Chamber and committees

I am pleased to bring to the chamber this debate to mark challenge poverty week 2024, and I thank members of all parties who signed the motion to allow the debate to take place. It is an important symbol of the cross-party consensus that really ought to govern how we debate in Parliament issues with regard to tackling poverty in all its forms. Although we will disagree on policy, it is important that Parliament is united in debating these issues, because we know that poverty in Scotland remains unacceptably high. The “Poverty in Scotland 2024” report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation highlights that very deep poverty in Scotland is up to 40 per cent, having surged since the mid-1990s, and that 240,000 children still languish in poverty; rates of child poverty remain static, as so much research has now demonstrated.

There is much work to be done across all spheres of Government, in the Parliament and in the Scottish Government, but I also recognise the role of the United Kingdom Government and of local government in that work. In a previous debate this week, I said that it was important that the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice both launched the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report together on Monday, and responded together, thinking about how they could embark on a new partnership for how we tackle poverty.

I do not want to relitigate too heavily the politics of the issue, some of which we have heard about this week, but I hope that the debate ends up being the discussion that we should have had in Government time earlier in the week, which the Government chose not to have. It is important that, in challenge poverty week, we show our respect to the third sector organisations and anti-poverty campaigners that put in so much to this week and all year round to ensure that the issues are at the forefront of our agenda in Parliament.

This week provides a vital point in the year when civil society can come together and showcase what is happening out there and the best practice across Scotland. It is important to mention the work of the Poverty Alliance, which has co-ordinated challenge poverty week each year since 2013. Bringing together all groups and projects is no small task, especially on top of all the other work that the organisation does year round. I am pleased that we are joined in the gallery today by representatives of the Poverty Alliance, and I am sure that we are all very grateful for the work that it does and for the briefing that it provided to all members.

There is much work to do and many areas in which we need different interventions. As I said, all spheres of government must take tailored approaches to ensure that we reach everyone, no matter their background. That is evident from the themes that have been highlighted each day of this important week.

We could look at the issue of housing. We have many debates in the chamber about housing, and we have had some recently. The effects of inadequate and unaffordable housing on poverty rates are significant, and we need to understand how the housing emergency affects different groups. That is why I welcome Shelter Scotland and Engender’s research, published this week, which shows the disproportionate effects that are felt by women and the need for a gendered response to the housing emergency.

On transport, we need to support people to access their places of work, business and services and their support network. It is concerning to see the end of the off-peak rail fares pilot, which increases the costs to working people who commute to work. The distance covered by local bus services has fallen by 15 per cent since 2011-12, and the number of passenger journeys has fallen by 52 per cent since 2007-08. There is much more that we need to do in this place and across our local authorities to support and empower people to use public transport.

Will the member give way?

I am interested in fairness, which is why I welcome the UK Government’s publication today of the Employment Rights Bill, which will bring about the biggest increase in workers’ rights in a generation—ending fire and rehire, banning exploitative zero-hours contracts and introducing day 1 rights. That is all in the first 100 days of a Labour Government. [Interruption.]

What about the Scottish Government’s fair work agenda? I and colleagues have written to Government ministers about fair work in the night-time economy and social care, and we have been told that no support is forthcoming to deliver on the promises that this Government made on fair work. When will the Government make good on its fair work promises? In the spirit of new partnership, what work has the Government done with the new Labour Government to ensure the implementation of those workers’ rights, here in Scotland?

I thank my friend for his intervention; he makes an important point. As we discuss these thematic issues, it is clear to me that poor health, particularly poor mental health, can be a result of poverty and that poverty can be a social determinant of health. We need to deal with that in a very serious way. It is important that we put that on the record today and think about what our interventions can be in that space. I also thank Paul Sweeney for the work that he does in that regard and for the work that he has done on free travel for asylum seekers, who are some of the poorest individuals in our society.

Adequate income is an important theme of this week. In-work poverty is at record levels, and we need to look at the level of income that working people receive to make sure that it meets their needs. I point to the work of Close the Gap, representatives of which I and my Scottish Labour colleagues met yesterday, along with other members of the End Child Poverty coalition. Close the Gap has highlighted that inadequate income for women and the gender pay gap are directly tied to child poverty. That is why I welcome the work that the UK Government is doing to introduce the new deal for working people, which will begin to tackle the insecurity, instability and low pay in work that add to poverty.

