Official Report 233KB pdf
Social Justice and Housing
The first item of business this afternoon is portfolio question time. The first questions are on social justice and housing.
Short-term Lets
To ask the Scottish Government how it supports local authorities to investigate short-term lets that are operating without planning permission or registration. (S6O-05411)
Planning authorities are responsible for investigating breaches of planning control and deciding whether to take enforcement action. Planning circular 10/2009 sets out guidance on enforcement matters, and all planning authorities publish an enforcement charter setting out their procedures. To support local authorities in fulfilling their responsibilities for enforcement, the Government requires them to publish a public register of licensed accommodation. That, together with information on the Government website, assists neighbours in identifying and reporting unlicensed operators to their council.
Constituents have contacted me regarding issues with securing timely and effective enforcement on short-term lets that are operating either with no licence or with no planning permission—or, sometimes, with neither. It is frustrating that such short-term lets are often advertised on online booking platforms and that the profits from them far outweigh eventual fines. What powers does the Scottish Government have, or what additional powers might it seek in the future, to target and take action against online operators that repeatedly offer platforms for such adverts?
Authorities already have a range of enforcement tools at their disposal. It is worth noting that failure to comply with a planning enforcement notice is an offence that can incur strong penalties. It remains the Government’s intention to increase the maximum fine for some short-term let licensing-related offences.
We have also worked with online booking platforms, which Bob Doris is quite right to mention. We are currently working with them to promote reporting processes for licensing authorities, to ensure that short-term lets that are confirmed to be operating without a licence can be delisted.
Scottish Child Payment
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in 2024-25 no longer received the Scottish child payment because they moved off benefits. (S6O-05412)
Social Security Scotland does not publish figures on why people stop receiving the Scottish child payment. However, statistics show that the payment continues to provide vital and stable support to low-income families across Scotland. The Scottish Government remains firmly committed to tackling child poverty, and the Scottish child payment provides direct support to families that need it most. Take-up is exceptionally high, at an estimated 94 per cent in 2024-25, and the latest statistics show that the families of more than 322,000 children across Scotland are benefiting from that support.
I did not ask about anything in that very long answer. What is clear is that the Government does not know or, if it does know, is not prepared to say.
Yesterday, at the Economy and Fair Work Committee, the Deputy First Minister acknowledged concerns about the cliff-edge nature of the Scottish child payment. There is growing evidence that people are reluctant to take on extra hours, overtime, promotion or better-paid work because doing so can push them over the threshold and lead to them losing their benefits. That reluctance is entirely understandable, but it amounts to a benefits trap.
Given that we know that the most effective route out of poverty is good work, what steps is the Government taking to remove that cliff edge, so that work, progression and higher earnings are incentivised rather than penalised?
I am sorry if Mr Kerr is not interested in the number of children who have been lifted out of poverty by the Scottish child payment. In relation to his question, analysis published by the Scottish Government in July 2024 concluded that the payment is not negatively affecting labour market outcomes at scale at its current rates. Research by the London School of Economics found that there is no evidence that it creates meaningful work disincentives. Research published by the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion concludes that
“the evidence suggests that concerns that the SCP creates work disincentives are overplayed.”
Many people who receive the Scottish child payment are in work, and the payment is an important way in which we can impact both those who are in work and those who are out of work. I hope that, now that I have detailed the research and evidence, Mr Kerr will accept that and move on.
I welcome the Scottish child payment. I also welcome the boost to the Scottish child payment for families with a baby under one from 2027, which is set out in the 2026-27 Scottish budget. The cabinet secretary will know that UNICEF has said that the Scottish National Party Government’s decision
“recognises how crucial a child’s early years are for their development, life chances and future wellbeing.”
Will the cabinet secretary tell us more about how the additional support that we give to children can contribute to their best possible start in life?
Keith Brown raises an important point about the impact of the Scottish child payment and the specific impact that a premium for children under the age of one will have. By April this year, the Scottish child payment will have increased by more than 180 per cent since it was launched. The payment being raised to £40 a week for every eligible child under one during 2027-28 will benefit 12,000 children. Once again, it will provide support when families need it the most.
Scotland is delivering the strongest package of financial support for families anywhere in the United Kingdom. Our budget proposals include wide-ranging action to tackle the root causes of poverty, whether that is through the Scottish child payment or our work on affordable homes.
