Chamber and committees

We should take the suggestions from Jackie Baillie to the Scottish Government and ask it to reconsider. We should write to the Government to seek its view on the suggestions from the Scottish Forum of Community Councils on a way of allocating planning decisions to the most appropriate level.

The report from Shelter Scotland is uncomfortable and depressing reading, but, unfortunately, for many members, it will be unsurprising, and it merely confirms what we have heard from our constituents. It is an indictment of an SNP Government that allowed the housing emergency to grow and grow. That is especially true in Edinburgh, which has the highest number of children who are waiting in temporary accommodation of anywhere in Scotland. The report’s findings are stark and they show that children are being failed and that their rights are not being met.

Last year, north Edinburgh parents action group published a similar report, and both reports identify common issues that people in temporary accommodation face—particularly mould and damp. The Shelter report states that

“dampness, mould, and inadequate maintenance were observable and pervasive features of children’s daily lives”.

Damp and mould were described as causing “discomfort and fear” in children and “frustration and stress” in parents, who faced great concern about their children’s health and could not get these issues fixed for months. That situation does not meet a child’s right to an adequate standard of living or best health.

Crime and antisocial behaviour were also features of children’s and parents’ experience. One family with a four-year-old mentioned neighbours consistently shouting and threatening to kill each other at night. Many parents restricted children’s outdoor play due to crime and drug taking. Those issues alone are harmful to children’s development and health, but we must stress the compounding nature of these experiences.

Research shows that a child who cannot sleep due to antisocial behaviour is more likely to do poorly at school. A parent being stressed and anxious in their life situation can cause a child to be stressed and anxious. Years spent in temporary accommodation have lifelong consequences, so investing in housing, raising standards and, most important, lowering the waiting time for social housing will benefit us all in the long term.

The conditions that are described in the report are appalling and shame us all. They fall far short of what vulnerable children need and deserve. Shelter’s recommendations should be implemented by the Scottish Government. I have called for Awaab’s law to be implemented in Scotland, to ensure that damp and mould are addressed, so I welcome the fact that the Scottish Government is in favour of that.

Children lose out socially and educationally when they move schools, so we should keep them in the same school unless it is absolutely necessary to move them.

Above all, we need to build more social housing. That is the clearest demand in the report. The current rate of social and private house building does not touch the sides and must be accelerated.

As we approach a year since the housing emergency was declared, the report serves as a painful reminder that a failure to act is failing Scotland’s children.

Earlier this month, pilots for national 5 qualifications in roof slating and stone carving started in Edinburgh. Given the skills shortages across the heritage sector, with only 6 per cent of the key traditional building skills that have been defined by Historic Environment Scotland having formal training provision in place, would the cabinet secretary support similar efforts to improve qualifications in traditional skills across Scotland?

Given that drug use is an issue that crosses portfolios, what discussions has the cabinet secretary had with ministerial colleagues on ensuring that there is wraparound support for offenders in cases where drugs have played a role, particularly those with drug treatment and testing orders, leading to lower reoffending rates?

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in tackling the housing emergency. (S6O-04437)

Recent statistics show the scale of Scotland’s housing emergency under the Scottish National Party. There are 250,000 people waiting for social housing, more children are trapped in temporary accommodation in Edinburgh than in all of Wales and housing starts have started to slow down. With those figures in mind, what are the Scottish Government’s specific outcomes or benchmarks when it comes to ending the housing emergency?

Despite wholesale gas and electricity prices falling in the past two years, the public are still paying 43 per cent more than they were before Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. All members will have been contacted by constituents who are facing trouble with the cost of energy or inaccurate bills. No person should be faced with the choice of heating their home or feeding their family.

Communities have come together to support those people who are most at risk. Members will have received the briefing from the warm welcome campaign, which shows the 209 warm spaces that have been opened across Scotland, including Granton parish church and the Heart of Newhaven in Edinburgh. However, Governments must take the lead in protecting the most vulnerable and I welcome the Labour UK Government’s recently announced actions in that regard, such as expanding the warm homes discount to an extra 3 million families.

Let me make a bit more progress.

That expansion of the discount means that one in five Scottish households will be supported with their bills next winter. The UK Government is also taking action on energy debt, which increased by 20 per cent in 2023 alone, by working with Ofgem on a debt reset to give customers a clean slate after years of financial stress and stopping inaccurate bills and unlawful back-billing. Those common-sense changes will support households during a time of rising costs. I also support the review of Ofgem so that it meets the needs of consumers and is able to hold energy companies to account.

However, here, in Scotland, we should be going further in supporting the most vulnerable. I was contacted by a constituent who is chronically ill and must spend £143 a month to heat a single room, or she will fall seriously ill.

Let me make a bit more progress.

Her situation is not unique—carers, older people and disabled people are all facing similar struggles. The Scottish Government should use its record budget settlement from the Labour Government to ensure that no one is left behind. However, we should be clear that these solutions, although welcome, do not deal with the root cause, which is that the cost of energy in Scotland and the UK is the highest in Europe. In the long term, that is not sustainable for families and it is not sustainable for businesses.

I used to be involved in catering and I frequently speak with those in the restaurant industry who have had to close or downsize due to rising bills. That costs jobs and it costs the economy. We need to decouple ourselves from an unstable international energy market that leaves the welfare of Scots at the whim of Putin. The establishment and operation of GB Energy cannot come soon enough in that regard. GB Energy will deliver the energy independence that we need by investing in clean energy, which will lower emissions, create jobs and tackle the climate crisis. GB Energy will also invest in new and emerging technologies such as tidal energy and floating offshore wind, cementing Scotland as a global leader in the sector.

The retrofitting and upgrading of homes needs to be accelerated, as 44 per cent of Scottish homes have an energy performance certificate rating of less than C and, according to the Energy Saving Trust, increasing their EPC rating from D to C would save households up to 15 per cent on their bills. However, the Scottish Government has cut the energy efficiency and decarbonisation budget in real terms and the heat in buildings bill is stuck in limbo one year after the consultation was closed. If we do not lower energy costs and make buildings more energy efficient in the long term, Governments will be forced to continue firefighting by providing support to consumers when energy bills rise.

In this area, there is considerable overlap between devolved and reserved responsibilities. If we are to upgrade our energy grid and deliver for families in the long term, therefore, we need positive collaboration between the UK and Scottish Governments. I welcome the actions that have been announced by the Labour Government, including the warm home discount scheme and action to tackle energy debt. If we are to beat the problem permanently, however, we have to move to clean energy and bring down prices.

The First Minister will know that last Friday was the beginning of Ramadan, which is a time of reflection, peace and hope for Muslims in Scotland and worldwide. However, Muslim communities across the UK and Scotland are now facing hatred at a higher level than ever. The UK Labour Government has convened a working group on Islamophobia, which will create a definition of it. Will the Scottish Government adopt that definition? When will we see real progress on the implementation of the recommendations from the inquiry into Islamophobia from the cross-party group on tackling Islamophobia?