Chamber and committees

The United Kingdom Government has taken on fiscal targets that it inherited from the Conservatives and which are enormously damaging to a growth agenda, and it has compounded that error with the increase in employer national insurance contributions, which will be a further depressant on growth in the economy. The conflict and contradiction between the rhetoric on growth and the reality of decision making is becoming ever more apparent, because of the global economic challenges that we face.

The programme for government will set out additional measures that the Scottish Government will take to build resilience in the Scottish economy, to support our economy to have an international focus and outlook, and to make sure that we support and encourage innovation in the Scottish economy, which is the route to success for Scotland.

I am very happy to address the particular case that Mr Sarwar raises with me and to say—which he knows from my previous answers—that, in general, we are working to reduce waiting times for individuals to access treatment across the health service in Scotland, and we are making progress in a number of areas in relation to that objective. He will also know that the Government has delivered increased investment in mental health support to expand capacity to meet young people’s developing needs. I want to ensure that our investments are well targeted in order to address the issues that Mr Sarwar has raised. That is why we increased the funding for mental health support, and that is why we are putting in place assistance around the country.

That is not what we are doing. We are focusing on ensuring that support is in place in communities the length and breadth of the country.

It is often the case that CAMHS is simply not the correct service for children who are seeking a diagnosis for a neurodevelopmental condition such as autism or ADHD, unless they have a co-existing mental health condition. That is the key point that I need to get across to reassure parents, who will be anxious about the issues that Mr Sarwar raises. As he knows, we have made progress on the CAMHS waiting lists in the past year. The overall CAMHS waiting list decreased by 20.9 per cent in the previous year and that progress has continued in the latest quarter.

The Government will be focused on ensuring that the support that is necessary for individual young people is available to them, and that the right pathway is put in place to meet the needs of every young person in Scotland. That is the commitment that I give to Parliament today, and that is the foundation of the Government’s approach in that respect.

I will address Mr Macpherson’s point directly, because he makes substantial points about the record of the Labour Party.

Since we declared the housing emergency last May, we have prioritised working most urgently with five local authorities, including the City of Edinburgh Council, and we are accelerating and accentuating the interventions in Edinburgh to address the very significant issues that Mr Macpherson has put to me. We have also, as I said in my response to Mr Griffin, reshaped investment to ensure that we can support local authorities in tackling void accommodation, and we have increased support for adaptations in properties to enable people to be supported in their housing.

I appreciated the opportunity to discuss those issues with Mr Macpherson when we visited the former Granton gasworks site some weeks ago. The Government has invested £16 million to enable development of that site, which will lead, if my memory serves me right, to the creation of more than 800 affordable homes in the city of Edinburgh. That is the type of targeted action that the Scottish Government is taking to address the housing emergency, and it will be the underpinning of our housing programme in the years to come.

I am very pleased to confirm to the Parliament that the pension age disability payment was launched on Tuesday. It will pay up to £441 a month extra to disabled people who are over state pension age. We estimate that it will help more than 170,000 disabled people and people living with a long-term health condition who need help looking after themselves or supervision to stay safe.

The launch of the payment ensures that disabled people of all age groups in Scotland are now able to receive support from a social security system that is based on dignity, fairness and respect. Those principles are at the heart of the legislation that this Government brought to Parliament, and I am pleased that we continue to apply them as we deliver the type of social security system that benefits and supports the individuals in Scotland who are most in need at the moment.

I recognise the importance of ensuring that the needs of every child are met in our education system. For some young people with additional support needs, that can be achieved in mainstream education. For others, that is not possible, and those judgments should be made on the assessed needs of every individual child. The Government works closely with our local authority partners in delivering on those objectives.

In the past financial year, more than £1 billion has been spent by local authorities on additional support for learning. However, in its latest budget settlement, the Government recognised the significance of the demand for services. As part of that settlement, we specifically agreed an additional £29 million of funding in the budget, which is to be allocated through local authorities in response to the legitimate issues that Pam Duncan-Glancy has put to me today.

I assure Pam Duncan-Glancy and those on whose behalf she speaks today of the importance that we attach to the issue. We are working with local authorities to ensure that the needs of every child are met, and that will continue to be our approach.

As Jackie Dunbar and the Parliament will know, the Government does not support energy production from nuclear power. We believe that the investment that is necessary in our energy networks will be more cost effective if it is invested in renewable energy.

I am reminded that Hinkley Point C, which is a new nuclear power station, is now projected to cost up to £46 billion, which is more than double the original cost estimate. There are opportunities for us to deliver energy security for our country through a variety of renewable energy interventions, through offshore wind, through pump storage and through various other technologies. That will certainly be the position that is adopted by the Scottish Government.

I am deeply concerned about the cuts to the sickness and disability benefits that the United Kingdom Government has announced. Indeed, I referred to them in my earlier answers to Anas Sarwar. The changes will push 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into poverty by the end of this decade and will reduce the funding that Scotland receives for devolved disability benefits.

Parliament had an opportunity yesterday to express its firm opinion on those commitments. The Government expressed our opposition to the changes and I am staggered that Scottish Labour MSPs supported the cuts, but that tells us all that we need to know—the Labour Party is in favour of continuing austerity and inflicting damage on the population of Scotland, while this Government will stand to take actions to reduce poverty and support the population in Scotland.

Let us take a moment to see how the most recent change-of-Government process went in the United Kingdom. Last summer, the Labour Government was elected on a commitment to end austerity and to deliver change. What has the Labour Government done? The Labour Government has delivered a continuation—[Interruption.]

First, I am glad that I have been relieved of the burden of trying, on a weekly basis, to remember when the Cabinet meets.

I also welcome Jamie Greene to his position on the Liberal Democrat benches. I am not at all surprised to see him there. He looked decidedly uncomfortable on the Conservative benches for an awfully long time—like many others, I dare say. [Interruption.] Listen—[Laughter.] I am very happy about it all.