As the cabinet secretary recognised, the LSE has carried out a piece of work on the Scottish child payment. Last week, at the Social Justice and Social Security Committee, One Parent Families spoke about the cliff edge of eligibility. It cited the example of a parent who had turned down a promotion at work because it would have meant losing their Scottish child payment. Is the Scottish Government mindful that those kinds of situations can arise, particularly for women? What is being done to support families to make the shift when immediate financial support could be lost but the long-term impact could be an increase in household income?
One of the reasons that we have taken forward work in the past few years is to give future Governments the ability to change the statutory and legal footing of the Scottish child payment. To ensure that we delivered the Scottish child payment as fast as we did, we based it on the eligibility for universal credit. That link means that, if people fall off UC, they will also fall off the Scottish child payment. Powers have been introduced to ensure that future Governments can look at the legislative footing of the Scottish child payment should a Government wish to change the way in which the Scottish child payment is delivered.
Housing Emergency (Fife)
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to respond to the housing emergency in Fife. (S6O-05413)
Since declaring the housing emergency, the Scottish Government has worked intensively—[Interruption.]
Please resume your seat, cabinet secretary.
Mr Kerr, I have allowed a little latitude in the exchanges that have been going on between you and members on the front bench, but could you please desist?
We have been working very closely with Fife Council to address the acute pressures that it is facing. In 2025-26, Fife Council received £4.4m from the national acquisitions programme. The council has a plan to eliminate statutory breaches by June 2026 and to return to sustainable rapid rehousing, which I discuss regularly with it. There is a downward trend in children living in temporary accommodation, and the council is close to launching a revised pilot private sector leasing scheme that we think will provide between 100 and 300 properties. Most recently, my quarterly meeting with Fife Council was on 7 January, and I met representatives of the council at the housing to 2040 strategic board on 14 January, when all those matters were discussed.
I note the cabinet secretary’s contact with Fife Council, which I welcome. I also welcome the Scottish Government’s new commitments to increase housing, which it has made in recent weeks. However, I have to say that, in the here and now, my constituents are living in overcrowded houses and unsuitable temporary accommodation. A young couple in Lochgelly whom I was contacted by this week are living in damp and mouldy accommodation such that their one-year-old child now cannot sleep and suffers from constant colds. Can the cabinet secretary say what the Scottish Government will do to show that it is, in fact, on my constituents’ side?
I recognise Annabelle Ewing’s call for action in the here and now while that underlying work is on-going to increase supply, including through the new agency that the First Minister announced this morning, which will be called “More Homes Scotland”. In terms of the here and now, I have mentioned the acquisitions fund, which is supporting Fife Council and others to buy homes now to relieve pressure, and, just yesterday, I laid draft secondary legislation in the Parliament that will introduce duties on private and social landlords to investigate reports of damp and mould and to commence any required repairs within a set timescale.
That legislation is named after Awaab Ishak, whose death in Rochdale, in England, was linked to exposure to black mould. Although around 90 per cent of properties in Scotland are substantially free from damp and mould, we are determined that everyone should be protected. I hope that the introduction of Awaab’s law, among others, is evidence to Annabelle Ewing’s constituents that we are on their side.
I am keen for new build-to-rent and mid-market rent properties to be built in Fife in order to help with the housing emergency there. However, I am hearing reports that the Government is considering putting in place time limits on the exemptions that were proposed as part of the Housing (Scotland) Bill. That would potentially deter investment, which I am sure the cabinet secretary does not want to happen. What reassurances can she give the housing sector to make sure that damaging time limits are not introduced on build-to-rent and mid-market rent exemptions?
The purpose of carving out the exemptions from rent controls for mid-market rent and build-to-rent properties was exactly to provide the right circumstances for investment. As I draft the regulations that will put those exemptions in place, I am mindful of the need to retain that encouragement to invest, including in relation to how we define build-to-rent and mid-market rent in those regulations and the conditions that will be set around that. We are discussing that matter with industry, among others, and I will update the Parliament with the final details on that when I am able to.
Question 4 is in the name of Tim Eagle. Tim Eagle is not online, which is more than disappointing. We would expect an apology and an explanation for that.
Household Food Insecurity
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has taken to address household food insecurity. (S6O-05415)
No one should have to compromise on food or other essentials. That is why Scotland was the first nation in the United Kingdom to publish a cash-first plan to work towards ending the need for food banks. Food insecurity is caused by insecure or insufficient income. Building on the on-going investment of more than £3 billion per year in policies that tackle poverty and the cost of living crisis, in 2026-27 we will continue to offer the most comprehensive cost of living support package in the UK, providing vital support for those who face cost of living pressures and strengthening our public services.
