Chamber and committees

Yes, indeed. As I said, making the measures permanent is a very positive step. The wider proposals that were set out in our new deal for tenants consultation made clear the Government’s commitment to seeing improvements in the rented sector, to ensure that people are treated fairly and can access good-quality property. Putting the provisions on a permanent footing is an important step towards achieving that.

All eviction grounds for council and housing association tenancies have been discretionary for 20 years, so the provisions also contribute to our aim of developing a more unified approach across all forms of renting. They will reduce the gap in outcomes between the social and private rented sectors, as we recognise that adequate housing is a human right for all.

I share Mr Choudhury’s concern about the issue—as we all do, I hope. However, it is overstating the case to say that people are “making up for lost time”. As I said, the level of social rented sector evictions remains low compared with pre-pandemic levels. Private rented sector eviction actions have started to return to pre-pandemic levels, but they are certainly not above those levels.

On the immediate action that is being taken, as Mr Choudhury will know, the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill will put on a permanent footing two measures that were introduced on a temporary basis: pre-action protocols for the private rented sector and all repossession grounds being discretionary, so that all the circumstances of both the landlord and the tenant must be taken into account. I hope that the chamber will welcome that.

I could not have put that better. There is something important about encouraging people to celebrate, feel celebratory and feel that they have created something themselves. The Stockingfield bridge will be a very good example of that, and I encourage all members to go and see it for themselves once it opens.

Communities must play an important part in regeneration. It cannot just be done to people; it must be done with, by and among them. The people whom I have met on my ministerial visits have given examples of communities being involved in the way that Bob Doris described and have taken a sense of ownership of their local spaces. There are many such community groups along Scotland’s canals. They do great work, and some have been mentioned today.

There is also a strong boating community using our canals, and there are exciting developments to improve that experience. Fiona Hyslop noted the exciting £1 billion Winchburgh project, which is being developed with the Union canal at its heart, and which, once complete, will provide a new marina with residential houses as well as moorings. Other great examples of inclusive projects on the Union canal include Seagull Trust Cruises, which adapts boats in order to take disabled people out on the canal.

I take this opportunity to thank everybody—the people and the communities—who lives, works and is active on Scotland’s canal network. Through their efforts, they are making the canals the fascinating and colourful places that they need to be.

The way that you are looking at me, Presiding Officer, suggests that we are coming to the end of our time, but I want to make one final important point. Research clearly shows that the wider regeneration work around Scotland’s canals has a social purpose, too. For example, it has been shown that the regeneration of the Forth and Clyde canal has reduced mortality rates and lowered the risk of chronic health conditions for those living alongside it. We need to take responsibility for some of the issues that have been mentioned with regard to litter and, indeed, safety. Concerns have been expressed particularly about women’s safety on our canals; I make it clear that everybody has the right to enjoy these wonderful assets in an inclusive and safe way. The Scottish Government will continue to support Scottish Canals and many others in looking after these historic assets for the benefit of those communities.

I join everyone in celebrating the historic, economic, environmental and social value of the Union canal and others in its bicentenary year, look forward to participating in some of the activities that have been planned for the celebration, wish everyone taking part in tomorrow’s flotilla the very best and, once again, thank everyone who lives and works around Scotland’s canals for making them what they are. I look forward to seeing their relevance continue for many years to come.

As other members have done, I warmly congratulate Fiona Hyslop on lodging the motion for debate.

Unless I am wide of the mark in reading the room, there has been nothing dry about any of the contributions. Members from across the chamber have taken real enjoyment in sharing their personal experiences of the Union canal and Scotland’s other canals, and in discussing not only their older history and the more recent history of their regeneration but the hopes for the future. I am therefore pleased to have the opportunity to close the debate on behalf of the Scottish Government, in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Union canal and its contribution to Scotland.

Scotland’s canals have been on an extraordinary journey over those 200 years, and today provides a fitting opportunity to celebrate that impressive and enduring example of Scotland’s engineering past and the contribution that the canals make in the present and will continue to make in the future. It is amazing, when travelling down what, today, is a relatively peaceful Union canal, to think of it as having once been the beating heart of an industrial revolution, transporting coal from Falkirk and further afield to power the factories of the capital.

The Union canal’s relevance has changed remarkably since then, but it is still very relevant. Its refurbishment back in the 1970s, when volunteers’ amazing efforts turned the canal around, is something that Scotland and those communities must be proud of. Its transformation over those years has led to its uses evolving dramatically, with the creation of fantastic outdoor spaces that are used in so many different ways.

My favourite recollection is from when I was convener of the Parliament’s Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee. Back in those days, the Parliament’s committees were a little too enthusiastic about booking boring, sterile and overpriced meeting rooms in posh hotels for their annual awaydays. I thought, “How dull”, so I persuaded our committee clerks to book a canal barge, which was operated by a social enterprise and decked out as a boardroom, for the conduct of our awayday, and various slightly surprised committee members and expert witnesses discussed our work programme as we pottered up to Ratho and back. That was much more enjoyable than any committee awayday in a boring hotel room.

The Union canal is now the vibrant space that it deserves to be, in contrast to what it was 20 years ago, before the investment through the millennium link project. It was really encouraging and rewarding to listen to members, including Fiona Hyslop, Gordon MacDonald and Sarah Boyack, remembering the steps that have been taken on that journey towards the canal’s regeneration.

Today, people live on the canal. There are barges for private and community use. It is used by clubs and schools for canoe activities. People walk, wheel and cycle on the towpath in increasing numbers. That is replicated across our other canals in Scotland. About 115 boats are currently moored on the Union canal, and more than 70 of them are houseboats, which is fantastic.

