Chamber and committees

Feedback from applications in which the first decision is not made correctly is part of the process of making sure that the system is improved on an on-going basis. I know that Social Security Scotland takes that work very seriously and focuses very hard on it.

For all the issues that she rightly brings to the chamber about the operation of the social security system, particularly as it affects people with disabilities, I am absolutely certain—and I hope that I am not wrong—that Pam Duncan-Glancy shares my view that we already have a fairer system around those things in Scotland than exists elsewhere in the UK.

However, through Social Security Scotland, we have an obligation to continue to improve that experience, so that, first, people are getting all the help to which they are entitled; secondly, they are getting it as easily and with as little bureaucracy as possible; and, thirdly, decisions are being taken correctly in the first instance.

Decisions on the levels of water charges are matters for Scottish Water’s board, and its decision must be taken with due regard to the principles of charging for water services, which are set by Scottish ministers and include the key principle of affordability. Last year, the board took a responsible view and held charges to a real-terms freeze, and we expect it to take a proportionate position again, balancing affordability with critical investment needs to protect the quality of our drinking water and the environment.

Of course, the average water charge in Scotland remains lower than the average charge in England and Wales, but we are committed to supporting people facing any issues with paying their water bills. That is why, as part of our overall package of cost of living measures, we have increased the maximum level of the water charges reduction scheme discount from 25 per cent to 35 per cent.

This is obviously a matter for Scottish Water’s board. As I said in my original answer, the board of Scottish Water took a responsible decision last year—we would expect it to do the same this year—to recognise the cost of living pressures, which remain intense and acute. However, we also expect and require Scottish Water to discharge other responsibilities to ensure that we have a well-maintained water system, so that the quality of our water services is high, and it is mindful of its wider obligations to the environment. If we did not have proper investment in our water infrastructure and, as a result, the quality of our drinking water declined, I am sure that Jackie Baillie would be one of the first to point a finger at this Government.

We will continue to take responsible decisions on this issue and across the range of other ways that we are supporting people through the cost of living crisis—decisions and actions that continue to result in the Scottish people expressing high levels of trust in this Government.

When I met the Prime Minister a couple of weeks ago, I urged him, as the Scottish Government does more generally on a regular basis, to take more action to help people who are struggling with the basic necessities of life because of the cost of living crisis, which continues to affect the livelihoods, lives and, increasingly, the health and wellbeing of people across the country. The key policy levers are held by the UK Government, and we will continue to press it to use all the levers at its disposal to tackle the emergency. That includes access to borrowing, providing benefits and support to households.

We will also continue to take action ourselves. We have allocated almost £3 billion in this financial year to help, and we have, of course, increased the Scottish child payment by 150 per cent in less than eight months to £25 per eligible child per week.

On the police complaints system, we are, of course, taking forward recommendations from the Angiolini report and, indeed, we will legislate in respect of those recommendations.

It would not be right or appropriate for me to comment in detail on that specific case. However, the police are, of course, expected to respond to any recommendations or actions that they are instructed to take by the PIRC, and I would expect that to be the case there.

The broader reform of the complaints system is under way and on-going, and the justice secretary will keep the Parliament updated as appropriate.

Obviously, individual cases of the kind that Jamie Greene has narrated are always difficult and unacceptable for the individuals concerned. However, more generally, as I often say in the chamber because it is absolutely right that I do so, court decisions are for courts. It is not for ministers or any politicians to intervene in decisions of our justice system.

When a community payback order is issued, the offender has to serve that order. That remains the case. More generally, our community justice system performs well. That will be one of the reasons why levels of crime in this country continue to be historically low and reoffending rates are reducing.

We continue to support the justice system to recover from the pandemic and catch up on backlogs in all different aspects of the system.

Between June and November this year, there were 1,429 instances of the Scottish Ambulance Service single crewing ambulance shifts across Scotland. To put that into context, I would point out that it represents 1.72 per cent of the total number of shifts in that period. In addition, there will be paramedic cars or motorbikes that are routinely single crewed and which are used to support the Ambulance Service’s multivehicle response to serious incidents as well as being used by advanced paramedics to support patients with less serious conditions in the community. Single-crewed ambulance shifts happen only in exceptional circumstances that cannot be avoided, such as short-notice staff absences or a significant unforeseen increase in demand.

The Cabinet will next meet on Tuesday. I advise the chamber that one of the matters that the Cabinet will discuss on Tuesday is on-going monitoring of the Strep A situation. Sadly, as we know, a number of children in England and Wales have died from invasive group A Strep infections; our thoughts are with their families.

Although increased levels of infection have been seen in Scotland, current numbers are not exceeding previous spikes, and so far, we have had no deaths of children. However, a total of 13 invasive group A Strep cases in children under 10 were reported to Public Health Scotland between the start of October and 5 December. The majority of those cases are mild and can be treated with penicillin. However, there is no room for complacency, and we will continue to monitor the situation very closely.

No, it is not acceptable. The cost of Tory fiscal and economic incompetence, which is epitomised by the disastrous decisions in the mini-budget—decisions that, members should remember, the Scottish Conservatives initially wanted the Scottish Government to replicate—coupled with the disaster of Brexit that unfolds on a daily basis, is being paid by individuals, businesses and households across Scotland right now.

There is an alternative to that, and it is to make this Parliament responsible for the decisions that are being so badly mishandled at Westminster. I think that there is a growing desire in the people of Scotland to become independent and build a much better alternative to what we have now.

On a point of order further to that, Presiding Officer. As ministers have said, that figure is no longer appropriate to use because it is out of date. However, I think that Alex Cole-Hamilton would want me to put a complete picture before the chamber. There are statements that he did not include in his point of order that I will give:

“Scotland has a major role to play in this with an estimated 25 per cent of Europe’s offshore wind potential.”

That was a statement from Liberal Democrat minister Michael Moore. Secondly:

“We have more offshore wind power than the rest of the world combined”.

That was from Lib Dem leader Vince Cable.

If it is the case that Alex Cole-Hamilton is so distressed by the use of that figure by Scottish Government ministers, perhaps, in the interests of completeness, he would also refer to his colleagues who have used exactly the same figure. The fact of the matter is that we have massive renewables potential, which is what he does not like.