Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government budget cuts the PEF. I would like to hear Kaukab Stewart’s response to that because, surely, to tackle the attainment gap, teachers need adequate PEF to get the money to the pupils who need it.

Will the member take an intervention?

Good morning. I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests—I am a serving councillor on North Lanarkshire Council.

My first question relates to 20-minute neighbourhoods, which is a topic that has already been touched on. Several respondents to the committee’s call for views have raised the concern that the definitions of and delivery mechanisms for 20-minute neighbourhoods and community wealth building are not sufficiently clear. That is a concern for decision makers, given the quasi-judicial nature of the planning process. How will those concerns be addressed, and could there be a conflict between the intention to bring in 20-minute neighbourhoods and the role and responsibilities of councillors?

I want to pick up on the point about overdefining. Could that mean that terms are open to different interpretations by councils? Could we have 32 councils doing 32 different things in relation to bringing in 20-minute neighbourhoods?

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests: I am a serving councillor in North Lanarkshire Council.

This afternoon, we have heard thought-provoking speeches about retrofitting and transforming the construction industry to help to achieve the net zero target. We have heard calls for the Scottish Government to invest, to be innovative and to say how the retrofitting programme will be achieved, so that targets are not missed and opportunities are not squandered.

We are up against the clock when it comes to climate change. Given that 40 per cent of emissions come from construction and the built environment, there is a need to make the industry cleaner and greener. It will be a significant challenge to reduce emissions across Scotland and the rest of the UK, but the need to do so presents an opportunity for the building sector to find new and innovative ways to retain and grow the workforce, improve the environment and improve the quality of the assets that are built.

It is, undoubtedly, easier to make homes in new-build housing estates more environmentally friendly, as people are working with a blank canvas. Reducing carbon emissions from existing buildings will be a critical part of achieving net zero. Places such as Glasgow will present a significant challenge, as we heard, but the Niddrie Road development is transforming flats in a tenement without damaging the iconic front-facing sandstone structure. As a person who appreciates architecture and the need to conserve an area’s history, I think that it is important that the work that is carried out does not change the original landscape.

We must ensure that the changes that we are talking about are made affordable for local people, as Miles Briggs said when he opened the debate for the Conservatives. If programmes go ahead but the homes become unaffordable, the project will have failed. We heard such concerns from many members.

I agree with Liam Kerr that a one-size-fits-all approach to transforming our housing stock will not work and that we need to look at a mix of technologies for heating, given the need for affordability.

A key component of a successful retrofitting programme will be the upskilling of the workforce. According to the CITB report “Building Skills for Net Zero”, an estimated 22,500 people in Scotland will need to be trained or retrained in energy efficiency by 2028 if we are to meet climate change targets. The CITB said:

“That represents an increase of around 9% of the current size of the workforce, based on current technologies and ways of working.”

A recruitment drive will be essential. Reskilling and apprenticeships could offer people of all ages opportunities to learn skills for jobs in what should be a secure sector. The Government needs to start the recruitment drive now.

As a member of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee and a councillor in North Lanarkshire Council, I want to talk about councils’ key roles and responsibilities when it comes to improving housing stock and meeting the net zero target. I mentioned Glasgow, but every local authority will have to develop a strategy to make homes across all tenures, not just its housing stock, more energy efficient. Councils will need substantial backing and funding if they are to meet that challenge. I ask the SNP-Green Government please to take note that councils need funding now.

Councils will need to build new relationships with housing associations. That will be vital in ensuring a collegiate partnership approach to achieving the net zero target.

It will come as no surprise when I say that the Scottish Government must do more to meet its net zero targets and make the plans a success. That requires the Scottish Government to hit its emissions targets, which it has failed to do previously. It also requires it to invest in green housing, to be up front about where the money to decarbonise is coming from—as that information has not been forthcoming—and to fund local government properly. Another real-terms cut of £371 million this year will only hinder councils’ net zero targets, and they will struggle to deliver local strategies if the Government continues to treat them with contempt.

I have a question for Kate Forbes. Council leaders have written to the First Minister to request a meeting to discuss the budget settlement. As we heard from Councillor Gail Macgregor, the First Minister has declined that request. If the Scottish Government is confident in its defence of the local government settlement, why has the First Minister declined such a meeting with council leaders?

Thank you.

Thank you, Gail. I think that Martin Booth wants to come in.

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, as I am a serving councillor for North Lanarkshire Council.

COSLA released a statement that heavily criticised the Government, as councils face a real-terms reduction in funding of £284 million this year. Is COSLA concerned that some councils might have to increase council tax significantly to offset the cuts that the Scottish Government has administered? What impact does COSLA feel that that increase will have on taxpayers, particularly people whom the pandemic impacted and who are struggling to make ends meet?

I have questions for both cabinet secretaries. My first is for Shona Robison.

Councils are struggling to maintain vital services because of the levels of cuts that have been administered by the Scottish Government in recent years. Earlier, we heard examples of the cuts that councils have had to make in order to balance the books. Does the cabinet secretary accept that that is due to decisions by the Government to cut local government budgets year on year, and that it has led to councils being unable to provide for their communities? I am not talking about the Government’s key priorities; I am talking about the basics, including education, bins and roads.