Chamber and committees

We will work with local authorities on the support that might be required for effective implementation. The issue of whether a local authority then desires rent controls is based on the rent control assessment that will be undertaken, which is an evidence-based process. I appreciate that some people are supportive of rent controls in their areas and others are against them, which is why the assessment is important. It is an evidence-based assessment that the local authority undertakes before moving to discussions with the Scottish Government. We will continue to engage with local authorities to discuss the support that they feel they need as we go through the implementation of the rent controls.

We are still waiting for the results of the evaluation of those projects, which I think—and I will check with my officials—will be complete by the end of this year.

There are benchmarks in our affordable housing supply programme. Because that is a regional aspect to that work, the officers who work on that programme work carefully with local authorities, RSLs and developers. The benchmarks are there, but there is then detailed discussion about why costs might differ. In an urban area, it might be because the land is contaminated; in a rural or island community, it will be because of the cost of building there rather than elsewhere or because the scale of the site presents challenges. Although there are national benchmarks, there is then detailed discussion about why it will be more expensive to build on one site than on another. We challenge to ensure value for the public purse in everything that is done, but there is absolutely a recognition of the greater expense of building in some areas.

I can give an example of how more homes Scotland will continue that work. We are keen to look at what that agency can do to assist with the aggregation of sites in rural and island communities or to work with employers that are moving into an area. That is so that we can ensure we are looking at inward investment at the same time as housing, so that we understand what temporary housing may be required as development continues as well as how that housing can be used in the longer term.

The work that we can do on housing in specific sites is important, but it is also important to take a step back and look at how to achieve the most overall. That may be through pulling sites together or through working with employers to meet the challenge of building costs.

Building costs have gone up everywhere. Construction inflation has been substantial, particularly since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and that is having an impact everywhere, but I appreciate that that is most keenly felt in rural and island communities.

At the moment, we are working with stakeholders to determine the targets that will best encompass the work that makes an impact on poverty. The work that is being undertaken on the targets at the moment has been exceptionally important. The fact that the Parliament passed those targets has driven a focus, and policy initiatives have allowed us to drive forward the work that we do. It is important to recognise that there are also many policies that we can undertake that do not directly impact on the targets and that can lead to a skewed debate.

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Income-related targets will be impacted most obviously by increasing social security expenditure. Such expenditure is exceptionally important in reducing child poverty levels, but we also need to focus on other drivers of child poverty. For example, the expansion of childcare, which I mentioned in a previous answer, does not have a direct impact on people’s incomes. As we have developed our work, it has seemed strange to me that our targets do not measure the impacts of a number of policies that affect a household’s overall cost of living pressures. Having targets that relate to one driver of poverty but that do not help us to look at the overall picture is a challenging position to be in.

One challenge that income-based targets present relates to, as I said in my introductory remarks, how we deliver policies that not only help people at the moment but drive systemic change. How do we address intergenerational poverty within families? That is best done not through increases in social security spending but by ensuring that people have the right skills and are in well-paid and respected employment. Income-based targets are not easily impacted by those types of areas. That is why we are looking at such issues.

Income is a very important part of our work, but our stakeholders are coming forward with a number of different suggestions on how they wish our approach to develop, and we are in close consultation with them. I do not want to pre-empt that consultation, because it is in its early stages. As we go through that process, we will keep the committee informed on the timescales for the review that will be undertaken.

That will be part of the consultation. I am sure that people will challenge us on how we can move forward on our targets as timeously as possible. While we work on the review of the targets, we will not pause or lose momentum on any of the other work that is being undertaken across the Government. I hope that that gives some reassurance to the committee. We are still pushing towards the targets that are set out in statute—the Government is driving on that—but we want to have the best types of targets, to ensure that we maximise the Government’s work on eradicating child poverty in the future.

Yes.

It is not for me to opine on how committees could work together and I absolutely will not comment on that in case I incur the wrath of the convener at my first meeting.

You raise an important point about how the Government can work together and there are myriad examples. Some things that can have a direct impact on tackling child poverty do not sit directly within my portfolio and that is exactly why the issue is looked at at Cabinet level and across the Government. We look at the programme to ensure that the directors who are involved from across the Government are working together. The same approach is taken periodically by ministers as we look at the approach that is being taken. I have overall responsibility for that, so other cabinet secretaries are well used to me opining. They ensure that I am informed about any work that is done and that is also discussed at Cabinet level.

Another important aspect is to ensure that we speak directly to organisations and to those with lived experience. We take a number of opportunities at both official and ministerial level to speak to people. I believe that I will meet such panels through the Poverty Alliance as part of ministerial visits during the challenge poverty week, and that other ministers will be undertaking those types of engagement, too. I give that week as an example of what is coming up in the diary very soon, but we do those things throughout the year.

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