I am delighted to open this debate on taking Scotland forward: creating a fairer Scotland.
I know that everyone across the chamber wants to make Scotland a more successful country. Our success as a nation very much depends on working together to deliver a stronger economy and a fairer society.
On that note, I welcome new and returning MSPs and all the newly appointed party spokespeople. I very much look forward to working with them all and, of course, to debating the issues at hand.
The Government believes that building a fairer society and a stronger and more resilient economy go hand in hand. As is reflected in Scotland’s economic strategy, tackling inequality and boosting competitiveness are interdependent. Our focus is very much on inclusive growth—on combining increased prosperity with greater equity.
As we know, the Scottish economy has shown resilience over the past 12 months. In 2015, the economy grew by almost 2 per cent and employment reached record levels. However, we all know that there are issues that are holding Scotland back and holding our people back from reaching their full potential. For example, income inequality remains high relative to that of many of our European peers.
We know that tackling the deep-seated inequalities and poverty in our society is challenging—if doing that were easy, societies across the world would be poverty free—but we have to accept that poverty is not inevitable and that it is our job to overcome it.
In 2013-14 in Scotland, poverty affected 940,000 people after housing costs. That figure is made up of 210,000 children, 600,000 working adults and 120,000 pensioners. Despite the fact that we have consistently had lower poverty rates than the wider United Kingdom in recent years, we are absolutely clear that those numbers are unacceptable. That more than one in five of our children lives in poverty in this country today is quite simply wrong.
We know that the cost of mitigating the effects of poverty is significant. In the past year alone, the Government has spent £104 million on mitigating the very worst aspects of the Tories’ uncaring and unwanted cuts and changes to welfare. Those imposed cuts from a Tory Government have removed a safety net that thousands relied on to have a decent life, and time after time we have seen more cuts and more damage to our communities. The human cost of poverty and inequality—the destructive and corrosive consequences on the lives of individuals—must be addressed for individuals and the communities that they live in.
Organisations such as the Child Poverty Action Group and citizens advice bureaux have provided examples of the damage that has been inflicted by six years of Westminster Tory Governments, ably supported by Cameron’s best pal in Scotland, Ruth Davidson. We also know that the UK programme of welfare cuts has had a particular and negative impact on women, children and disabled people among others. It is imperative that equality is embedded across all our work and that we clearly recognise the relationship between equality and socioeconomic inequality and justice. My challenge is to ensure that those links are made and are acted on to the benefit of all our people. As we move forward with the implementation of the socioeconomic duty in the Equality Act 2010, that work is vital.
Yes, we are responding to the immediacy of poverty by mitigating the worst effects of the UK Government welfare cuts, but we want to go beyond just mitigation. We want to prevent poverty and create long-term, sustainable solutions to lift people out of poverty. We want to invest in pulling people out of poverty and we do not want to have to spend our resources on preventing the Tories from pushing people further and deeper into poverty.
Last Saturday was world hunger day. Although we think that malnutrition is confined to developing countries, it is a sad fact that hunger is also a growing symptom of poverty in Scotland. The Trussell Trust has reported that, in 2012-13, more than 14,000 people accessed a three-day food parcel but, by 2015-16, the figure had risen to well over 133,000. That is why we are working with a range of experts to develop a sustainable food strategy. I can announce today that we will establish a £1 million fair food fund, which will enable communities the length and breadth of Scotland to come together to develop empowering and sustainable solutions to food poverty. That will enable people to recognise the social value of food in helping them to rebuild their communities, combat social isolation and provide opportunities to learn new skills. It is about helping to tackle the causes of poverty and not just its symptoms.
Our policies on key areas such as housing demonstrate the scale of our achievements and ambition. We know that communities flourish when people have good-quality warm and comfortable homes to live in, and that is why the Government’s priority is to increase the scale and pace of the supply of the right homes in the right places, particularly in the affordable rented and private rented sectors.
We have an excellent track record. In the previous session of Parliament, we exceeded our target of delivering 30,000 affordable homes, and our bold and ambitious more homes Scotland approach will build on that achievement and deliver at least 50,000 affordable homes over the next five years, 70 per cent of which will be for social rent. We are backing that with a funding commitment of more than £3 billion, which will support an average of around 14,000 full-time equivalent jobs per year and generate around £1.8 billion in economic activity.
Since 2007, the Government has built more homes per head of population than have been built elsewhere in the UK. The higher per capita rate of house building in Scotland has enabled 41,000 more homes to be built than would have been built at England’s lower per capita rate. That is the equivalent of a new town the size of Paisley, and it has been possible only because of our sustained high level of house building compared to that in England. However, we will go further. We are determined to increase and accelerate housing supply across all tenures and to support the industry and local authorities to deliver the housing priorities.
Of course, more than just Government action is needed. We believe that the best people to decide on the future of our communities are the people who live in those communities. Our ambition is for Scotland to be a country where every person, regardless of circumstances, has the right to take part in debating and shaping the society we live in and the decisions that we take. That ambition has informed our policy, and it will continue to do so as we move forward.
That is why we embarked on the fairer Scotland discussions, during which we heard the voices of more than 7,000 people from Dumfries to Stornoway on what matters to them. It is why the Government and the people who work for it are getting under the skin of the issues and fully understanding the needs of our citizens. It is why I, as cabinet secretary, am absolutely determined to hear, understand and learn from those experiences and ensure that, in partnership, the Scottish Government oversees a step change so that all our people reach their full potential.
We also need to acknowledge the crucial and dynamic role that the third sector plays in Scotland, particularly in tackling inequalities and supporting people and communities. That is why we are working closely with the sector to develop a 10-year strategy and why we intend to lead by example by introducing three-year rolling funding where possible to give third sector organisations more financial certainty.
Finally, I would like to talk about the new powers that are coming to Scotland and the opportunities that they present. Implementing and delivering new social security powers is an exciting part of my new portfolio. However, I do not shy away from the challenge of just how difficult that will be. I am not sure that many of us could say that the current system is working for those who need it most. Given its scale and complexity, it is no exaggeration to say that this is one of the most challenging operations since devolution.
Like many members, I see the consequences at first hand in my local community: for the families struggling to make ends meet; for those anxious about the impact of disability changes; and for mums worried about how the cuts will impact on their kids’ wellbeing. I know that through the Welfare Reform Committee—which I am glad has been renamed the Social Security Committee in this session—Parliament has heard some of those voices and some powerful personal testimonies. It makes me more determined that we can, and will, take a different path.
Like the rest of the Scottish Government, I am determined to be the strongest voice for those who have been mistreated and marginalised. I will never lose sight of the fact that social security is about helping people with differing needs and priorities to go about their day-to-day lives. At some point in our lives, almost all of us may need some form of social security. Almost one in four Scots may be impacted by the new powers. Around 10 per cent of people receive disability benefits. The transfer will be a huge scale of work that will involve delivering a range of sometimes complex benefits worth around £2.7 billion.
My priority is to put treating people with dignity and respect at the heart of everything we do. That ethos will underpin our approach to social security, including the development of the new agency.