Chamber and committees

Presiding Officer, I join Mr Sarwar in extending my good wishes to you and to parliamentary colleagues at Christmas time and in wishing everyone a happy Christmas and new year. I express my thanks to those in the emergency services, who I will have much to do with in the course of the next few days and weeks, for the service that they are giving the public over this period.

I acknowledge that there is a housing emergency. The Government has accepted that, and that is why the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Màiri McAllan, has set out the housing action plan.

Mr Sarwar said that the Government is doing nothing about that. We have taken steps and have taken one really significant action during my time as First Minister, which has been to dramatically increase the resources that are available for new house building in Scotland. On my watch as First Minister, we have given more money than ever before to increase the supply of housing.

That builds on the fact that, over the lifetime of the Government, we have helped to deliver more than 141,000 affordable homes, with more than 101,000 of those being available for social rent. That is 45 per cent more per head of population than in England and 69 per cent more than in Wales. During a period when we have all been wrestling with public spending challenges, the Government has delivered more new affordable housing than has been delivered in England or in Wales, and we are building on that record with a budget settlement that will deliver for housing in Scotland.

Members of the public can see what the United Kingdom Government delivers. At the election, it promised a cut in fuel bills, but those bills are rising. That is what the United Kingdom delivers to an energy-rich country. The sooner that Scotland’s energy is under the control of the people of Scotland, who can benefit from the energy potential of our country, the better, so that we can reduce the costs that people face for their domestic energy and commercial heating.

I am very much aware of the speculation that there was after the previous answer that I gave to Mr Greer. I am not quite sure how that speculation arose, because I thought that I was crystal clear that the scheme, approach and conditions that we have put in place at Grangemouth will be put in place at Mossmorran. I hope that that is clear. I thought that it was clear the last time I said it, but, if it was not, it is clear now.

The business concepts that are emerging from the work at Grangemouth will be prioritised and taken forward at Mossmorran. ExxonMobil had extensive discussions with the United Kingdom Government about the future of the site that the Scottish Government was not sighted on until the very last moment. That meant there was a limitation on our ability to engage substantively on those questions.

I hope that that has given Mr Greer the clarity that he seeks. The Government will engage in measures to support the workforce at Mossmorran, as the Parliament would expect us to.

We know that people continue to struggle with the cost of bills and life’s essentials, particularly during the winter and especially at Christmas time. The Government is doing all that it can to help within the powers that we have available to us. We will continue to allocate more than £3 billion a year to policies that tackle poverty and help to address the cost of living crisis. This winter, we will invest more than £196 million in our winter heating benefits, which provide vital support for low-income households, families with disabled children or young people, and pensioners.

Mr Findlay used some pretty strong language in his question. He said “cynical, calculating, dishonest”. The amendment that Liam Kerr lodged to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill and the actions of the Conservative Party after it was defeated were cynical, calculating and dishonest.

Mr Findlay knows full well that Liam Kerr’s amendment would not have delivered a grooming gangs inquiry. It would have delivered none of the action the Scottish Government is now taking, whether that is the actions of the four independent inspectorates, the actions of Police Scotland, or the work of the national childhood sexual abuse panel. What Mr Findlay and his colleagues were proposing, how they behaved around those circumstances—[Interruption.]

I simply say to Mr Findlay that the proposition that was made by his colleague in September would have had no effect whatsoever in delivering a grooming inquiry. It would not have delivered for the victims who have suffered sexual abuse. This Government is taking the practical action to do that, and we will continue to do so.

As I have indicated already, resources have been invested in Shetland as a consequence of the Crown Estate revenues. The issues that Beatrice Wishart raises are important, and members of the public need to be persuaded that where they are supporting and accommodating that infrastructure, they are seeing the benefit of lower energy costs.

I totally accept the situation in Shetland, where there is very high generation of renewable energy and there are very high levels of fuel poverty and very high fuel bills. That is the energy system of the United Kingdom, and that is the problem that we are wrestling with. We are wrestling with an energy market that does not ensure that the people of Scotland, including the people of Shetland, are getting the benefit of their energy wealth, and that is what my Government is about—securing for the people of Scotland.

Let me express my unbridled joy to Mr Adam, who is experiencing unbridled joy at the success of St Mirren on winning the Premier Sports cup with a magnificent performance at Hampden on Sunday. The point that Mr Adam makes—I know that he and his wife are devoted supporters of St Mirren—is that the role and the approach of the community-owned club model is a real strength for St Mirren. I am sure that it is a model that can be followed in other parts of the country. Given the success that St Mirren has attracted as a consequence, I am sure that it will be followed with interest in other parts of the country.

I understand the strength of the point that Mr Leonard puts to me. Last Friday, in my constituency capacity, I engaged with an organisation that is making representations on behalf of seasonal migrant workers in my constituency, and I understand the challenges and the issues that individuals face.

I think that it is wrong to say that there are no powers that can be used just now by local authorities. There are inspection responsibilities that local authorities can take forward. That is the point of the answer that I was giving to that particular question. If there are further measures that can be taken to strengthen legislation, the Government will do so.

As I have said to the Parliament previously, and as I said on Tuesday when the issue was debated in the Parliament, and the Parliament expressed its confidence in the justice secretary, people will reach different conclusions from the words that we use in the Parliament.

The justice secretary is trying to address the concerns have been raised in a comprehensive and open way, as she did at the committee yesterday—[Interruption.]