The public value that we place on the Union canal is very different from the industrial purposes that it had when it was built, but it and the wider canal network are real contributors to some of the contemporary, modern themes that face Scotland. They are hugely important for tourism, health and wellbeing, sustainability and, as nature corridors, supporting biodiversity. As some members reflected, the importance of outdoor spaces during and since the pandemic cannot be overstated. Our canals and their towpaths have performed, and continue to perform, a major role in relation to that. That is true not only of the Union canal but of Scotland’s other canals.

I have seen some of the fantastic work that has been undertaken by Scottish Canals and its partner organisations to build creative active travel infrastructure. In fact, the first visit that I made after taking on my ministerial job was when I had the pleasure of attending Bowling harbour for the opening of the bowline. An excellent piece of work was done there to redevelop 18th century infrastructure and transform a disused railway viaduct into a fully accessible active travel route that will benefit people in the local community and beyond. I very much enjoyed being one of the first people to cycle on that fantastic new linear park.

Not only as the minister with responsibility for active travel but as someone who uses the canal towpath regularly to visit family, I see the importance of redeveloping that outdoor infrastructure for the 21st century, improving people’s health and wellbeing and encouraging green commuting. I did not put my hand up when Graham Simpson asked about doing the whole Glasgow to Edinburgh route. Being based in Glasgow, I am more often found on the Forth and Clyde canal out to Loch Lomond and back. I have done the Glasgow to Falkirk leg and will do that again early in the summer recess. If I feel energetic, I might make the whole trip through to Edinburgh—who knows? However, it might feel a little bit too much like coming to work.

I also recently visited the Stockingfield bridge, which Bob Doris mentioned. That is another example of Scottish Canals working well collaboratively with others—in that case, to reconnect the three communities of Ruchill, Gilshochill and Maryhill in north Glasgow and complete the last linkage in the Forth and Clyde canal towpath. I do not particularly like the use of the word “iconic”—it is often overused for such structures—but I have seen the development of that bridge so far and am really looking forward to it opening. It will feel very special once it is there.

I agree with Fiona Hyslop’s characterisation of the scale and pace of the response that is required, but which is clearly lacking from the UK Government.

I mentioned in my first answer that we have repeatedly proposed improvements to the warm home discount, with an expanded scheme that would be combined with other measures in Scotland. However, the UK Government chose not to take up our proposals and delayed any confirmation of even the continuation of the scheme.

I hope that the UK Government will do more. It is clear that there is huge pressure on it, even from some of its own back benchers, to do more and to act more swiftly to support people in relation to the cost of living crisis.

The figures that I mentioned speak for themselves on the scale of response that is required. This will be a life-or-death decision for some individuals and families this year As we approach the autumn, I very much hope that the UK Government will reconsider its approach and do so urgently. Meanwhile, the Scottish Government will continue to do everything that we can with our powers and, in particular, with the energy efficiency measures that we are supporting as a way of cutting people’s fuel bills.

Mark Ruskell is right to acknowledge the hard work of campaigners and the positive opportunities to expand rail freight. That is an economic as well as an environmental opportunity, and the Scottish Government is leading the way with a first-of-its-kind target for the growth of rail freight, as well as significant investment.

We look forward to opportunities to include rail freight in all our investment, and our approach to the Levenmouth railway is no different. We are working with stakeholders, including local businesses and Fife Council, to maximise the economic, social and environmental benefits for the area. I am sure that we will all commit to continuing to proceed with that with the momentum that Mark Ruskell’s question demands.

The warm home discount is a Great Britain scheme, which provides an annual £140 rebate to around 210,000 vulnerable Scottish households.

Last year, we proposed an expanded replacement scheme, but—sadly—that was not agreed by the UK Government. The UK’s new consultation proposes to continue the current scheme separately in Scotland, with just a £10 increase. We will urge the UK Government to listen to Scottish stakeholders and do much more to protect the most vulnerable households.

We are committed to delivering the new railway, which will reintroduce passenger services on the line for the first time in more than 50 years and benefit communities, businesses and visitors in the Levenmouth area. Transport Scotland and Network Rail are working closely with their industry partners and currently expect to deliver this transformational project by spring 2024.

Construction activities are under way, with the first mile of track and drainage already completed. Work continues on the route structures, and site compounds are being established at key locations to provide strategic links to on-site activities.

Such properties are included as part of our fuel poverty and energy efficiency schemes. For example, we have provided £64 million to local authorities to deliver external wall insulation through our area-based schemes this year.

Those local schemes target fuel poverty and benefit exactly the kind of hard-to-treat properties that the member describes. That approach has improved the homes of more than 100,000 fuel-poor households since 2013. Many of those properties are ex-local authority properties in mixed tenure blocks. They are often technically complex to insulate and they require other essential repairs, so the neighbourhood approach to improvements is often the best solution all round.

We are continuing to look at more ways to provide help with insulation and, over the coming months, we will consider all possible options to insulate and improve more homes.

The consultation is being undertaken, and it is important for it to be undertaken comprehensively. I hope that Claire Baker will join me in congratulating the communities that campaigned long and hard to ensure that we have reached the point where we can see the project’s completion in the near future.

I will happily write to Claire Baker regarding the budget issues that she raises. However, I hope that, for the time being, she agrees that consultation should be undertaken and that it is necessary to take time to ensure that the voices of people in the affected communities are heard.