Chamber and committees

The cabinet secretary will have seen that NHS Fife has already built up a £10.9 million deficit in the first few months of the financial year. The chair of that NHS board is pessimistic about whether costs can be recovered without damaging front-line services. What will the cabinet secretary do to stop the cuts to front-line services that could result from that?

Will the member give way?

Mr Swinney knows, because he was a particularly astute curator of the finances, that it was important to get the finances under control. However, it is on the record that it was important to get the balance right between spend for the public purse and spend for the private citizen. Some mistakes were of course made during that period but, overall, I do not think that Mr Swinney would deny that, when we arrived in government, we found ourselves in quite cataclysmic circumstances.

However, we are here today and we are dealing with a housing emergency that has been in part—[Interruption.] If Mr Swinney wishes to make this a partisan point, which I was seeking not to do, it is important that we recognise the failures of the Scottish Government in this regard, because it has not met the rising demand for housing. In my constituency, there are a couple in their 60s who are sofa surfing. There are numerous disabled families—[Interruption.] I see that SNP members are not interested, now that I am talking about the difficulties that people face in their daily lives.

There are disabled people right across my constituency who are crammed into overcrowded housing, with not enough space for their equipment. In those very difficult circumstances, their quality of life has plummeted. We have damp and overcrowded houses, people who are surrounded by antisocial behaviour, and disabled people living upstairs, which is completely unsuitable for their needs. Housing officers in Fife are being increasingly blunt with my office staff and are saying that there are just no homes left.

If that is not a housing emergency, I do not know what is. Of course it is not all the SNP’s fault, of course Liz Truss’s budget is partly responsible and of course the demographic changes are responsible as well, but that does not negate the fact that we have an emergency. We should acknowledge that, rather than complacently going on thinking that our plans will be enough.

SNP members, including Kate Forbes, are right to talk about the Liz Truss budget last year, which had a dramatic impact on household finances and meant that many people simply could not afford their mortgage. Construction costs have gone up, in part because of Brexit but also because of that budget. There is no doubt that demographics have changed. The demand for housing is going up steeply and, to be fair, even though more houses are being built, they are not meeting that demand. That is in part why we are seeing a dramatic impact on the housing situation in Scotland.

We also have the issue of holiday homes and short-term lets, which we have debated frequently, and the issue of second homes, which is putting a bit of pressure on parts of the world such as the east neuk, which I represent. Student demand has changed and, in some parts of the country, more families are being brought over with students from Africa.

All of that amounts to a really difficult situation and huge pressures. In the context of all that, it is unacceptable not to acknowledge that we have a housing emergency. We have a really difficult situation.

I am sure that Kevin Stewart was listening, because I did talk about that. Surely, though, this Parliament should be focusing on what we can do. Of course we can send a message to Westminster, but our priority today should be what we should do. Will the member spend more time on that issue today?

This issue reveals that the Government is completely impotent when it comes to dealing with bonuses at Ferguson Marine and at Scottish Water. Today, the unions said that the workers deserve certainty, but the only certain thing is that the bosses at Ferguson Marine will get bonuses that they do not deserve. Why is the Government incapable of providing any leadership for the future of the yard?

This week, I was contacted by yet another teacher who gave up a career in industry to take up teaching. She was told just this week that no permanent contract is available for her, although she meets all the criteria. The cabinet secretary talked about the new modelling mechanism that she is looking at, but we have had mechanisms for years. I do not understand why supply and demand are so out of kilter. Will she explain that?

The minister knows that no new contract will overcome years of underinvestment in the ferries. However, will the new contract, or any new contract, include better compensation arrangements for businesses, in particular those on the islands, so that they are never again left high and dry, with months—in fact, years—of interrupted services?

I ask whether the minister has a handle on two things. First, there are reports that assessments are ceasing to take place in some parts of the country. Is that happening? If so, how much is it happening and what is she doing about it? Secondly, some people have been put on alternative medicines but they have not been nearly as effective. Does the minister have a handle on that as well? Does she understand the full position?

To ask the Scottish Government what the current average processing time is for adult disability payment applications. (S6O-02696)