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Richard Leonard will, I hope, be aware that the “Housing to 2040” strategy talks about many of those issues. Housing is not just about bricks and mortar—it is a core anti-poverty measure, and I very much understand that.

I was asked something along the same lines as Richard Leonard’s question when I attended the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee this week. I said that I would reflect on whether, in addition to the myriad pieces of information that are provided on progress towards the affordable housing targets—there are a lot of statistics, data and reporting—further reports would be of benefit. I do not think that anyone can say that an ambitious target of 110,000 affordable homes, a total investment package of £18 billion and the creation of 15,000 jobs each year is anything other than to be welcomed.

Between 2016-17 and 2019-20, the Scottish Government invested more than £400 million through the affordable housing supply programme, including the rural and islands housing funds, in rural and island communities, and delivered more than 4,800 affordable homes in that time. The rural and islands housing funds are described in the Scottish Land Commission’s report on “The Role of Land in Enabling New Housing Supply in Rural Scotland” as “game changers” for community-led housing development.

We have committed to delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which 10 per cent will be in our remote, rural and island communities, backed by at least £45 million.

Our licensing scheme will ensure that all short-term lets across Scotland comply with basic safety standards, in order to protect guests and neighbours. Local authorities will have the discretion to add further licence conditions in order to address any local concerns such as littering or the overcrowding of properties. The licensing scheme will provide local authorities with data on the number, type and location of short-term lets in their areas. They can also, of course, designate short-term let control areas if they wish to do so, in order to address pressures that are created by secondary short-term letting. Within a control area, planning permission would always be required to let out a whole home for short-term lets. Finally, the provisions will allow local authorities to manage high concentrations of secondary letting where those affect the availability of residential accommodation or the character of a neighbourhood.

I very much appreciate that issue, and the remote, rural and island housing plan will absolutely look at the needs of island communities. It can also look at how we use island bonds as part of the response to that.

Just this morning, I met with the leader of Shetland Islands Council. We talked about many issues, and the issue that the member raised was one of those that we explored. We will have further discussions about it as we take matters forward.

As I said, the UK Government cutting the £20-a-week uplift to universal credit could reduce the number of children who are eligible for the Scottish child payment by around an estimated 2,000. For some families, the universal credit cut will be enough to remove their entitlement to the Scottish child payment. However, the problem is that we rely on top-up powers to deliver those payments. We do not have any other legislative basis to allow us to do so. I call on the UK Government not to cut the £20-a-week uplift to universal credit. We want people to remain eligible for the Scottish child payment. However, because that payment is delivered through the top-up powers, we are constrained in what we can do for those families.

I find it astonishing that a Tory MSP would come to the chamber to demand that the Scottish Government double the Scottish child payment this year—[Interruption.]

—in the very month that his Government is going to remove £20 a week—[Interruption.]

The Scottish Government is proud of our record on delivering, since 2007, more than 102,000 affordable homes, nearly 71,000 of which were for social rent, including more than 16,000 council homes. As the programme for government makes clear, we are committed to delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which 70 per cent will be available for social rent and 10 per cent will be in our remote, rural and island communities.

Delivering on that ambitious affordable homes target would support a total investment package of around £18 billion and up to 15,000 jobs each year. In the four years to 2020, we delivered over 75 per cent more affordable homes per head of population than in both England and Wales, and over nine times more social rented properties per head of population than in England.

The Scottish Government’s social enterprise strategy, which was launched in 2016, sets out a wide-ranging, ambitious and long-term programme to develop the potential of Scotland’s social enterprise sector. The latest social enterprise action plan was published on 24 March this year and covers the period from 2021 to 2024.

I think that I might have touched a raw nerve.

Every time a Tory MSP comes to the chamber and utters the words “child poverty”, I will remind them of what their Government is about to do this very month in cutting £20 a week from some of the most vulnerable families. They should get their own house in order before coming here and demanding that we do anything. It is an absolute disgrace and a total brass neck.