Ms Haughey and I have debated these issues many times, and she knows that I am committed to a review of universal credit that includes the two-child limit. That work has been set in the context of the child poverty task force, which the UK Government is taking forward. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions began that work along with the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson. The work is important, because—as I have said many times in the chamber—universal credit does not work. All parts of it need to be reviewed, and a considered piece of work must be done to review those issues in relation to reducing child poverty.

I want to touch briefly on the work that is being done on food insecurity, across this week and more broadly by organisations. We all know that it is a travesty that food banks are necessary in modern-day Scotland and we all want to work for a society in which nobody needs to rely on them. However, they demonstrate the best of people in our communities, who want to throw their arms around those who are most in need.

I take this opportunity to highlight the many community groups in my region that run food banks, food pantries and food security projects. They do admirable work. It is not only about the provision of food but about taking a holistic view of how to support people who most need it. Often, that approach can support people with their mental health and with what is going on in their life. I point to the work of Morton in the Community, which is the charitable arm of Greenock Morton FC, and which hosts collections for Inverclyde food bank and offers a range of services at the club to support people.

I am conscious of time. I finish by mentioning one further thing that has been highlighted this week, which is sustainable funding for the third sector. All these projects are vitally important, but organisations cannot continue to do that work without sustainable and fair funding. I know that the minister and the Government have heard me speak about that, and it is very important that we reflect on it today. I hope that the minister will be able to cover that in summing up.

I am grateful for the debate, and I hope that it is constructive.

I will not, because I have a lot to get through and I am now in my second minute. I apologise to Ross Greer.

If we want to talk about priorities for the coming Scottish budget, we need to say that the real change to the budget process that we need is an end to the financial incompetence that has been the hallmark of the SNP Government. We need an end to the need for statements on emergency cuts because the SNP has failed to set an appropriate budget. Let us remember that those cuts have included £116 million from the health budget, a reduction of almost £19 million in the budget for mental health services, a £24 million cut to active and sustainable travel, and nearly £16 million in cuts to social justice funding.

I begin by respectfully acknowledging Jackson Carlaw’s bringing the motion to Parliament for debate. For him, and for Conservative colleagues, I appreciate that it is a very emotive subject, given not only the personal connections that many had to the victims of the bombing, but their long-standing connections to the families of those victims and to those who survived that terrible night.

We debate the anniversary as the current party conference season has just concluded. It has caused me to reflect, having attended my own party’s gathering in Liverpool just weeks ago, on the magnitude and the horror of what happened 40 years ago in Brighton. That has been recounted by Jackson Carlaw this evening in a very personal and powerful way, and I commend him for his speech.

I often reflect that political parties become something like an extended family—the good, the bad and the in-between—and it is hard to imagine those whom we come to care about so deeply being killed or harmed in such circumstances. Party conferences are part of the lifeblood of our democratic traditions, so when terrorism strikes at the heart of our democracy in such a direct way and claims innocent lives, it must be condemned. I think that, this evening, we stand united across the chamber in that condemnation.

Many members in the chamber will know that the troubles in Northern Ireland and the long road to peace are very personal to me and to my family. Tonight, we remember victims of that conflict: the thousands who were killed across these islands, many of whom were just innocent bystanders living their everyday lives.

Every corner was touched by those dark days: my own family in County Derry and County Tyrone, and the soldiers whose names are etched on the war memorials in towns and villages such as the one that I live in today. I join Jackson Carlaw in reflecting on the other anniversary that we have commemorated in the past week: the 50th anniversary of when John Hunter and Billy Forsyth from Barrhead were killed in the Guildford bombings, aged just 17 and 18. They were on their first deployment in the Army—just young, innocent men who were on a night out. There was, of course, the pain of the miscarriages of justice and the search for answers that followed. It is important to reflect on the pain that is caused—that pain is unimaginable, and I know that so many people still carry it today.

