Seòmar agus comataidhean

I appreciate what the cabinet secretary says, but many of the third sector organisations that face potential reductions after June, such as the Cyrenians, the Ripple Project and the Pilmeny Development Project, do valuable prevention work that serves or is based in my constituency. Therefore, I would be grateful if the Scottish Government would consider undertaking additional engagement with other parties involved about the longer-term impact of those potential reductions, were they to happen after June. Those organisations do remarkable preventative work.

I thank Mercedes Villalba for making a powerful point about the need for a public interest test. Does she agree that the inclusion of a public interest test would help the bill to make improvements in urban Scotland as well as in rural Scotland?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Unfortunately, I was unable to connect. I would have voted yes.

I welcome the minister’s statement. As he knows, many of the buildings in Scotland that are affected are in my constituency. I appreciate both the challenge and the complexity of the work and I welcome the progress. However, there is a strong need to pick up the pace. Although I welcome the single open call, can the minister tell Parliament how he will keep members updated on progress? How will he engage and communicate with those who live in affected buildings, property factors and residents associations, and how will he keep developers to their commitments?

I, too, pay tribute to my colleague Mairi Gougeon. I am sorry to hear that she will not be seeking to come back to Parliament. Since she became a minister in 2018, the only time when she has not worked in her current portfolio was when I substituted for her for six months as Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment, working with Fergus Ewing and Roseanna Cunningham. Mairi Gougeon is a superb example of someone who works diligently and effectively, and who gets things done during turbulent times.

When I filled the role of Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment for six months, I was reminded, as the MSP who represents the most densely urban part of Scotland, of how important the natural environment and rural affairs are to all of us, including those of us who live in cities.

The Leith Walk ward is the most densely populated part of our country. The wider area of Leith has been, and continues to be, important in the story of Scotland’s food and drink success. As a major port in centuries past and in current times, Leith has been a place where manufacturers have made and exported their products. It is also a place where people have come to visit, live and enjoy some of the best of what Scotland has to offer, as they continue to do today. For example, there are three Michelin-starred restaurants, many cafes and other restaurants as well as many—too many to list—pubs and bars.

As colleagues and visitors know, and as the people of Scotland know, Leith is a great destination. Historically, it was where Rose’s lime cordial was invented, which is one of the most significant and well-known soft drinks and a product that is used in baking and, of course, in bartending. As a former bartender, I know that well. Crabbie’s whisky was made in Leith in years past and continues to be made in Bonnington. Today, we also have the award-winning Woven whisky and the new Port of Leith distillery, which has iconic status as part of the skyline on the Forth and is the world’s first and highest vertical distillery.

As well as being home to whisky distilleries, my constituency has five breweries—Cold Town Beer, Pilot Beer, Newbarns Brewery, Campervan Brewery and the Moonwake Beer Co.

Members know—including the member who spoke previously in the debate—that there are also many famous shortbread brands in the area, including Shortbread House of Edinburgh, which has grown in recent years and whose products are enjoyed here, across the world and on airlines.

PekoeTea Edinburgh, in my constituency, is a growing exporter of a variety of teas that are made in Leith. Leith also has many bakeries, including the famous institution that is Storries Bakery, on Leith Walk; the emerging Babyfaced Baker; Mimi’s Bakehouse, which has expanded to elsewhere in the city; Mario Patisserie; the Sicilian Pastry Shop; Hobbs House Bakery on Leith Walk; and Krema Bakehouse. All of them are good for celebrating special occasions.

The reason why I list them is that, whether they are in Leith in my constituency or elsewhere in the country, such businesses have been affected through the turbulent times of Covid and as a result of the war in Ukraine, the current Trump Administration’s actions, the folly of Brexit and the current national insurance increases, of which we are about to see the worrying effects.

That increase will be one of the biggest mistakes that the Labour Government makes—and it has made several already. I remember Labour members of Parliament talking very passionately before the election last July about how they supported Scotch whisky. One of the first things that the Government did in its first budget was increase the duty on the whisky industry. On such scenarios I say, “You couldn’t make it up.”

