Chamber and committees

There was a lot in there. Thank you. That was very helpful.

I am sure that the cabinet secretary will agree that the United Kingdom Government’s levelling up funding of more than £16 million to restore and reopen the B-listed Granton gas holder is a welcome investment and can act as a catalyst to support the regeneration and redevelopment of Granton and the whole city waterfront. What work is the cabinet secretary doing to help with the next set of levelling up funding projects and make sure that every part of Scotland, especially Edinburgh’s waterfront, realises that potential?

To ask the Scottish Government what impact assessment it has undertaken regarding any reductions to core funding allocations in its budget for third sector organisations. (S6O-02177)

I wrote to the former Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy over a month ago with regard to the future of Bridgend Farmhouse in Edinburgh, which has received Scottish Government investing in communities funding for the past four years.

On 15 February, the organisation received notification that it would not continue to receive that funding. It is a fantastic organisation, a host of more than three social enterprises and a place where the community can come together. Does the cabinet secretary agree that Bridgend Farmhouse no longer being able to operate would have a significant impact in the south of the city, and will she agree to visit Bridgend Farmhouse and review the cut to core funding?

We are obviously talking about two different sectors, so does the Association of Landlords have any comments on repairing standards and how those can be enforced? Has there been any learning from what has been developed in the social rented sector?

That is great.

I thank the witnesses for joining us today. How do social landlords monitor complaints, specifically about dampness? Are any improvements needed, such as recording some of the issues that the witnesses on the first panel mentioned?

We have touched on the briefing note that you and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations developed. Is any follow-up work planned? The issue of follow-up surveys was raised earlier. Are you looking at taking that forward?

That answer brings me on nicely to my question. Good morning, and thank you for joining us.

The Scottish Housing Regulator and other organisations recently published a briefing on how the social housing sector can respond to problems of dampness and mould. We touched on that, just then. Is there anything else that might be useful, for landlords or tenants, to improve how landlords respond to complaints? Specifically, what else could be included in the tenants charter, which the committee recently approved? Shona Gorman mentioned new indicators. Is there is anything else that people want to raise on that? Debbie, I will bring you in first.

I absolutely agree with that. A key aspect is that, although we do not need to look towards this, there is a preventative spend issue for our health service as well. GPs often tell me that many people come to see them consistently about loneliness issues. If there is an opportunity to fund services and get people reconnected, that will make a huge difference for our public services and ensuring that people lead fulfilling lives.

Stuart McMillan made the most important speech in the debate. I hope that the minister will meet others who have been working on an aspect that he raised. Bereavement counselling and support groups are invaluable, and I congratulate Ben Kane on the work and campaigning that he has done. I have long advocated the inclusion of bereavement in the school curriculum. Establishing support groups in schools is an easy win in looking at the work that is going on in schools. I hope that the Scottish Government will work on that across portfolios, and I am sure that the minister will find that she works on that a lot. There is an opportunity to make a difference there, and I hope that it will be taken forward.

There is also an opportunity for young carers who have similar asks in relation to support needs. Some good work has been done on that recently. I hope that that is taken forward.

I think that the minister mentioned social media at the beginning of the debate. I have long been concerned about social media. When I was first elected, I organised a summit with Twitter and Facebook. The conclusion that we drew was that young people need to switch off social media and get away from it—many politicians would probably agree with that, too. One of the key messages is that we have to look at where people are investing too much of their lives in social media and get back to resilience building. Sadly, we have not seen that in the generation of today.

On older citizens, one of the biggest mistakes that was made related to the Royal Voluntary Service and changes to meals on wheels from a daily hot meal service to the delivery of frozen meals once a week. Often, it was not the frozen meals that people wanted; it was a personal connection with another human coming into their home once a day. I hope that we can look at that issue again. That service was expensive to deliver, but it is important that we do that.

To conclude, a lot of good opportunities are coming out of the debate. We will support the amendments. I hope that this is the start of a conversation about how we can really tackle loneliness across our country.