Seòmar agus comataidhean

To ask the Scottish Government what recent action it has taken to improve the prevention and monitoring of malnutrition and dehydration. (S6O-04692)

Malnutrition is believed to be on the increase across Scotland, particularly in our vulnerable communities. As well as that being totally unacceptable, it places significant pressures and costs on our healthcare system. Many families, including in my South Scotland region, face high costs, poor food availability and significant inequalities, all of which limit their access to nutritious foods.

The cabinet secretary referred to the malnutrition short-life working group. It was commissioned to recommend a framework for the prevention of malnutrition and dehydration more than two years ago, but we have had no detail to date. When will the framework be published?

Is the First Minister aware that Stagecoach west Scotland’s drivers are the lowest paid of any Stagecoach bus drivers across the United Kingdom? The drivers have simply tried to stand up for themselves, but the company has tried to reduce their leave and cancelled all existing leave over a planned strike period, which has caused much distress to everyone. That is just one of the many tactics that Stagecoach is using to prevent ordinary workers from having any say in their conditions. Does the First Minister agree that those drivers deserve a fair pay deal?

I am interested in the national service specification for substance use support services that the Government has committed to publishing. Is there any idea when that might happen? How will the impact of the service specification be monitored? What contribution will implementation of the service specification make to meeting the intended outcome of the bill?

The discussion is really helpful. The element of the barriers to trade unions is important, because there is no doubt that, in our regions, we come across employers who put up barriers to or bring up fears around care sector workers being active in the trade union movement, which is totally unacceptable. It is good to hear about that from witnesses such as you. We hope that people will approach us about anything that we can do to help.

My question relates to the agreement that seems to be in place but has not actually gone anywhere, which is frustrating. First, what are the barriers and what can our committee do to try to move that forward? Secondly, would getting the LCM through the Parliament nudge the agreement closer and allow us to get it done?

How would the use of such support services link with the bill, if it is passed?

I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of interests: I previously owned property to rent.

I thank Ross Greer for bringing the debate to the chamber. I acknowledge the work that he has done on the impact of second home ownership and his fierce commitment to ensuring that we address the housing needs of people in Scotland. It was appropriate that he raised the fact that it has been a year since a housing emergency was announced.

Second homes are defined as homes that are furnished and lived in for at least 25 days in a 12-month period, but which are not someone’s main residence. My understanding—I am not an expert in this area; as members know, I cover the health brief—is that, as of September 2024, there were just over 21,000 second homes in Scotland. In my view, that represents a housing market failure, because the primary purpose of homes, as Emma Roddick pointed out, is that they are for living in. That failure, which has taken away the opportunity to provide housing for individuals, families and communities, is one that Scottish Labour believes that we need to reverse. We need to bring those homes back into use.

I think that Ross Greer’s motion fairly sets out the challenges of second home ownership. During my time in the Parliament, the sense that I have gained from debates, research papers and constituents—especially those who live in rural areas—is that those challenges are very real.

Of course, when we read the research, we realise that second home ownership is a multifaceted issue—of course it is. Some people say that there are benefits associated with the spend that is connected to second home properties. Some argue that it improves the local economy and keeps resources available for people who live locally. However, it is fair to say that the most compelling evidence to push Parliament to tackle some of the issues comes from local testimony.

As we have heard, there are concerns that a high concentration of second homes causes an increase in house prices and rents and reduces the housing supply for local people. A lack of affordable housing affects not only individuals and communities but local businesses that want to attract workers.

Very importantly, a lack of affordable housing also affects the recruitment of public sector workers. I have strong evidence of that from the Borders area of my South Scotland region. Trade unions have told me that people are not coming to work in the area or are having to travel a long distance, which sometimes involves a journey of an hour or more, to get to their work. That is not sustainable. The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee has heard compelling evidence on the issue, in oral evidence and on a visit to the islands. The health boards have described the situation as a crisis for service delivery. It is a very important issue.

I have heard from my own constituents that empty second homes cause a lot of frustration in communities, particularly when people find it difficult to rent or purchase a home within their own community. We see that every day. People want to live within their community, near their network and want to bring up their own children near to the place where they grew up. Those personal stories mean that we have to take the issue seriously and take a robust approach to tackling it.

I am about to run out of time, but I reassure Mr Greer that Scottish Labour really wants to look at the issues that he mentioned in his motion. I know that you will have spoken to my colleague Mark Griffin about that. We want to see tax reforms to ensure that we can turn that around in Scotland.

The cabinet secretary will have seen the recent headline that said:

“Numbers of Glasgow patients delayed in hospital reaches highest level in decade”.

In South Ayrshire, which is in my South Scotland region, the average daily number of beds that are occupied due to delayed discharge is almost three times greater than that in East Ayrshire. How can there be such a difference between neighbouring local authority areas, which already share a number of services and health boards? I have asked the cabinet secretary this question before: what is the Government doing to help local authorities to share resources and best practice to improve delayed discharge across Ayrshire?

It is ironic to hear the Government praise its work on the botched National Care Service (Scotland) Bill, which is now unrecognisable from what was first envisioned, with £30 million wasted in the process. Despite the Scottish Government’s warm words today, in reality, the social care sector has been ignored, underfunded and let down for 18 years by this SNP Government.

The UK Government provided funding to the Scottish Government to assist with national insurance contributions. However, we believe that local government has not received all its funding to date. Will the minister tell the Parliament whether all the moneys that were provided by the UK Government have actually been allocated?

My amendments in the group seek to strengthen the capacity of local authorities to assess rent conditions in their areas.

I have listened carefully to the debate, and I think that we share a common purpose with regard to the importance of data. The purpose of amendment 481 is to recognise that tenants are essential to verifying the accuracy of information that is provided by landlords to local authorities. The amendment would require local authorities to share information that is submitted by landlords with the tenants who are registered at the address. That would create a standardised process in which the tenants had the option to report information in their landlord’s submission that they thought might be false or incorrect. Landlords are required by law to inform tenants of any rent changes, so tenants are the only party that is able to verify that information.

Although I appreciate that that provision would add to the administrative burden that is faced by local authorities, the bill places a duty on them to investigate false information, and the only way to enforce that is with the participation of the tenant. Amendment 481 gives purpose to that duty in the bill.

Amendment 482 recognises that a well-regulated rented sector will be reliant on consistent information. The amendment therefore seeks to place on the Scottish ministers a duty to maintain the minimum categories of information that local authorities must report on, and not to reduce those. Each is essential to understanding rent increases against types of tenure and property. In future, the range of information that is sought might be expanded but it should never be reduced beyond the original categories. The amendment would safeguard consistency so that geographic areas are not evaluated by different criteria.

I have taken note of the minister’s points on those aspects and, like others, I hope that we will be able to discuss them further over the summer.

Amendments 483 to 486 seek to create standardised sets of notices that can be issued by a local authority where a landlord either fails to provide information or provides false information. The intention is to ensure the integrity of data collection by encouraging landlords to fulfil their responsibility to report accurately.

Specifically, amendments 483 and 484 seek to instruct a local authority to initiate proceedings if a landlord does not provide any information when requested. There is also a duty to re-seek missing information and initiate a recurring penalty fine until the information has been submitted. Amendments 485 and 486 would create a similar mandatory requirement for a local authority to initiate First-tier Tribunal proceedings in the circumstances in which information that is provided is suspected to be false.

We can agree on the importance of accurate data, and that is why it is important that some of what the amendments seek to require is included in the final bill. However, I intend to take the cabinet secretary up on her offer and seek further discussion.