Chamber and committees

Marie McNair is absolutely correct that the two-child limit can have significant and negative effects on household income, which is why the Scottish Government has not adopted that approach in relation to the Scottish child payment. Therefore, eligible families with more than two children are able to access the Scottish child payment.

We are taking measures that challenge and try to tackle the effect of measures taken by the UK Government that make our challenge even greater as we work to reduce child poverty in Scotland. Our measures are having a beneficial effect on child poverty levels in Scotland, and we will continue with that relentless focus to support families to boost their household incomes.

In the budget statement in December, I was explicit with the Parliament on the scale of the challenge that is posed by the economic turbulence that has been experienced since the start of the war in Ukraine, which has been exacerbated by the twin effects of Brexit and the aftermath of the ludicrous mini-budget in early September.

The very high level of inflation that we currently face in our economy, along with the fact that there is even more acute pressure on low-income households because the price of many of the foodstuffs on which those households depend has increased disproportionately and by more than the headline rate of inflation, are issues of significant challenge. That is why the Government has prioritised the increase in the Scottish child payment to the extent that it has. It is also why I announced an uprating of the benefits that are under our control by 10.1 per cent. We want to do all that we can to address the difficult circumstances that low-income households face.

The Covid recovery strategy focuses on reducing systemic inequalities and reforming public services. The Scottish Government remains committed to that work, so there are no plans to review the strategy.

The Scottish Government remains alert to the on-going threat that is posed by Covid-19. Public Health Scotland has worked in collaboration with the Scottish Government, local government and other partners to meet the commitment in “COVID-19: Scotland’s Strategic Framework Update” to develop and publish an outbreak management plan. We continue to utilise that, to apply careful judgment and to take all relevant factors into account to ensure that responses are appropriately targeted and the necessary resources are prioritised to deal with the effects of the rising Covid-19 infection rates.

A range of organisations provide valuable and vital support to individuals in our communities, and the Government wants to maximise support to those organisations. I accept that all public organisations face significant financial challenges as they wrestle with the cost crisis, and I was candid about that to the Parliament when I set out the budget in December. However, if we all maintain a focus on supporting the people who are in greatest need, we can do as much as possible to address the financial hardship that those individuals face.

I think that that quote perhaps illustrates why the concept of green freeports is an excluded area in the Bute house agreement, which allows Mr Greer and me to respectfully take slightly different views on that question, if I can put it as delicately as that.

It is much better if I allow Mr Greer to speak for himself rather than speak on his behalf.

Unfortunately, it is characteristic of Mr Smyth’s approach to most of these things that there is not much of a welcome from him for anything. I say to him that—

I quite understand the disappointment that Audrey Nicoll is expressing on behalf of her constituents. I will reassure her in two respects.

First, the Scottish and United Kingdom Governments are taking a number of measures to support the north-east, whether that is the £500 million 10-year north-east of Scotland and Moray just transition plan, or the work that the UK Government is progressing on the—I think that this is the correct term—net zero zone that Sir Ian Wood is progressing. Those represent existing commitments.

Secondly, the First Minister and I have used every available opportunity to impress on United Kingdom ministers at the most senior level the importance of the Acorn project, which is crucial for carbon capture and storage in the north-east.

That project is uniquely placed to advance carbon capture technology. We have pressed that argument, the UK Government has heard our strong views on the importance of making early progress on that development, and I am optimistic that that will be the case.

The Government has taken a range of measures to ensure that we have the available intelligence to support us in the management of the Covid-19 pandemic. Given that the rate is currently estimated to be approximately one in 25, we face a significant challenge. Such issues are regularly reviewed by the Cabinet and the ministerial group on health issues, which is chaired by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, and in the resilience discussions that are chaired by the First Minister, which are taking place on a weekly basis.

I completely understand the point that Katy Clark puts to me, and I understand and accept its significance. However, in the absence of consequential funding from the United Kingdom Government to provide for the approach that she would like us to adopt, we would have to consider funding that approach from the existing resources that are available to the national health service in Scotland. As Katy Clark will know, we have taken significant decisions to boost the funding that is available to the health service by increasing tax for higher earners in the next financial year, but we would have to wrestle with the matter that she raises as part of the overall financing of our public services.

I will consider further the issue that Katy Clark puts to me, because it is a serious issue. I assure her that such questions will be regularly considered as part of the work of the management groups that I mentioned, which are looking at the effect of the pandemic on our public services.

I reassure Mr Fraser that the uptake rates are really quite high: they are in excess of 70 per cent of the eligible population. I have in my mind 77 per cent. I do not have the number in front of me, but I will have it tomorrow morning, when I am at the COVID-19 Recovery Committee, so I shall perhaps be able to give Mr Fraser a more definitive answer at that time.

The level of vaccination uptake is really quite high. We have taken an approach to awareness raising that is designed to maximise the participation in the programme—at this stage, there is a very high level of uptake—and we should continue to do that.

The drop-in facilities that are available are handy and convenient for people, but I will consider further the point that Mr Fraser puts to me about written communication, because it is in all our interests to have a highly vaccinated population.

The Covid recovery strategy contains more than 70 actions that will support people across Scotland, and particularly those most affected during the pandemic. It focuses on increasing financial security for low-income households, enhancing the wellbeing of children and young people, and creating good green jobs and fair work.

I co-chair the Covid recovery strategy programme board, alongside the president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. Together with partners, we oversee recovery activity, and, at our meeting in September, attendees noted that the expectations of the Covid recovery strategy programme were being delivered. The board will meet again next week, and minutes are published on the Scottish Government website.