On devolved issues, the cabinet secretary should be aware that I have written to finance ministers with concerns about the effect of land and buildings transaction tax on pubs in my constituency, which is worth looking at. Other members have talked about the challenge of reducing problematic alcohol consumption in our country by supporting our food and drinks industry. It is a sensitive issue. I encourage everyone, when alcohol advertising is considered again, to take a collaborative approach, because the producers in my constituency, along with others, want to be positive contributors to our society and economy. It is also important that smaller businesses can break into markets so that people discover their products. A lot of that is about advertising in the shop and in other ways. Collaborative solutions can be found.

It has not been mentioned yet, but one of the important underlying factors in why our food and drinks industry is so successful—those who create and produce them are most important—is that Scottish water is a mutual product. Water is cheaper here and of such high quality, which we should not underestimate.

The cabinet secretary talked about the significant remedial works that were required and the fact that the inquiry’s remit required it to make recommendations to ensure that any past mistakes are not repeated in future NHS infrastructure projects.

The cabinet secretary has spoken about this at some length in response to other members. Is there anything more that he would like to say about how the Scottish Government plans to ensure that lessons are learned, particularly with regard to NHS Lothian and my constituents, and about how it will keep Parliament informed about the inquiry and the implementation of its recommendations?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I was unable to vote through the application. I would have voted no.

In previous debates and exchanges, Paul O’Kane has spoken with passion about the need to support disabled people through the social security system.

Paul O’Kane mentioned Barnett consequentials. What is the Scottish Labour Party’s view of the UK Government’s proposed potential cuts to disability benefits, which would have a consequential effect on the Scottish Government’s available resources?

Inflation and its causes are, absolutely, now part of a picture in which some people can access credit and amass assets, and others do not stand a hope, even in their mid-life, of getting into a position of being able to own an asset. That presents us with the challenge of rents, which we are wrestling with as a Parliament. How do we continue to build houses but also address the fact that rents are continually, year on year, taking up a higher percentage of people’s incomes?

It is not just a matter of supply and demand. As a culture we have reached a position in which house prices and costs are expected to rise, and we need to get to a position of stabilisation, which is a difficult place to land. Given that situation, how do we use devolved power—because that is all that we have—and push for more power to alleviate costs and support people?

There have been bold and collective initiatives—

I see the power of partnership, but I am continually disappointed that UK Governments, particularly given the UK Treasury’s extraordinary power, do not take bold action to address the inequalities in the housing and energy markets. The Scottish Government is often left to pick up the pieces, for example, in social security.

We have talked a lot about social security as it relates to income support. The Scottish child payment, and other benefits that have been mentioned, have made a massive impact. However, a real problem is that public discourse has led us to a place in which disability benefits are considered an area that savings need to be made in. A lot of people are on disability benefits, but, because of the pressure that has been applied to them through austerity, demand is growing, not through the fault of those people but because of the conditions that have been manifested by political decisions—mostly taken at Westminster—over the past decade, as well as a result of international factors.

The disability benefits that the Scottish Government provides are intended to give people support for their conditions; they are not linked to work. There is another debate to be had about universal credit, which is failing. On Friday, I had a constituent at my surgery who had worked all his life and had paid into the system—I hear that from people again and again. He worked in manual labour and had hurt his hand, so he went to claim universal credit for support to pay his rent. Do you know what they said to him? They said, “You have another hand that works, so you can’t get universal credit.”

If we want to fix welfare, let us fix universal credit, and let us support those with disabilities and create a system in which people get the support that they require when they need it. Only then can we make the case that work always pays. Work does not pay enough; it is not linked well enough to economic growth. When we had economic growth, we did not have fair distribution, and we did not have high enough wages during the 1990s and 2000s.

I do not buy the idea that disability benefits are fair game. Disabled people need our help, and if we want to make savings, we need to look elsewhere. We need to raise money from the very few rich people in our unfortunately poor country, the UK.