Although debt is clearly a significant driver of food insecurity, access to affordable, healthy food and the skills to prepare it are also critical factors. Will the cabinet secretary confirm whether local access to nutritious food, levels of food and cooking skills are routinely monitored? If they are not, will she consider putting such monitoring in place, in order to better inform future policy decisions?
In a number of our funding streams, an aspect that we look at is how we can support local communities with what they deem to be their priorities. Some of those priorities will relate to access to healthy food or skills for cooking healthy food. Those priorities are best served by the funding streams being open to local community groups and by community groups making bids for funding if they feel that that is the most important way to deal with the issue. The Government is alive to the issue, which is exactly why, alongside the work that is set out in the cash-first plan, we are doing wider work on child poverty that looks at the types of drivers of poverty and what we can do to take away some of those challenges.
I welcome the measures that the cabinet secretary has set out. I am proud that, as food inflation continues to soar under the Labour Party, the SNP Government is expanding the most comprehensive cost of living support package anywhere in the UK. Will the cabinet secretary tell us more about the measures that were announced in the Scottish budget and how they are expected to help households to afford the essentials?
There is work in the draft budget that will take forward support. That includes £7.2 billion in social security assistance in 2026-27, which supports around 2 million people—one in three people in Scotland. It shows that the Scottish Government is there to support not just people on low incomes, but disabled people, unpaid carers and young people who are getting their first job, for example. That shows our determination to support people through the cost of living crisis and to ensure that we have that assistance. Social security is but one of the examples in the budget of how we are trying to deliver that for the people of Scotland.
Housing Support Services (Integration)
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to co-ordinate housing support services more effectively with health, social care and justice services, so that housing is fully integrated within wider public services, and no one is left behind when accessing support. (S6O-05416)
Our approach to integrated planning and partnership working aims to improve outcomes for people, particularly those with complex needs. Our fairer futures partnership ensures collaboration to identify the right support to meet the needs of every family.
Other co-ordinated approaches to housing support include our housing contribution statements, which set out how housing provision can improve health, social care and wellbeing. Our SHORE—sustainable housing for everyone on release—standards ensure that housing support is available for people on release from custody. As part of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025, which the Parliament recently passed, the gold-standard ask and act duties require somebody to be asked, very early on in their journey, about their housing situation and action to be taken when it is needed.
In my work in local food banks, I meet people who have been released from court, people who have been on remand and discharged from court and people who have been released from hospital with nowhere to go. The Scottish Government is joining up housing services with justice and health services. Will it use lived experience to shape that work and support local authorities and the third sector to consider co-location in the justice service and in hospitals?
Yes. That is all being tested in the context of ensuring that the ask and act duties that the Parliament passed can come into force and be effective. Ultimately, the underpinning principle is that we prevent homelessness by introducing joined-up, person-centred care as early as possible when someone’s housing situation is precarious. For example, the consortium approach that is being taken by 15 homelessness prevention pilots, as part of developing that ask and act work, exemplifies the partnership that is needed with the justice and health sectors. Two of the pilots—the ones in Glasgow and Forth Valley—focus specifically on preventing homelessness when people are discharged from hospital, and the pilot in the Wester Hailes area of Edinburgh involves a range of partners, including the Scottish Prison Service.
If we truly hope to co-ordinate housing support services with wider public services, including health services, we must recognise the vital role that occupational therapists play in assessing housing needs. However, that workforce faces growing demand, a lack of financial stability and very high vacancy rates. What is the Government doing to improve OT numbers across Scotland? Does it recognise that additional recruitment will improve not only health outcomes but the links with housing support for constituents?
I absolutely echo the importance of occupational health as part of determining somebody’s needs and advocating for them. As MSPs, we all know how often that issue crosses our desks, and I am equally conscious of that in my role as Cabinet Secretary for Housing.
On the question about joined-up support, as we consider how the ask and act duties will be implemented, the work of occupational therapists and others will be critical. They are one of the cornerstone touch points at which people come into contact with our systems, and the ask and act duties are about understanding the contacts that are made with people and using them better to recognise housing precarity and the risk of homelessness, so that we act as early as possible to avoid it.
I have a constituent who has asked for a social care assessment, but the health and social care partnership has advised that an assessment cannot be progressed while he is living at home with his parents. However, he is unable to secure suitable housing for himself. When I raised the case with the HSCP, I was told that housing is a private matter. Does the cabinet secretary agree that that illustrates why joined-up working between housing services and HSCPs is essential? What steps could my constituent take to ensure that his housing needs are married with his social care needs, so that they can be met in a joined-up and person-centred way?
