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I absolutely accept that point. However, my point is that we must allow disabled people to be at the table to have that conversation, rather than not even allowing them into the room.

Until we have a clear view of what the alternative will look like, we must not cut off this lifeline for disabled people. I assume that the current commissioners will not cease operations until the review is complete—of course they will not, because we understand that that would leave a number of vulnerable groups without a voice and it would leave a gap. What of the fate of the commissioner who is expected to be created by the Parliament passing the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill in short order? Will that commissioner be accepted? If so, I would love someone to stand up and tell me exactly why they believe that disabled people do not deserve a commissioner while victims and witnesses do.

Disabled people cannot be forced to wait any longer. We cannot allow the report and the on-going review to continue to rob them of their rights. If the inquiry finds a viable alternative, I will welcome it and work to see disabled people have a seat at whatever table that will involve. Until then, however, we need action now. We do not need to hear that the solution is just around the corner or that we should wait just a bit longer. We are not asking for a lot here. In the grand scheme of the budget, we are asking for a drop in the ocean.

The creation of a commissioner is the least that we can do for disabled people. The alternative is to finish the current five-year session of Parliament without producing any meaningful legislation on disability. I do not think that that is acceptable, and I do not think that Parliament should, either. I will support the motion because I believe that the review process is important, but I implore my colleagues not to use it as yet another excuse for robbing disabled people of a voice.

I have met representatives of many house developers here in Edinburgh and Lothian, and they all tell me that because of rent controls they are going to axe plans to deliver hundreds more houses in the city. Does the minister accept that, in the medium to long term, fewer houses will be built because of the policy? Yes or no?

Disabled people make up around 20 per cent of the population in Scotland, but many of them remain unable to participate in society due to historical and systemic barriers that still exist. Does the minister agree that we deserve to have a champion in the shape of a disability commissioner to ensure that the future is brighter than the past?

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the participation of disabled people in the economy is of significant benefit. (S6O-03846)

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I could not vote. I would have voted yes.

I thank my friend Paul O’Kane for securing this members’ business debate. It is encouraging to have the Parliament engage in not one, but two debates this year regarding challenge poverty week. It is important that we as MSPs always remember that we are here to serve the whole of Scotland, with special regard for the most vulnerable among our citizens. Whatever decisions are made in this building, we must always think first and foremost of how they will affect them. In that spirit, I do not think that it will surprise anyone to hear that I want to spend my time highlighting the continued difficulties of disabled people in Scotland.

Some might say that the debate is not about a disability issue and that we should focus solely on the core issue of poverty. To those people, I say that we cannot truly challenge poverty without confronting the frankly disturbing figures that describe the dire straits in which disabled people find themselves.

Only around 50 per cent of registered working-age disabled people are in employment, compared to more than 80 per cent of their non-disabled counterparts, and 25 per cent of individuals in families with at least one disabled member live in income poverty, compared to 16 per cent of individuals in households with no disabled member. According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s 2023 data, 23 per cent of families with a disabled member are behind on at least one bill and 30 per cent have no savings to fall back on.

There can be no argument that disabled people are being left behind. That is not a political point; it is a recognition of the reality in which we find ourselves today. Scotland in the 21st century is not a place that allows all disabled people to thrive. What will we do about it? This is challenge poverty week, after all. How will we challenge disabled poverty?

The simplest way to begin to address the source is to listen to disabled people. We must give them a strong voice. I would be willing to bet that many of my colleagues across the chamber and across all levels of Government were not aware of some of the staggering figures that I read out. That is not because they do not care, but because disabled people do not have the time, energy or resources to make their voices heard.

Before the end of this year, the Scottish Parliament will probably be asked to vote on a proposal to give disabled people a champion who can speak on their behalf. A lot of noise has been made about crowded landscapes and the fact that organisations already exist that should be providing that voice. However, the reality is that they are not. The Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland—all of them—are clearly not picking up the slack.

If the Parliament does not support that proposal, then we will be asking disabled people to trust that the institutions that have let them down time and again will, all of a sudden, change. However, if they have not done so before, why should we believe that they will in the future?

If we really want to challenge poverty—if we really want to challenge disabled poverty—we will vote to give disabled people that voice. We will vote for a disability commissioner. Forget the politics—let us do the right thing.

The minister will be aware that house building is down by 15 per cent here in the Lothians. Each property that is built in the Lothians now costs an extra £30,000. One of the reasons for that is the inefficiency of the planning system. In Manchester, the average planning application takes 16 weeks, but in Glasgow it takes 60 weeks, which is because your Government has stopped funding local government properly. Will the minister discuss that with his colleagues and fund councils properly, so that a number of the planning officers who have lost their jobs can be re-employed?

It is nothing to do with that.

Following on from that question, will the cabinet secretary tell us when NHS Lothian made its decision and when the board informed him of that decision?

Many of the practical decisions are made not by you but by local authorities. I encourage you to engage with them and to encourage them not to cut back vital services that affect many of the children whom we have been talking about. What discussions will you have with local authorities over the next few months?