Chamber and committees

Great work has been done by the Movement for an Adoption Apology group, and it was a welcome development to see victims receive a formal apology from the Scottish Government.

However, a constituent of mine has expressed concern that, given the passage of time, the truth about the experiences of those who have been impacted will be lost. Has the Scottish Government given any consideration to working with mothers to enable their oral histories to be recorded and archived?

I was going to cover collaborative working, which has already been spoken about. I think that Dr Hosie covered that, so I am okay.

Thank you. I totally appreciate your comments. Certainly, when we compile our report, we will take that back to the Scottish Government.

Good morning. Lewis, you mentioned in your submission the need to strengthen the role of the national outcomes in policy and spending decision making. You have touched on this already, but is there anything that you want to add to that on any missed opportunities that there may be?

Good morning. The committee really appreciates the witnesses taking the time to be with us this morning.

Karin Earl, in your written submission, you say that you do not make payment of the real living wage a condition for your grant holders. Will you expand on why that is the case, and can you give examples of why funded projects might struggle to do so?

Neil Ritch, your position is similar. You ranked the issue at 1—as quite a low priority. Will you expand on why you did that?

I appreciate that. Erica Judge, you scored payment of the real living wage as a 3. Will you expand on your thoughts behind that?

I generally would take an intervention—I would really like to hear what the member has to say—but I need to keep going.

Unfortunately, real change is not coming. To adapt a previous slogan from new Labour, it looks like things can only get worse.

The powers of independence will let us leave this tragedy behind. With the powers of independence, we can truly challenge poverty. Only with control over our own affairs can we do that and truly achieve a more equal and poverty-free Scotland.

I welcome Paul O’Kane’s members’ business debate on challenge poverty week, which follows on from the Scottish Government’s significant debate on the issue that was held on Tuesday. I thank all the anti-poverty organisations that have provided briefings for the debate.

Poverty can often be hidden behind closed doors or masked by pride, but it is a persistent and systemic issue. Unfortunately, it can involve parents and elderly people choosing between heating and eating, which is not a choice that any of us, as parliamentarians, face. Therefore, it is up to us to push for the change that we need.

Tackling child poverty is one of the SNP Government’s biggest priorities, and it is one that we remain firmly focused on. We prioritise those who are most in need through a range of policies, including the Scottish child payment, which, as the Poverty and Inequality Commission noted, has been described as a “game changer” and is one of the main contributors to progress in reducing child poverty at the national level.

When I spoke in last year’s debate on this topic, I listed the many organisations in my community that challenge poverty not just for one week but for 365 days of the year. That remains true today. There are simply so many that I cannot name them all, but it is important to me to put on record my thanks to Golden Friendships, Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels, Faifley food share, East Dunbartonshire Foodbank, Dalmuir Barclay church community pantry, West Dunbartonshire Community Foodshare, the Recycle Room, East Dunbartonshire Citizens Advice Bureau, Improving Lives, West Dunbartonshire Citizens Advice Bureau, Clydebank group holidays, advice staff in East and West Dunbartonshire Councils, Clydebank Asbestos Group and so many more.

Every day, those organisations are saving lives. Every day, they show kindness, warmth and dedication to serving those most in need and, in turn, make our communities better places. I look forward to seeing all those wonderful organisations at my cost of living event next month—an event to which they all come, ready to help our communities.

The fact that such groups must exist in this day and age is appalling, and the UK welfare regime that fuels their existence needs a radical overhaul to make it fit for purpose. So far, unfortunately, there has just been more of the same. Indeed, for many pensioners, things are now getting even worse.

There has been no movement on child poverty, either. Despite good efforts by the previous Labour Government, Labour has now become the party of child poverty. I am thinking of the two-child policy and the abhorrent rape clause. The fact is that Labour has not just kept children in poverty but actively dragged them into it, because, as a new report from CPAG has stated, every day that the two-child policy remains in place, 109 children are pulled into poverty. CPAG has made it clear that

“Scrapping”

the two-child limit

“is the most cost-effective way to stop more kids being pulled into poverty on the”

UK

“government’s watch”.

Labour MSPs should demand that it be scrapped in the budget, and I hope that they do, but so far this week they have failed to do so. I give credit where credit is due, though, and commend Richard Leonard and Alex Rowley for their actions. It was good to see that.

It is very telling that the SNP has done more than today’s new Labour Party to keep in place a Gordon Brown policy to keep pensioners warm this winter. Unfortunately, real change is not coming, and it looks like—

Yes.