Chamber and committees

I do not have the time.

I genuinely hope that ministers will use this debate and the new parliamentary term to do something different. Measures to prevent homelessness are already on the statute book. We do not need a housing bill to take those measures forward; they are just not being delivered by local government, because it does not have the resources to do it.

In conclusion, homeless charities across Scotland and cross-party voices are raising the alarm. There is growing concern about the housing emergency that Scotland faces today. We need an emergency response from the Government now and we need fresh leadership from the cabinet secretary. I hope that she will genuinely lead from the front on this, because it has not been mentioned in any debate so far, but it is the biggest issue that ministers should have been dealing with during the summer. If ministers genuinely want to take forward a progressive agenda to address the housing emergency, they will have our support, but they need to act, because this crisis is developing ever more and every day.

The cabinet secretary knows that I always welcome the conversations that we have. We do not have them enough, though. That is one of the points that I am making. Cabinet secretaries and ministers are just relying on Green votes now in this Parliament. That is fine, but they are making a mess of legislation as they do that. The legislation on short-term lets is a prime example of that, and the deposit return scheme is another.

I will start on a note of consensus, with aspects of the programme for government that are welcome and that we have been trying to progress with ministers. The bill to finally address unsafe cladding is welcome, and I look forward to seeing full details of that. I hope that, like in England, hotels and public buildings are included. The announcement to finally deliver a national allowance for foster and kinship carers is also a welcome step forward, but we need to see the detail of that.

As the former First Minister stated, the wider policy agenda around delivering the Promise still very much needs to be outlined and developed. I hope that care-experienced young people will hear more from ministers urgently in the coming weeks on how the commitments to expand holistic family support services will be delivered, as Barnardo’s Scotland requested in its briefing for today’s debate.

Paul O’Kane made a number of important contributions to the debate on cross-party consensus and the objectives and targets that we all agreed to set out in the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017, which was passed unanimously by Parliament. We all want to eliminate child poverty, and I believe that that is a priority for everyone across the chamber.

In the time that I have today, I will return to an issue that has not been raised by ministers at all today or yesterday, which is homelessness. Statistics show that the situation in Scotland over the summer has been unacceptable, with a record number of children and families now declared homeless and living in unsuitable temporary accommodation.

When the cabinet secretary was appointed in April, I said that we, in the Conservative Party, would work with ministers to help develop and deliver solutions. To date, we have seen very little from ministers, who seem to have failed to see the scale of the housing emergency that Scotland faces, especially here in the capital, and to work to deliver the emergency response that is needed. Cuts to housing budgets and council budgets are the wrong answer.

No, I will not. I want to make progress.

It is a record of failure that the new cabinet secretary needs to act on urgently to turn the situation around. Every day in Scotland, 45 children become homeless under this SNP Government.

Will the member take an intervention?

It was interesting to listen to the former First Minister’s opening remarks. I welcome them, because our political discourse has become so defensive. We have seen that this week from SNP and Green ministers around their broken pledges and promises. Collectively, if we are going to solve some of these problems, especially those around equalities, ministers need to start to listen and work with other parties.

I do not have the time—I am sorry.

There are 9,595 children living in temporary accommodation across our country, and there is no Government plan to end that situation. Scottish families have been accommodated in former hotels, guest houses and bed and breakfasts, and many have been left sharing toilets with strangers and cooking on kettles.

In many cases, it is not only temporary accommodation but inappropriate accommodation. The situation is escalating out of control. The number of homeless applications has increased by 9 per cent, and 16,263 children are assessed as being threatened with homelessness. The number of children in temporary accommodation is at a record level. That is the record of this SNP Government, and it is shameful.

Children who have been homeless are three or four times more likely to experience mental health problems. Children who have been homeless have increased risks of ill health and disability, which is up by 25 per cent. Any teacher will tell the cabinet secretary, if she would listen, that children in temporary accommodation struggle to maintain relationships and experience increased anxiety. We need a completely new approach to the issue from the Government.

It is good to hear that you are willing to look at that. Our evidence pointed towards the need for some sort of formalised role. I sat on another committee where we heard that one of the lessons was that not including the third sector in the work of integration joint boards had prevented some progress. I am interested to see what will happen.

As the minister said, by not including the third sector, we are missing an opportunity. A formalised role would be helpful. Community engagement and expertise is key. I know from our evidence that local authorities do not necessarily have leadership skills around collaboration. I think that Councillor Heddle pointed us towards that. Do the witnesses believe that community engagement is a professional skill set? What work will be done to help to develop those skills, given that, in many councils, there are maybe not the resources to deliver individuals with those skills to work or training?

Councillor Heddle, I pointed towards what you said last time, so I will bring you in.

I have a couple of questions regarding the scrutiny of the new deal, specifically the refreshed role and remit of the Scottish Government place directors. The committee has had no previous engagement with place directors—they seem to have been misplaced, for some reason. Can you outline their role and how you envisage that working in practice? What opportunities will there be for the Parliament to scrutinise the additional role that they will play?

Thank you. The committee might want to follow up on how that is taken forward.

The new deal states:

“The Strategic Review Group ... will provide assurance that Scottish and Local Government are maintaining all commitments set out in this agreement.”

What opportunities will there be for scrutiny of that group’s work? For example, will it be required to publish progress updates at regular intervals?

We agree with you, but it is important for the committee to consider the place directors’ scrutiny role.

Minister, can you say a bit more about your plans to conclude the review by the end of this parliamentary year? Is it still expected to result in the local democracy bill being introduced in the current session?