say about Jackson Carlaw is that he knows how to bring hilarity into the parliamentary chamber. [Interruption.] Oh, and Jackie Baillie thinks that I can manage it, too. I am glad that I am conveying such bonhomie. It is not always how Jackie Baillie describes my contribution to Parliament but, if bonhomie is the order of the day, I shall settle for that.
On Mr Carlaw’s question, the fact that President Trump was prepared to engage in discussions about that issue in the Oval office should be welcomed, because it indicates a willingness to consider the propositions that I am putting forward. Fundamentally, all that I can ask for is to get a fair hearing about issues that are affecting the industry in Scotland. I was able to marshal, for President Trump, some of the difficulties that are being created for the industry in Scotland as a consequence of tariffs. Some such difficulties are also prevalent in the United States, because the tariffs are leading to a loss of employment in Kentucky, due to the reduction in production activity in the Scotch whisky industry. I hope that, with regard to what I have characterised as a win-win situation, President Trump will be persuaded by my arguments, but time will tell on that matter.
That concludes First Minister’s question time.
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