Chamber and committees

The Government has delivered reductions in the cost of travel for many people in Scotland, not least under-22s, who now enjoy free bus travel around the country. That is a very welcome development and a step that assists young people’s mobility and supports their involvement in our society.

We have taken steps on peak fares. We extended the pilot exercise to establish whether there was an evidence base to demonstrate that the pilot sufficiently justified the investment of public money to meet our climate objectives. Unfortunately, the results of the pilot exercise did not justify the public investment. As Mr Harvie knows, the financial pressures on the Government are such that we have to be very careful about the judgments that we make. We will reflect on all those questions as we consider the Government’s budget and take the necessary steps to achieve our objectives on net zero.

The Government will, of course, engage with Rhoda Grant on her legislative proposal in relation to the needs of individuals in rural and island communities, especially in the Highlands and Islands. The Government takes forward a range of interventions in healthcare, in transportation and in other aspects of public services that are designed to address the challenges that the Scottish Human Rights Commission’s report sets out. That will remain the Government’s focus as we take forward our programme of interventions in Scotland.

The Government’s direction on energy policy and renewables is crystal clear. That was demonstrated by the Government’s publication of the green industrial strategy, which gives all the certainty in the world about the Government’s devotion and dedication to making the transition to a green economy through the support of renewable energy in Scotland. Mr Harvie knows that, since 1990, we have halved our emissions in Scotland, we have effectively decarbonised our electricity networks, and we are making the investments to enable us to deliver the transition to net zero. All those themes will be reflected in the Government’s budget next week.

Mr Harvie will know that some of the judgments and issues within the energy strategy are informed and influenced by recent court decisions. The Government is taking time to ensure that we properly reflect on those issues as we formulate the energy strategy, which will be published when those conclusions have been reached.

My new piece of learning today is that Craig Hoy, a Conservative, has decided that it is a good idea to come to the Parliament and lecture me about economic incompetence after what his Government inflicted on the people of the United Kingdom.

I cannot remember, so I may be saying something that is not backed up by fact, but I know that Mr Findlay was a great supporter of Liz Truss, and I suspect that Craig Hoy was, too—there were tons of them on that side of the chamber—[Interruption.]

I welcome the question from Karen Adam. I had the privilege on Friday of launching the 16 days of activism on violence against women and girls in Perth, my home city, and to committing, as a local member of Parliament and as First Minister, to taking the necessary action to address this totally unacceptable curse in our society. What has to change is the behaviour and attitudes of men, and I commit in this Parliament to giving the leadership necessary to ensure that that is the case. Across Government, the work that we take forward in our equally safe strategy is the focal point for our interventions to ensure that this scourge is addressed.

As I set out in my answer to Anas Sarwar earlier on, in the face of 14 years of Conservative austerity, this Government has built an average of 7,750 affordable homes each year since 2007. That is an average of 40 per cent more per annum than in the period 1999 to 2007. It is 45 per cent more affordable homes delivered per head of population than in England, and 70 per cent more than in Wales, during a period of intense austerity from the Conservative Government.

I do not want people to be living in temporary accommodation. That is why the Government is taking steps to improve the availability of rented accommodation. That will be part of the Housing (Scotland) Bill that Parliament will consider this afternoon, and I hope that Parliament will support the Government in the measures that we are bringing forward to strengthen and expand housing stock in Scotland.

Jackie Baillie will know that performance on four-hour waits across the whole country, in accident and emergency departments the length and breadth of Scotland, is better than it is in other parts of the United Kingdom. It is not good enough and it is not where it should be, but it is better than in other parts of the United Kingdom.

We have to focus on some of the practical issues that affect that performance. Some of it is about the demonstration of demand because we are dealing with an increasingly frail population that has been made more frail by the consequences of the Covid pandemic.

We are also dealing with acute and intense activity in our hospital estate, which is why the Government is putting such an effort into reducing delayed discharge to ensure that we free up the opportunity for patients to make the journey through hospital care and return to their homes where that is possible.

Those are the practical interventions that the Government is making to address the situation and ensure that in our accident and emergency system the initial assessment of patient condition can be undertaken as speedily and effectively as possible.

First, I express to Fiona and Ian my deepest sympathies over the loss of their beloved daughter. I cannot imagine the pain, suffering and agony that they have endured.

Mr Findlay is correct: he has raised the issue with me previously. He and I have exchanged correspondence on the issue. As a consequence of that, we in the Government have taken steps to ask Stirling Council to undertake a further examination and exploration of the issues that are involved, and to engage directly with Claire’s parents. Obviously, we will discuss those issues in this exchange. I remain committed to making sure that the family receives the answers that they, understandably, deserve.

I am grateful to Mr Marra for putting those comments on the record; I am sure that the Office for Budget Responsibility said other things that were possibly not quite as convenient for Mr Marra’s narrative as the ones that he has selected today.

I say to Mr Marra that we are about to go through a process in which we are all going to have to make a contribution to deciding what is allocated to different policy areas in Scotland. Mr Marra and all his colleagues on the Labour side of the chamber are not innocent bystanders in that process. They can act to assist and support the Scottish—

Modelling that was published in February estimated that Scottish Government policies would keep 100,000 children out of relative poverty this year. An estimated 60,000 children would be kept out of relative poverty through investment in our Scottish child payment alone. Our five family payments are providing financial support to families that could be worth around £25,000 by the time an eligible child turns 16, compared with less than £2,000 south of the border.

I am deeply concerned that the two-child limit remains part of the welfare system in the United Kingdom. I am stunned that an incoming Labour Government has not removed that anachronism from the welfare system, because it is condemning more and more children to live in poverty. One of the first actions of a Labour Government should have been to remove that cap.