Chamber and committees

That is how homes get built. There has to be public expenditure allocated to make sure that we can support the affordable housing programme. If members of Parliament are going to vote against the Government’s budget, there will be no way that house building is undertaken in this country. What this Government is doing—[Interruption.]

I am very pleased that the Deputy First Minister, along with partners, will sign the Falkirk and Grangemouth growth deal this afternoon. Through that, we have committed £50 million of support to the region to deliver fair, green economic growth now and in the years to come. I pay tribute to my colleague Michael Matheson for his efforts in articulating the interests of the people of Falkirk and Grangemouth in the composition of that deal.

Through that work, we will explore the use of new technologies at Grangemouth. Mr Matheson will be familiar with the fact that ministers have engaged, through joint working with the Grangemouth future industry board, to identify such projects and to take them forward through the project willow exercise, which is identifying further uses for the Grangemouth refinery.

I have had further dialogue with Unite the union about how the refinery’s lifespan may be expanded, and I intend to persist in trying to do that to provide more opportunities for us to manage the transition effectively.

In addition, there will be £4 million of investment in the skills transition centre at Forth Valley College to ensure that we have the facilities that are required in order to deliver the necessary training, and £12 million will go towards the greener Grangemouth programme, which will be overseen by the community and will deliver projects to improve the town.

Those technologies are being rolled out and implemented, and I know from my constituency case load the difference that those technologies make. Obviously, that is a priority for Government in relation to the investment that we take forward. I assure Mr Choudhury of the importance that the Government attaches to tackling waiting times so that people can have the support that they require at the earliest possible opportunity.

Of course, we can deploy resources after 1 April only if there is parliamentary agreement on the budget, so I invite Mr Choudhury to encourage his colleagues to support the Government on the budget that we will bring forward in December.

I have every sympathy with the point that Sue Webber has put to me. Any shape or form of violent or aggressive behaviour in our society is completely and utterly unacceptable. When such behaviour is deployed towards bus drivers who are delivering a public service in our communities, it is wholly unacceptable, just as it was unacceptable for emergency workers to be attacked in the Niddrie area of Edinburgh, as they were around bonfire night. I am wholly supportive of the point that Sue Webber put to me.

I will explore the issue that Sue Webber raised with me about young people who might abuse the use of their under-22 bus pass. I know from speaking to young people how valued that bus pass is by the overwhelming majority of young people who use it properly, never cause any bother and are an absolute joy to be on a bus with. However, there is a minority, and I will explore the point that Sue Webber put to me to determine whether any action could be taken. Obviously, if there is any form of criminal conduct, that will be a matter for the police to address, and I am sure that Sue Webber will agree that we would expect the police to do so.

It has always been the case that ministers will attend sporting, cultural, societal and community events around the country. Indeed, I would expect ministers to do that, because they have to be in contact with various stakeholders around the country, so ministers will continue to engage on issues of importance with groupings around the country.

The Scottish Government undertakes procurement of consultants if in-house resources or specialist skills are unavailable within the organisation. The figure quoted by Rachael Hamilton from the material at the weekend is total spend on consultancy firms, which includes non-consultancy goods and services. Actual spend on consultants in 2022-23 was £8,570,806, not £42 million, and that spend is a decrease from the previous year and at its second-lowest level since 2018.

That will have an effect on care providers in our country.

Mr Sarwar will, week after week, as I take him through this, collide with the hard reality that what his UK Labour Government has done has increased the burdens on businesses and made it difficult for them to contribute to social care. For all Mr Sarwar’s rhetoric, he has to get behind the Government’s budget, because if he does not, he will be turning his back on the vulnerable in our society.

The latest data shows that advertised average rents have increased in Scotland by 7.8 per cent in the 12 months to September 2024. It is in that context that we set out our plans for a rent cap of consumer prices index plus 1 per cent up to a maximum of 6 per cent to apply where rent control areas are in force. The maximum allowable increase of 6 per cent will ensure that more significant rent increases cannot go ahead, and basing the cap on CPI ensures that we allow for a reflection of the cost to landlords of offering a property for rent. The approach strikes a balance between increasing protections for tenants with appropriate safeguards in a way that supports continued investment in rented housing in Scotland.

I am happy to explain my position on tax to the Labour Party: I believe that those with the broadest shoulders should pay more through taxation. That is what this Government has legislated for. The Labour Party now seems to support a reduction in taxation in Scotland that would cut public expenditure by £1.5 billion, which would be wholly and completely reckless for our public services.

Claire Baker’s question was one of two halves, and I am completely in agreement with her on the issue of support for bus drivers, who deliver an essential service. Measures such as the free bus pass should not be in any way abused in relation to the experience of bus drivers. As I said to Sue Webber, I will explore those issues. The Cabinet Secretary for Transport will be happy to engage with Claire Baker and others on addressing the safety issues. We will follow up on that in the light of First Minister’s question time.

On the question of the work rate of ministers, Neil Gray has undertaken 347 engagements since he became health secretary in February 2024. Thirty-four of those were hospital and care facility visits, and 17 were surgery visits and meetings with general practitioners. There were 43 health board meetings; 24 conferences, receptions and speaking events; 152 general meetings; 15 meetings about health service pay; 62 meetings with MSPs, members of Parliament or councillors, and media engagements; and five sporting events. That is five sporting events out of 347 engagements. I think that that rather demonstrates that the health secretary is focused on the job, as one might put it.

On the issue of the national care service, I have made it clear that the Government is listening. My Government is a listening Government—we are listening to the views of members of the public, and we listen to the fact that people from disabled people’s organisations, carers and service users are urging us to implement a national care service because they are dissatisfied—as I am—with the variation in care, and the postcode lottery, around the country. That is what the national care service proposal is about, but the Government will take its time to ensure that we get the proposals right and will bring forward proposals that can command parliamentary support.