Chamber and committees

Just before the debate, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice sent me a letter; at First Minister’s questions, I had asked when all benefits would be devolved to Scotland. The Scottish Government still does not have a date for that, so why, when the Government says that it is doing so much, has it not managed to find the ways to deliver what it has the powers for here in the Scottish Parliament?

The cabinet secretary’s policy calls on the UK Government to find £300 million. Where does she suggest that UK ministers find that money?

I am always in favour of the DWP and Social Security Scotland having discussions about how we simplify access to benefits. That is something that both departments need to address. As the cabinet secretary has said, the issue of uptake is also important.

The UK Government has continued to take action to help families with the cost of living. For example, the national living wage is set to increase to at least £11 an hour from next April. That increase will benefit 2 million of the lowest-paid workers in our country.

No. Can I make some progress? I will be happy to take the member’s intervention later.

It is hard to think of any UK Government in recent history, except perhaps the Governments of the first and second world wars, that has faced such huge economic challenges. The UK Government has faced the fallout and consequences of the global financial crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic and the global energy and cost of living crisis, and that is the backdrop for difficult spending decisions that it has had to take over the past decade and those that we will have to take in the years ahead.

Ministers here have often outlined to Opposition parties the very same calculations that they have to take when deciding how to spend vital public services. The UK Government has a duty to manage the public finances carefully for future generations, and that has meant difficult decisions by UK ministers to control levels of public spending, including the welfare budget.

I am always pleased to be able to debate welfare in the Parliament, and I welcome the fact that the Government has brought forward the debate. However, perhaps what we have seen is more to do with tomorrow’s by-election than the Government wanting to have a proper debate on the issue.

As I have said, these are difficult decisions, and Governments have had to take them. The cabinet secretary has also got to think about that. However, the failure of this Government is what this Parliament is responsible for. As we have already heard, this Government has failed in relation to the roll-out of free school meals, the ability of local authorities to adequately fund childcare provision and the scandal of the record number of children living in temporary accommodation in Scotland today. That is this Government’s record, and the cabinet secretary needs to start debating it more often, rather than simply accusing others.

SNP and Green ministers demand to know from Opposition parties where money for additional spending commitments will come from. Today, the cabinet secretary seems to think that the defence budget is the one that she would target. However, where is the £300 million coming from? The cabinet secretary just saying that it would come from scrapping Trident is student politics; it is not how we deliver for the people of this country.

The Scottish Government has received the largest budget settlement in the history of devolution. It has the powers to create new benefits—

No. I am coming to a conclusion.

The Scottish Government has the ability to top up reserved benefits if it wishes, and we, as a Parliament, have the opportunity to decide where we want to change welfare policies. Powers over welfare, and over taxation to pay for those decisions, were demanded and transferred precisely so that our Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government could make different choices if the Scottish Government of the day so wanted.

That is why recent polling conducted by YouGov, which was published in July, found that 60 per cent of respondents agreed that the two-child limit on the number of children for whom parents can claim should be kept. In fact, 53 per cent of respondents in Scotland agreed as well.

As I said at the start of my speech, Governments in Edinburgh, Cardiff and London face difficult spending decisions. As future decisions are taken, we should all work to make sure that our welfare system is fair both to those who need the support and to taxpayers, and, ultimately, that it is sustainable.

I move amendment S6M-10716.2, to leave out from “calls” to end and insert:

“notes that the UK Government has a duty to manage public finances carefully for future generations; considers that the UK Government has sought to curb increasing welfare spending by reducing benefits to those on higher incomes acknowledges exemptions to the two-child policy in respect of Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit, such as for families with children with disabilities; welcomes the UK Government’s £94 billion in support to help families navigate the global cost of living crisis, and commits to focusing on debating issues that are within devolved responsibilities, such as the roll-out of benefits through Social Security Scotland, the closing of the poverty-related attainment gap, the roll-out of free school meals, the inability of local authorities to adequately fund childcare provisions and the disturbing number of children in temporary accommodation.”

That is helpful. In the interests of transparency, I hope that that information can be shared with the committee or published, so that we are aware of the individual buildings that we are talking about and the number of council buildings involved.

One of my questions has been covered—it was about not being able to put a figure on the funding—but I will ask some more detailed questions with regard to how we take change forward.

NHS Scotland now has NHS Scotland Assure, which is looking at new buildings. I know that that is not a perfect science and that, as a new organisation, it will often be looking at buildings as they move towards their completion rather than when they were on the drawing board, but is the Scottish Government looking at what that will mean for local authorities and considering a new model? We heard from the first panel some suggestions about a public register of what buildings are made of. Is any work going on around that to consider what needs to change?

The committee has considered flammable cladding systems and we are now discussing RAAC. Are you satisfied that our public building procurement is fit for purpose and that it is looking not only at best value but at the long-term sustainability of the buildings and at live information from around the world when concerns are expressed? It is interesting that the members of our first panel, by and large, seemed to think that, as a country, we are very good as regards the health and safety element but that, rather than public services doing procurement work on their own, there might be a need for more specialist services.