Child Poverty Reduction (Interim and Final Targets)
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to meet the interim and final child poverty reduction targets, in light of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s finding in its report, “Poverty in Scotland 2025”, that current levels remain largely unchanged since 2021. (S6T-02704)
One child in poverty in Scotland is one too many, and we need to work together across this Parliament and, indeed, all Parliaments to deliver the change that is needed. Our action is making a real difference to families. On average, households with children that are in the poorest 10 per cent of households are estimated to be £2,600 a year better off in 2025-26 as a result of Scottish Government policies. Although the Joseph Rowntree Foundation predicts that child poverty will rise elsewhere in the United Kingdom by 2029, it highlights that policies such as our Scottish child payment and our commitment to mitigate the two-child limit are
“behind Scotland bucking the trend”.
The report shows that relative child poverty remains at 23 per cent, virtually unchanged since 2021, and that, worryingly, three quarters of children in poverty are in households where someone is in work. The report highlights that well-paid, secure work is a key guard against poverty and that, in order to get more families into work, we need a focus on childcare. According to research from Pregnant Then Screwed, 41 per cent of families have had to use their savings or take out loans to afford childcare. Why is the Scottish National Party’s childcare policy putting families into debt and keeping them mired in poverty?
I recognise the fact that we have a lot of in-work poverty in the UK as a whole, and we recognise that one way to assist parents is to assist them into sustainable employment and to support them to increase their income once they get into a job. That is why we have parental employability support, which has been broadened to include parents in low-income employment and is enabling more parents to access person-centred employability support.
When it comes to childcare, members in the chamber will be well aware that the Scottish Government’s annual investment of around £1 billion in the delivery of the 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare is providing vital support and that that offer would cost families more than £6,000 per eligible child per year if they had to pay for it themselves. We are working with local authorities to reach younger children by maximising the take-up of the ELC offer for eligible two-year-olds.
I am grateful for that answer, but 41 per cent of families are still dipping into their savings. The cabinet secretary spoke about employability support, which is a crucial measure and is, of course, devolved to the SNP Government, although it has been repeatedly cut. What specific action is the Scottish Government taking to expand employability support for the nearly 40 per cent of households in which someone is disabled that are in poverty?
I am sure that the member would also want to point out that the main responsibility for many of the employability schemes lies with the UK Government through the Department for Work and Pensions and its Jobcentre Plus centres, and it would be fair to say that the success of those has been mixed.
The member talks about what is happening for those in a household with a disabled person. That is why, just a matter of weeks ago, I was delighted to announce that there will be further funding from the Scottish Government to ensure that particular support for those with a disability or a long-term condition is available right across the country. I hope that the member will welcome that. That is, once again, a case of the Scottish Government stepping in where the UK Government has, as yet, failed to deliver.
The evidence is clear that cruel Tory policies such as the two-child cap, which is now Labour policy, are increasing poverty and hardship in Scotland and across the rest of the UK. Despite these challenging circumstances, Scotland is the only part of the UK where levels of child poverty are falling. How is the Scottish Government planning to mitigate the two-child cap policy, and what pressure is being put on the UK Government to follow suit?
I thank Marie McNair for that question on a rather obvious part of what could be done to assist families with children in poverty, which Mr Whitfield seemed to forget about. Let me point again to another area where the Scottish Government is stepping up because the UK Government is failing to deliver, which is in mitigating the two-child cap. That is happening alongside our mitigation of the bedroom tax and our mitigation of the benefit cap.
That support, which we are proud to deliver, is open for applications from 2 March 2026 and will help children across Scotland. Once again, the Scottish Government is delivering where the UK Government has not.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s report also shows that in-work poverty has increased in Scotland, with more than 60 per cent of people in poverty being in a household where one or more people are in work. Is the cabinet secretary at all concerned that higher income tax in Scotland is pushing households into poverty?
The member will be well aware that the Scottish Government’s income tax policies ensure that the majority of people in Scotland pay less tax than they would pay elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Our progressive tax policy has allowed more than £1.5 billion-worth of additional investment in our public services. If the member wishes to see that progressive tax system change, he will have to suggest where else that £1.5 billion would come from. It includes great investment to support low-income families and others through the current cost of living crisis.
Storm Amy
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update regarding its response to storm Amy. (S6T-02709)
The Met Office issued two amber weather warnings—including a high-impact warning—for storm Amy, which caused power outage to more than 117,500 customers and issues across the transport network. The Scottish Government resilience room was activated at 3 pm on Friday and it worked in partnership with the front-line agencies that led on the response and recovery from storm Amy’s impacts and that provided support to all those who were affected.
