Chamber and committees

I am happy to have a conversation about misinformation, cabinet secretary. I am holding a copy of the homelessness and housing legislation that mentions local connection, and the changes that the Government made in 2022 have had an impact on connections. In addition, there were changes in 2003—which was under Labour, fair enough—that would have had an impact on asylum accommodation for refugees. That is what the housing legislation says. I am not making it up. That is not misinformation. That is what is here, and I am happy to share a copy with you.

In Glasgow, at the moment, around 6,000 people are currently homeless, of whom 4,000 are refugees who have been granted leave to remain. SNP council leader Ricky Bell, Labour MPs and Reform have said that an issue around local connection is part of the problem.

You have made it very clear that there will no changes in legislation. That is fine. I accept the Government’s part on that. However, Glasgow is carrying the burden for the whole of Scotland when it comes to funding. If you will not make any changes to legislation, can you give us a commitment as cabinet secretary that you will lobby to make sure that funding comes from the Scottish Government to plug the gap that Glasgow is currently facing because of our homelessness pressures?

With my Glasgow City Council hat still on, I am sure that I speak for the council when I say that we look forward to some of those powers coming down to council level. The city faces huge challenges with regard to the overall budget, and I think that it would really help us if some of those powers came down to local authorities.

My final question relates to an issue that was alluded to last week when we took evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government. The phrase that you mentioned that the First Minister used,

“too small to be strategic … too big to be local”,—[Official Report, 1 September 2026; c 32.]

is a good one that sums up many of our councils. Are there any particular local authorities that you think fit into those categories? It would be helpful to hear what your thought process is in that regard.

Will you clarify that there will not be a pause in the legislation when it comes to local connection?

The community aspect is important. The Government has said that public service reform will put more power in the hands of regions and communities. Could you name three significant functions that are currently controlled by the Scottish Government or its national agencies that you believe could be transferred to regional or local councils or local authorities, together with budgets that would give them the further powers that we would like them to have?

Good morning, cabinet secretary. After 30 years, I welcome the ambition. I am glad that you are feeling optimistic. Down south, some local authorities have been restructured, but the process has come up against a brick wall as some local authorities have challenged it and they have had to be dropped from the restructuring programme. How confident are you that we will not be in the same situation in five years’ time as the restructuring programmes move forward? It will be mid-council term when we start to see the bones of what those things will look like.

The council has been clear that the issue is partly because of the asylum process. You are right that that is a UK Government issue, and you can rest assured that all of us in all parties are, I think, putting pressure on the UK Government to deal with the asylum issue in Glasgow in particular. Local authorities around Scotland are not taking their fair share of asylum seekers when they come to Scotland. In your role as cabinet secretary, have you had any conversations on that with the UK Government?

I appreciate that.

On another issue, I am well aware that you cannot comment on live planning applications but, yesterday, a planning decision was made in Glasgow regarding a homeless shelter in the city centre, which has been closed. As cabinet secretary with responsibility for housing, what is your reaction to that closure that has been announced in the city centre?

Okay.

On a more general point, what actions will the Scottish Government take to ensure that the 110,000 affordable homes target is delivered, given recent reports from, for example, the Fraser of Allander Institute that suggest that the target will be difficult to achieve without changes to funding and delivery arrangements? Will the cabinet secretary work with the planning minister to ensure that the planning system facilitates the delivery of those new homes?

10:15

Good morning, cabinet secretary. The Scottish Government says that it is committed to ending homelessness in Scotland. However, you can do that only if you accept that there is an existing problem, and the Government seems currently to be putting its head in the sand when it comes to the issue, particularly on local connection.

A couple of weeks ago, I raised a point in a debate on child poverty, and your response was to say that you would find it hard to find anything that I have in common with Ricky Bell, the new Scottish National Party leader of Glasgow City Council. If you listened to Go Radio on Sunday, you would have found plenty that Ricky Bell and I had in common, particularly in pointing out the failures of the Government, and on homelessness.

Ricky Bell called for an immediate pause on the issue of local connection. Obviously, I want it to be repealed instead, but let us go with the pause that Ricky has asked for. Would you consider a pause? If not, can you explain to the committee, and to the country, why Ricky Bell and I are wrong and you are right?

That is a crucial point. I have been a Glasgow councillor for almost a decade and we face huge pressure on our finances every single year. All councils do, but the financial settlement for Glasgow has been particularly bad.

You will be aware that the current leader of Glasgow City Council is stepping down tomorrow and that a new leader, Ricky Bell, is coming in. You may be happy about that, although I have some scepticism. We will leave the politics there. I do not know if you heard Councillor Bell on BBC Radio Scotland last week.