Decades ago, it was unimaginable that an end to the darkness was possible, but today the light of peace shines across Northern Ireland. There are—as we heard from other members—adults in their mid-20s who have known nothing else. Peace can be fragile, and it can be confusing. It requires compromises that can feel impossible to make, but for those young people, it must endure and succeed.

Tonight, we in the chamber should remember those people who made it possible. We should remember the forbearance of John Hume; the groundwork that was laid by John Major in the most difficult of circumstances; and the empathy of Mo Mowlam in delivering the Good Friday agreement.

The next step on that journey is reconciliation. Again, that is a hard road to embark on, and it is difficult for many to contemplate. However, I am sure that many will also agree that the examples that have been set in the work of people such as Jo Berry—the daughter of Sir Anthony Berry, who died in the blast—and Pat Magee, who planted the bomb, are an important starting point.

I leave the chamber with the words of the late Queen, on her historic visit to Ireland:

“These events have touched us all, many of us personally, and are a painful legacy. We can never forget those who have died or been injured, and their families. To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy.

With the benefit of historical hindsight we can all see things which we would wish had been done differently or not at all. But it is also true that no-one who looked to the future over the past centuries could have imagined the strength of the bonds that are now in place between the Governments and the people of our two nations, the spirit of partnership that we now enjoy, and the lasting rapport between us.”

I express my condolences to those still living in pain and with loss, and I offer my hope for an on-going commitment to peace, democracy and reconciliation across these islands.

Mr Gibson may have been young 25 years ago, but I was, in fact, a student 17 years ago. I remember campaigning in the 2007 election, when the SNP ran on a manifesto that promised to abolish and replace the council tax. Of course, the current First Minister was part of crafting that manifesto and has been part of the SNP Governments ever since, barring one year. Yet, 17 years later, not only has the council tax not been reformed but, as was reported yesterday, the Scottish Government’s joint working group on council tax reform has not even met in the six months since John Swinney became First Minister.

In a similar vein, as we have heard from my colleague Michael Marra, just last week, the Scottish Parliament passed legislation on the Scottish aggregates tax, which will replace the UK aggregates levy. That legislation makes use of tax-raising powers that were agreed as part of the Smith commission and passed in 2016, but it has taken a full decade to pass legislation on a tax that, in many fundamental ways, is the same as the prior UK equivalent.

I reference those issues because it is important to note that the Parliament has tax-varying powers but it takes time for any changes to be developed, implemented and come to fruition. Although we will have varying levels of disagreement in the debate today—and in the debates that will follow—with the Greens and other parties on the range of suggestions that are made in the Green motion today, ultimately, none of those changes will be brought about in time for the 2025-26 budget that we are discussing.

No. I have much more to say and I have only a short time.

We must have an end to the plugging of financial black holes that the Government created with £460 million-worth of ScotWind money. That money was supposed to be earmarked for investment in our future, but it is going to be used to repair the SNP’s black hole. We need an end to the waste and lack of transparency that we have seen. Senior Scottish Government sources have admitted that there is waste and a lack of transparency, and they have said:

“We haven’t looked under the bonnet properly in years.”

We really need an end to the sort of governance that we have seen in the recent past. The next Scottish budget needs to demonstrate a return to competence and an intention to grow the Scottish economy. We know that, had the economy grown at the same rate as the UK economy, there could be billions of pounds more to spend.

Of course, the motion does nothing to address the fundamental problems that poor economic growth is creating in Scotland’s finances. We need to ensure that growth is at the heart of what we do. That has been eloquently outlined by my colleagues, as it will be in their closing speeches as well.

There are no quick fixes for the economic mess that we face in Scotland after 17 years of an SNP Government and across the UK after 14 years of the Conservatives’ mismanagement of our public finances and crashing of our UK economy. However, that is the work that the new Labour UK Government has undertaken. It will take time and focus.

I fundamentally disagree with Mr Greer’s assessment—Mr Harvie said some of this in the debate yesterday as well—that there has been no change. The priority of the new UK Labour Government has been to pass changes to planning laws that will help to boost house building and infrastructure development. This week, we will see legislation for a new deal for working people—