Chamber and committees

I have had an initial discussion with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on the approach to the statement on 17 November. That did not in any shape or form cover substantive details. I have been promised substantive engagement before the UK statement, and I will make myself available for any such dialogue at any opportunity.

I have not yet had a positive response to that, despite the fact that we have asked for that on a number of occasions. Kate Forbes asked for that issue to be addressed in the summer, before she went on maternity leave, and I reiterated that. The First Minister has also made that point, and I will continue to stress it. As I said in an earlier answer, this is a year quite without precedent regarding the scale of inflationary pressures. Ordinarily, if inflation is at 2 or 3 per cent, that will not really cause much of a financial strain. However, if inflation is at 10 per cent, that will cause a real financial strain. This morning, the Criminal Justice Committee heard evidence from the chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service about the issues that that public service is wrestling with.

The point that Mr Greer makes to me and which I will take to the UK Government is an entirely valid view.

I have not had a meeting with the current chancellor, but I have corresponded with chancellors on a number of occasions, as has Kate Forbes, the substantive finance secretary. I point out that a number of letters from Kate Forbes, the Welsh finance minister and the Northern Irish finance minister were not replied to by United Kingdom chancellors for a significant number of months. Given that we get lectured in this Parliament about engagement with the UK Government, I point out that some of our correspondence quite simply does not get answered. I have had an apology for that fact and, I am glad to say, a reply to my most recent letter from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. It is difficult for us to advance dialogue when there is nobody at the other end to engage on such questions.

I would certainly judge that to be the case, yes. The issues that Mr Johnson raises are all relevant to the post-Covid situation. The recovery measures that we are taking are not just Covid related; for example, they also address the issue of inequality, which Mr Johnson has raised. He has heard me say before that Covid exacerbated inequality, it did not create it.

The framework that we have in place through the national performance framework effectively provides a forum in which to address the issues that Mr Johnson properly raises. For the record, I would be very happy to answer any questions on those matters, should they be selected.

We are working with all of Scotland’s cities and towns to support their recovery and help to build thriving and sustainable towns and cities of the future.

We maintain a competitive non-domestic rates regime and are delivering the lowest non-domestic rates poundage in the UK for the fourth year in a row, and we are supporting a generous package of non-domestic rates reliefs that is worth £801 million.

That is in addition to the action that we are taking to support our town and city centres, and to help retailers and communities to recover, not least through our £80 million Covid economic recovery fund, the £6 million city centre recovery fund, the £325 million place-based investment programme, our retail strategy and the town centre action plan.

It is unlikely that I will be able to attend that event, but I am glad that it is happening and that the business community is drawing together partners to ensure that it can happen. If Mr Lumsden wishes to write to me after the event to let me know the issues that are raised and the points that are identified, I will happily engage on those questions.

In the case of the city of Aberdeen, it is important that individual communities join together the work of local authorities and business improvement districts. Just the other week, I had a discussion with Opportunity North East to identify further steps that we can take to advance much of the good collaboration that is going on on those measures. I will be very happy to address any questions that arise from the summit, if Mr Lumsden draws them to my attention.

I fundamentally agree with Elena Whitham’s analysis. I make the point that the decisions that were taken in the mini-budget over the summer—about which I will have more to say in the statement that I will make to Parliament this afternoon—have significantly exacerbated the scale of the financial challenge that we, households and businesses are wrestling with, which will be felt acutely in the constituencies that Elena Whitham represents.

The timing of the fiscal statement, which has been delayed from 31 October to 17 November, compresses the available time that the Scottish Government will have in which to consider that information and, as a consequence, formulate the financial settlement for local government that arises. However, I assure Elena Whitham that we will take forward the dialogue with local government that she would expect of us in addressing those issues.

The winter vaccination programme will play a vital role in protecting people at the highest risk from severe illness and hospitalisation this winter. That will help to ease the potential additional pressures that Covid-19 and flu put on the national health service and social care services over the winter months.

Although uptake of the vaccines has exceeded our expectations, we are continually exploring ways to increase the vaccination rate. In line with our commitments in our Covid recovery strategy, we have embedded inclusivity as a key aspect of the vaccination programme from its outset, and we are working alongside health boards and other partners to encourage uptake, remove barriers and respond to evidence of low uptake in certain communities, including people from more deprived areas.

The winter vaccination programme began on 5 September, starting with front-line health and social care workers, and residents and staff in care homes for older adults. Appointments for those aged 65 and over began on 19 September. Those aged 50 to 64 with no additional risk factors have been able to book an appointment online since 24 October. Appointments for those aged five to 64 in a clinical risk group also began in the week commencing 24 October.

The steps that the Government takes on clarity and transparency are evident from the fact that I am here today and that I appeared before the Finance and Public Administration Committee several weeks ago in an evidence session on the subject, which was chaired by Mr Johnson. I also appeared in Parliament in early September to explain openly the changes and the choices that I was making, so on the question of transparency, this Government is delivering on what would be expected by the public.

I have not approached the matter from the perspective of applying a random reduction across portfolios. I have had to look, at this very advanced stage of the financial year, at what options remain available to me to reprioritise spending. There is more scope to do that in some areas of Government activity than in others. In the case of the changes in relation to health and social care, I was absolutely clear with the health secretary that whatever savings we were able to identify would be retained in that portfolio to support the very strong pay offer that has been made, particularly for low-income staff.

In relation to the reserve, we have carried forward the resources from the last financial year into this year that we had planned to carry forward. Obviously the budget for next year was predicated, in the resource spending review, on a carryover from this year into next. I have yet to identify those resources. That remains an on-going challenge to meet before the end of the financial year, and I am still working to ensure that I can balance the budget this year, which is my statutory duty.

On the question about the Government’s international engagement, we cannot be insular and have to be in contact with the rest of the world. I am quite sure that it is important that we maintain dialogue. The Prime Minister was criticised only yesterday for not going to the 27th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—I am delighted that he is now going. International dialogue is essential for every Government, including the Scottish Government.

Obviously, there has been parliamentary committee assessment of the steps that have been taken to deliver the ferries. Interim management was put in place to take forward the construction of the vessels. Under the leadership of David Tydeman, the yard is making good progress in advancing those vessels. The Government will work with Ferguson Marine to ensure that we complete the construction of vessels 801 and 802, to enable them to be deployed on the network to deliver the quality service that we expect for islanders.