Chamber and committees

We recognise that extending the Borders railway to Carlisle is a regional priority. The Borderlands deal includes a commitment of up to £5 million each from the United Kingdom and Scottish Governments to develop a shared understanding of the benefits and challenges of extending the line. We recently advised Scottish Borders Council that we are content with its proposal to recruit a project manager to lead that work. The release of our funding is, however, contingent on the UK Government approving its share of project costs, as the growth deal is a partnership programme and the project will deliver a cross-border assessment.

I encourage UK Government ministers to reaffirm their commitment as soon as possible.

I recognise the family’s desire for closure on the issue, and the Government established the public inquiry to enable that to be the case. The Deputy First Minister is fulfilling her statutory duties, which require her to consult extensively on any question of the terms of reference being revised. That work is under way, and a decision will be taken as soon as possible.

It is vital that those programmes have the necessary impetus to take account of the challenges that we face in relation to the equipping of homes for the challenges that lie ahead. However, that has to be delivered within a costed programme, and that is part of what the Government is prepared to engage with in relation to the delivery of the budget propositions for 2025-26.

In the past decade, the warmer homes Scotland and area-based schemes have supported more than 150,000 households that are living in or at risk of fuel poverty. All those programmes and supports are valuable and are making a significant difference to people all across Scotland. However, they come at a time when we have challenges to address and this debate recognises the difficulty that we have, in that we cannot continue to backfill UK austerity-driven policy decisions. We have taken a number of steps to do so already, but the direct loss of the funding of winter fuel payments makes that an unsustainable option for the Scottish Government.

I therefore ask Parliament to support the Scottish Government’s call for the UK Government to reverse the winter fuel payment decision and to reinstate the payment as a universal benefit. That is necessary to avoid the abrupt change in policy and provision that has been forced on us in Scotland.

Reversing the decision on the winter fuel payment will be a vital step towards ensuring that our citizens can afford to live in warm homes, but there are many other reforms that we need to see from the new UK Government. We also need reform of the UK energy markets to address the root causes of fuel poverty. We need a social tariff mechanism to provide discounted energy bills to those who face high energy costs, such as disabled people, carers and older people who are struggling with bills. That is the best way of ensuring that energy consumers are protected against high costs and that they can afford all their energy needs.

The problem with the point that Mr O’Kane puts to me is that we have not yet seen that consequential funding. The problem that the Government has to wrestle with is that we have to look at the implications of all the financial decisions that are taken by the United Kingdom Government. What we are having to wrestle with in this debate is a direct cut to our budget of about £150 million, which affects the universality of the winter fuel heating payment. That is what we are wrestling with today.

It is important for us to take forward the social tariff propositions that I have set out. Following a ministerial round-table, we secured the agreement of energy suppliers to take part in a working group that is aimed at co-designing a social tariff. There is considerable work still to be done, but that group represents a real and necessary step forward.

Unfortunately, the powers to implement a social tariff are reserved to the United Kingdom Government. We repeatedly called on the previous UK Government to introduce a social tariff as a means of targeting support to those who need it most. Those calls went unheeded prior to the election. If we are to enjoy a more constructive discussion with the current UK Government, with the policy choices and aspirations of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government being addressed in a serious, substantial and respectful way, it should be possible for us to make progress on delivering that crucial policy. We are committed to working closely with the UK Government, as well as with Ofgem, suppliers and consumer organisations, to advocate for the delivery of a social tariff across Great Britain. Here in Scotland, we will continue to tackle fuel poverty and support people during the on-going cost of living crisis, using the powers that are available to us.

If the Parliament had more powers, we would be able to do more. If the UK Government continues to take decisions such as means testing the winter fuel payment and does not heed calls for badly needed reform of the energy market, I have no doubt that more and more people will ask themselves why it is that a country as energy rich as Scotland should tolerate such decisions being imposed on us by successive Westminster Governments.

I recognise the restrictive fiscal environment in which the UK Government, my Government and local government across the UK are operating. The current budgetary challenges are the most severe that we have ever faced in the history of the Parliament, but it is a mistake to think that austerity and the restriction of entitlements is the solution to the problem. It is a mistake to think that benefits, action to tackle poverty and other supports for our most vulnerable are costs to be curtailed. Rather, it is the case that those measures are investments in our people, our communities and our nation’s future.

The problem with the point that Mr O’Kane puts to me is that we have not yet seen that consequential funding. The problem that the Government has to wrestle with is that we have to look at the implications of all the financial decisions that are taken by the United Kingdom Government. What we are having to wrestle with in this debate is a direct cut to our budget of about £150 million, which affects the universality of the winter fuel heating payment. That is what we are wrestling with today.

It is important for us to take forward the social tariff propositions that I have set out. Following a ministerial round-table, we secured the agreement of energy suppliers to take part in a working group that is aimed at co-designing a social tariff. There is considerable work still to be done, but that group represents a real and necessary step forward.

