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Seòmar agus comataidhean

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 3 July 2025
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Displaying 656 contributions

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Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 11 June 2025

Jeremy Balfour

The Government has dragged its heels on changing places toilets, introduced floating bus stops and restricted car access in large parts of our cities, so many disabled people continue to struggle to take part in society. If the cabinet secretary believes that disabled people provide so much value to the economy, will she explain why her Government continues to ignore their needs and to make it more difficult for them to earn and spend money in this country?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 11 June 2025

Jeremy Balfour

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated value is of the contribution that disabled people make to the Scottish economy annually. (S6O-04772)

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Care Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Meeting date: 10 June 2025

Jeremy Balfour

I, too thank the minister for her constructive engagement over the past few days. I recognise that I am late to the show on this matter, but I think that amendment 1 is important, and I ask members to agree to it this afternoon.

We all want unpaid carers to be able to maximise the amount of money to which they are entitled. We hear often from constituents that they go to one public body and fill out a form and then they have to go to other public bodies and do the same. For people who already have stressful, busy lives, that can put them off maximising the benefits to which they are entitled. Amendment 1 will ensure that, for that reason, the first appropriate body that someone goes to will be responsible for not only signposting but helping them to complete the necessary forms.

That already happens in local authorities in many cases, but we have heard many stories of local authorities not being able to provide those services, or of people slipping through the net. In addition, local authorities are not responsible for any work with external bodies. The same is true for Social Security Scotland, which is getting good at signposting individuals to the benefits that they are entitled to in Scotland but has no duty to signpost to local authorities or other appropriate groups.

Amendment 1 will clarify the situation. It will allow stakeholders, the Government and other interested parties to make sure that we get the regulations right when they are made and that they are correctly consulted on. I hope that the Parliament will accept the amendment.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Topical Question Time

Meeting date: 10 June 2025

Jeremy Balfour

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the removal of dangerous building cladding, in light of the recent publications by Scotland’s cladding remediation programme. (S6T-02570)

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Topical Question Time

Meeting date: 10 June 2025

Jeremy Balfour

I thank the minister for his answer, but it has been eight years since the Grenfell tragedy brought the issue of dangerous cladding to light, and yet the Scottish Government is still dragging its heels while people are stuck in potentially dangerous properties or are unable to sell their homes without proper certification.

Can the minister finally give us a timeline for when the single building assessment will be introduced, and confirm that it will be in line with what United Kingdom lenders require?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Topical Question Time

Meeting date: 10 June 2025

Jeremy Balfour

We cannot hear the minister.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Topical Question Time

Meeting date: 10 June 2025

Jeremy Balfour

It is deeply disappointing that the minister has not been able to answer the question about UK lenders and people who are worried about the mortgages on their properties. I will give him a second chance. A variety of stakeholders agree that a central register for affected properties is essential to properly address the issue. Can the minister explain why Scotland still does not have one? When will it finally get one, so that we know the scale of the work? When will there be an agreement between UK lenders so that the issue can be resolved?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

General Question Time

Meeting date: 5 June 2025

Jeremy Balfour

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to part 5 of the Housing (Scotland) Bill, when the homelessness prevention pilots will commence. (S6O-04761)

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

General Question Time

Meeting date: 5 June 2025

Jeremy Balfour

Parliament will be asked to pass a bill that includes provisions that were meant to be informed by those pilots. However, it now seems that the pilots will not have started by the time the bill comes to stage 3 proceedings in the chamber. Does the minister accept that that represents a failure of planning on the part of the Scottish Government? What value does he think that the pilots will provide, given that they will conclude far too late for MSPs to change anything in the bill?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Housing Emergency

Meeting date: 22 May 2025

Jeremy Balfour

The City of Edinburgh Council pays out millions of pounds of public funds to private businesses to provide unsuitable temporary accommodation in which people do not feel safe. Does the cabinet secretary agree with the recommendation of the 36 organisations that are represented by Everyone Home that that money would be better spent creating

“a Challenge Fund for councils, housing associations and/or the third sector to replace unsuitable temporary accommodation”?