The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 2322 contributions
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 6 February 2025
John Swinney
Again, it is turning out to be my obligation to try to put some of Jackie Baillie’s comments into their proper context. We are treating more patients with cancer on time, within both standards, compared with the same quarter 10 years ago—12 per cent more within the 31-day standard and 6 per cent more within the 62-day standard.
Jackie Baillie talked about the fact that the 31-day standard had been missed. The target is 95 per cent and the performance was 94.3 per cent. I accept that that is a missed target—[Interruption.]
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 6 February 2025
John Swinney
I am not familiar with the case, but I understand that Shirley-Anne Somerville, as the local member, has met the responsible minister, Mairi Gougeon, to discuss the issue.
Let me take away the point that Mr Rowley has put to me. I understand the community’s aspiration to acquire the asset and to be able to utilise it for community benefit. I know from my constituents’ experience that such things sometimes take longer than they should. Indeed, I have just been wrestling with the issue of things sometimes taking too long.
Let me do what I can to help Mr Rowley, because I understand the significance of the point that he has raised. I will write to him with an update as a consequence of my inquiries.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 6 February 2025
John Swinney
Everyone who goes to school, whether they are a member of staff or a pupil, should be safe, and it is incumbent on every local authority in the country to ensure that our schools are safe. For some children, school will be the safest place they can go to because of the challenges that they face elsewhere in society.
This is a vital priority. As Pam Gosal will know, I hosted a cross-party summit on 13 January, which involved her colleague Sharon Dowey, to explore some of the issues around youth violence. I will always take such questions seriously, but I do not want the impression to be created that our schools are anything other than safe. I also do not want any impression to be created other than that the vast majority of young people across Scotland do not engage in violence and that they attend safe and stable schools.
If there is an issue in a particular school, let us address that, but let us not characterise every single school in the country in the fashion that Pam Gosal has done, because that does not serve anyone’s interests, and it certainly does not serve the young people of our country.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 6 February 2025
John Swinney
Most private tenants still have a right to seek a review of a rent increase if they consider it too high. I would, of course, encourage tenants who are concerned about a rent increase to apply for a review. In relation to other messages that I would share with tenants, I would indicate that the Government is investing more than £90 million in discretionary housing payments, which is an increase of £6 million on 2023-24 that has been facilitated by the welcome support from the Scottish Green Party—which I appreciate—for the Government’s budget. Those discretionary housing payments are in place to support tenants and to assist them in managing the costs that they face.
I assure Lorna Slater of the Government’s determination to make progress on the issue of rent controls. That is why we are legislating through the Housing (Scotland) Bill. With the welcome support of the Scottish Green Party for the budget, we are able to put in place the support through discretionary housing payments, which will be an essential part of our commitment to tenants.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 6 February 2025
John Swinney
I accept the importance of the point that Mr Whitfield puts to me. The Government is taking steps to reduce the number of children who are living in temporary accommodation. Indeed, in the statistics to which Mr Whitfield refers, across 20 local authority areas, councils have reduced the number of children in temporary accommodation.
However, it is not enough. That is why the Government has committed £768 million to invest in housing in Scotland in the forthcoming financial year. Increasingly, more of those resources are being applied to tackle void properties, for example, to make sure that those properties are available for families to occupy. In many local authority areas, that change in priority is already delivering better outcomes in which families have long-term accommodation.
There is a deadly serious point at the heart of Mr Whitfield’s question, which is that I can take the action that he wants me to take on housing only if the Parliament approves the budget. We all—every one of us—are committed, as a Parliament, to the Promise. Therefore, we have to take the necessary steps to make it happen, and we can take those steps only if we have the financial investment to do so.
I leave the point with Mr Whitfield to reflect on over the week-long recess that lies ahead that, if he wants to turn his rhetoric into reality, he should support the Government’s budget at stage 3 and ensure that the investment is made in housing. If he does not do that, it is just empty rhetoric from the Labour Party.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 6 February 2025
John Swinney
As I indicated in my earlier answer, we have already invested more than £110 million through the whole family wellbeing fund programme. The funding transforms how families are supported so that they can get the right help at the right time for as long as they need it.
The additional £6 million of funding that Rona Mackay referred to is for children’s services planning partnerships and will be used to improve local support in a way that best meets the needs of the families and communities and that ensures that Scotland can keep the Promise. Examples of that work include the provision of community-based family support hubs, services to support pregnant women, holistic support for parents with mental health or substance issues, and welfare rights advice.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 6 February 2025
John Swinney
It is essential that we replace HMP Barlinnie. We have numerous reports from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland that encourage us to do so. The Parliament has pressed us to undertake the project, and we recognise that it has to be done.
Of course, the full rigour of cost analysis has been applied to the project, which is different from the original project that led to the estimate that Mr Findlay set out. I assure him that the Government will monitor and control the costs carefully as the project takes its course.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 6 February 2025
John Swinney
The tone of Mr Findlay’s question is absolutely reprehensible and despicable. [Interruption.]
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 6 February 2025
John Swinney
This project is different from the one that was originally discussed about a decade ago. The original proposition was based on estimates for a 700-place prison. In fact, the new prison will accommodate more than 1,340 prisoners, so it will be almost double that size.
The Scottish Prison Service has looked at the comparative costs. A recent report by the National Audit Office shows that, in England and Wales, the expected cost per prison place has increased by up to 259 per cent since the initial business case. The price per place has risen to between £610,000 and £840,000 in England and Wales. The price per place for His Majesty’s Prison Glasgow sits in the middle of that range, at £740,000.
Mr Findlay can say all the things that he wants to say, and he can play to all the sentiments that he is very visibly playing to. However, as First Minister of Scotland, I expect my ministers to take rational decisions to protect the public purse and to protect the public by ensuring that those who are sentenced to prison can be accommodated. I will not play games with the type of rhetoric that Mr Findlay has put to the Parliament today.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 6 February 2025
John Swinney
All of us can see what Mr Findlay is up to today. [Interruption.] All of us can see it. [Interruption.]