More than 107,600 customers had been reconnected by Monday morning, with more than 115,700 reconnected by today. Engineers are working hard to reconnect the approximately 1,800 customers who are without power, and it is expected that the vast majority of customers’ power will be restored by Wednesday evening. Communities continue to be supported with a range of welfare vans and food facilities. I thank everyone who has played and continues to play their part in getting services back up and running and supporting their local communities.
At a time of ever-changing weather patterns, which can bring more storms to Scotland, what can the Scottish Government do to provide more information to folk so that they can be more resilient and ready for extreme weather events?
Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather, and it is vital that people across Scotland are supported to act both to stay safe during incidents and to build long-term resilience. The ready.scot website and social media channels offer practical advice on preparing for impacts such as travel disruption, power loss and isolation. Those resources are continuously revised to reach a wider audience, and we will work with partners across all sectors to amplify their reach.
There is also the Adaptation Scotland programme, which provides free advice for communities, households and small businesses. I encourage people who are most at risk from climate change to view the new resources on the adaptation.scot website, which can help them to plan ahead and take early action.
Together, those efforts are supporting a step change in climate resilience across Scotland.
Many services are involved in welfare checks, the provision of food and reconnecting services, often in continuing bad weather. Will the cabinet secretary join me in expressing our gratitude not only to those who are going above and beyond in our recognised services but to our unsung heroes who are volunteering in our local communities?
On behalf of the Scottish Government, I extend heartfelt thanks to all local authorities, emergency services, volunteers and utility providers who have worked tirelessly to support individuals, communities and households during storm Amy. Their swift action, compassion and resilience made a profound difference, helping communities to return to normal as quickly as possible and supporting people in communities who needed it most—from restoring power in very challenging conditions to checking on vulnerable residents and ensuring public safety. The Scottish Government and, I am sure, everybody in Parliament, is grateful for their hard work, professionalism and community spirit.
Three days after storm Amy, nearly 2,000 properties remain disconnected, many of them in the Great Glen, the Fort William area and the Ardnamurchan peninsula in my region. Other homes across the region were impacted, and many will have been left relying on direct-emission secondary heating systems, such as wood stoves.
Having blocked my amendments to the Housing (Scotland) Bill last week, will the Scottish Government finally recognise the vital role that wood stoves play in remote, rural and island communities, in building the long-term resilience that the cabinet secretary talked about and in keeping families warm during power outages, especially given that the SNP’s Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, Jim Fairlie, is clearly an advocate for them?
Mr Halcro Johnston is right to point out that the Ardnamurchan peninsula is the largest area where customers are still off supply, and that other people, scattered around the country, are also affected. It is extremely difficult and quite punitive to be facing a multiday power outage. That is why Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks is continuing to work throughout today and tomorrow. It has 30 engineers working to fix those faults and will do so as quickly as possible.
I assure Mr Halcro Johnston that the issue of long-term resilience is a cross-Government endeavour. My understanding is that, although his specific amendment was not supported by the Government in the Housing (Scotland) Bill, action in and around wood stoves has been taken elsewhere.
Storm Amy saw communications go down in Shetland for the second time in three months. There have been power cuts and telecommunications issues at Sumburgh airport, which cancelled all commercial flights on Sunday and Monday morning, and broadband provision for many dropped completely after a fault occurred on the Shetland-Faroes cable—SHEFA-2—between Orkney and Shetland. As yet, there is no confirmed estimated time for repair of the cable.
What engagement has the Scottish Government had with communications providers and NATS about this significant disruption, and how will it work with them to improve island resilience?
Ms Wishart is quite correct to raise the importance of island resilience. Our island communities, by their very nature, are often more resilient than households, such as mine, that reside in the central belt. Nonetheless, given the geographical isolation of our island communities, we all need to work harder across Scotland to ensure that that resilience response is spread out.
I am certainly aware of the difficulties that have been experienced in Beatrice Wishart’s constituency over the weekend and I reassure her that, whether it is ministers or SGoRR officials, we are reaching out to every local resilience partnership on an entire range of issues. I will get a further update to her on the important matter of telecommunications in her constituency.
On Sunday, I contacted SSEN on behalf of constituents who had lost power. I thank SSEN for its exemplary and swift response in restoring power and the work that hundreds of operatives have done.
In a conference call yesterday with SSEN senior executives, they explained that the use of drones enables them to check out where the faults lie much more quickly now than in the old days of manual checking. Will the cabinet secretary explore with the resilience team how to work with SSEN and Scottish Power on the best use of drones to further speed up the process of reconnection? Does the cabinet secretary agree that drones, at least airborne ones, are quite useful?
Yes, indeed—Mr Ewing makes a constructive point about the use of technology, which can get a quicker and better result for those whom we seek to serve and can be safer for front-line staff. I will pursue the point that he raises.
Previous
Business MotionNext
Business Motion