Housing is not a private matter; it involves us all. It is the responsibility of local government, as the statutory provider of housing in a local area, and of central Government to be interested in and involved with it.
I recommend to Pam Duncan-Glancy that her constituent—through her and through his constituency MSP—make representations to the local authority about the housing situation and the need for, I presume, adaptations to be made or the right things to be provided, so that support can be offered in that way. If she wants to write to me with more details, I will happily take a look at the case.
Pension-age Disability Payment
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to promote the take-up of pension-age disability payment. (S6O-05417)
The Scottish Government is committed to increasing the take-up of pension-age disability payment. In September 2025, Social Security Scotland promoted the benefit through a marketing campaign that ran across television, radio and digital media, with stakeholder events held and materials provided in community spaces. That generated a 140 per cent increase in the number of visits to the application web page and a 78 per cent rise in the number of application starts. The promotion continues across social media and through partnership work with, for example, Age Scotland, local authorities, the national health service and community groups. Accessible application routes encourage uptake among older people nationwide and ensure that tailored assistance is available across Scotland.
Despite the Labour and Tory attacks on our social security budget, it is clear that the pension-age disability payment is making a difference to those of pension age with a disability in Scotland. Take-up of the payment must be encouraged.
Will the cabinet secretary join me in praising the work of the Clydebank Asbestos Group in my constituency? In a joint project with the retired members branch of Unite the Union, that group has put more than £800,000 in pension-age disability payments and benefits into the pockets of the pensioners in greatest need.
Scotland is the only country in the United Kingdom that has a benefits take-up strategy. The Scottish Government is proud of the fact that we encourage people to apply for what they are entitled to. Ensuring that older people receive the support that they are entitled to, by providing access to financial assistance such as the pension-age disability payment, makes a real difference.
I am proud to confirm that the Government has committed £926 million in the 2026-27 budget to safeguard the delivery of that vital support. I join Marie McNair in congratulating the Clydebank Asbestos Group—which was founded by David Colraine and supported by his wife, Jean—and the retired members branch of Unite for their valuable, long-standing and exceptional work in helping people to secure the support that they deserve and are entitled to.
Social Security (Budget 2026-27)
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the draft Scottish budget 2026-27 will have on social security in Scotland. (S6O-05418)
Through the investment of £7.2 billion in social security assistance in 2026-27, the budget will deliver essential continued support for low-income families and unpaid carers, help older people to heat their homes and enable disabled people to live independent lives.
As a result of deliberate policy choices, the budget increases the total spending on devolved social security and maintains the value of all benefits by uprating them in line with inflation. On top of that, it lays the groundwork to raise our transformational Scottish child payment even further, to £40 per week for every eligible child aged under one, during 2027-28. That will benefit the families of 12,000 children, and it reaffirms the Government’s commitment to the eradication of child poverty.
The Scottish National Party’s most recent budget increases the benefits bill by a further £650 million, while the rural affairs portfolio, for example, faces a real-terms cut of £40 million.
Social security spending is projected to rise to more than £9 billion by 2029. It is clear that that trajectory is unsustainable. Given that just under a million working-age people are economically active and that 100,000 people are unemployed, rather than continuing to allocate huge sums of taxpayers’ money to a spiralling benefits bill, will the cabinet secretary commit to funding measures that give, and restore, dignity and pride to people by getting Scotland working again?
Of course we encourage and support people to get into work—that is exactly why funding for employability packages is included in the budget.
I can tell Rachael Hamilton that the funding that we expect to receive through the social security block grant adjustments now covers about 87 per cent of the forecast expenditure in 2026-27.
It is important to stress once again that, if Rachael Hamilton wants to cut the social security budget, she needs to say from whom she would take funding away. Is she planning to take it away from older people of pensionable age who receive disability benefits, whom the previous question was about, or people on low incomes who receive the Scottish child payment? We never hear about where the Tories would make cuts, but it is inevitable that they would have to be made in order to decrease the budget.
In addition, £1 billion of cuts in public expenditure would need to be made if the Tory tax cuts were introduced. Once again, we have had no coherence from the Tories in relation to their budget proposals. We have had more headlines—that is all.
That concludes portfolio question time. There will be a brief pause before we move on to the next item of business to allow front-bench teams to change over.
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