Unfortunately, the powers to implement a social tariff are reserved to the United Kingdom Government. We repeatedly called on the previous UK Government to introduce a social tariff as a means of targeting support to those who need it most. Those calls went unheeded prior to the election. If we are to enjoy a more constructive discussion with the current UK Government, with the policy choices and aspirations of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government being addressed in a serious, substantial and respectful way, it should be possible for us to make progress on delivering that crucial policy. We are committed to working closely with the UK Government, as well as with Ofgem, suppliers and consumer organisations, to advocate for the delivery of a social tariff across Great Britain. Here in Scotland, we will continue to tackle fuel poverty and support people during the on-going cost of living crisis, using the powers that are available to us.

If the Parliament had more powers, we would be able to do more. If the UK Government continues to take decisions such as means testing the winter fuel payment and does not heed calls for badly needed reform of the energy market, I have no doubt that more and more people will ask themselves why it is that a country as energy rich as Scotland should tolerate such decisions being imposed on us by successive Westminster Governments.

I recognise the restrictive fiscal environment in which the UK Government, my Government and local government across the UK are operating. The current budgetary challenges are the most severe that we have ever faced in the history of the Parliament, but it is a mistake to think that austerity and the restriction of entitlements is the solution to the problem. It is a mistake to think that benefits, action to tackle poverty and other supports for our most vulnerable are costs to be curtailed. Rather, it is the case that those measures are investments in our people, our communities and our nation’s future.

Will Anas Sarwar take an intervention?

Will Anas Sarwar take an intervention?

It is vital that those programmes have the necessary impetus to take account of the challenges that we face in relation to the equipping of homes for the challenges that lie ahead. However, that has to be delivered within a costed programme, and that is part of what the Government is prepared to engage with in relation to the delivery of the budget propositions for 2025-26.

In the past decade, the warmer homes Scotland and area-based schemes have supported more than 150,000 households that are living in or at risk of fuel poverty. All those programmes and supports are valuable and are making a significant difference to people all across Scotland. However, they come at a time when we have challenges to address and this debate recognises the difficulty that we have, in that we cannot continue to backfill UK austerity-driven policy decisions. We have taken a number of steps to do so already, but the direct loss of the funding of winter fuel payments makes that an unsustainable option for the Scottish Government.

I therefore ask Parliament to support the Scottish Government’s call for the UK Government to reverse the winter fuel payment decision and to reinstate the payment as a universal benefit. That is necessary to avoid the abrupt change in policy and provision that has been forced on us in Scotland.

Reversing the decision on the winter fuel payment will be a vital step towards ensuring that our citizens can afford to live in warm homes, but there are many other reforms that we need to see from the new UK Government. We also need reform of the UK energy markets to address the root causes of fuel poverty. We need a social tariff mechanism to provide discounted energy bills to those who face high energy costs, such as disabled people, carers and older people who are struggling with bills. That is the best way of ensuring that energy consumers are protected against high costs and that they can afford all their energy needs.

If Mr O’Kane will forgive me, I had better begin to draw my remarks to a conclusion.

We make those investments because they are the right thing to do and because they support thousands of people across Scotland every day. However, we also make them because they make good fiscal sense. They reduce later, greater strain on our public services. They support people to take part in our communities and to contribute to society. They grow our economy. In the long run, they make us all more prosperous, as they make our public services more sustainable. I urge the UK Government to deliver an autumn budget that understands that—a budget that is focused on investment and opportunity rather than on austerity, a budget that provides greater funding for public services and infrastructure, a budget that supports our nation’s most vulnerable. I repeat those calls today.

As we begin this afternoon’s debate, I hope that members across the chamber will work constructively with us to ensure that the powers, levers and funding that are available to us continue to make the greatest difference to the most vulnerable in Scotland. The steps that the UK Government has taken to restrict eligibility for winter fuel payments are not in the spirit of devolution. It cannot be appropriate in anybody’s eyes to devolve power to the Scottish Parliament and, at the last minute, to withdraw the funding that goes alongside the devolution of that policy. Whatever our politics, surely no member of this Parliament can believe that that is an appropriate way for the devolution of powers to proceed.

I call on all members of Parliament to unite in a clear statement to the United Kingdom Government that the decision to end universal eligibility for winter fuel payments should be reversed and that the resources should be available to this Parliament to ensure that that vital support is available to all those in Scotland who are eligible. I appeal to Parliament to work together to make the best investment in our nation and its future. Let us ensure the best possible outcome for the people who we represent, this winter and for the years to come.

I move,

That the Parliament agrees in this Challenge Poverty Week that the UK Government must reverse the introduction of means testing for the Winter Fuel Payment.

Will the member give way?