Chamber and committees

Before asking my questions, I declare a relevant interest, in that I was previously an owner of a private rented property until July last year.

I have a couple of questions on the provisions on evictions. First, what might be the potential impact on tenants and landlords of the proposal in the bill that the tribunal will have to consider whether to delay an eviction?

The question was about the requirement for the tribunal to consider whether to delay an eviction and the impact that that might have on individual tenants and landlords.

My second question is about how damages for illegal evictions are calculated. The bill changes that so that the risk of challenge and penalty will be higher for landlords who evict illegally. Do you have any comments on those changes? Is that a method of potentially improving some poor practice that might exist in the sector when it comes to illegal evictions?

I have a few questions about evictions. The first one is about the proposal to require the tribunals to consider whether to delay an eviction as standard with every application. Do witnesses support that change or not, and for what reasons?

Do the other witnesses have anything to add before I move on?

At the outset, I apologise to the chamber for not being on the front bench and for participating remotely. I tested positive for Covid this morning, so I am sure that colleagues would much rather that I participate via a screen than in the chamber, where I would have been sharing much more than my opinions.

Five billion pounds—£5,000 million—is the amount of public money that the SNP has wasted since it took office. That amounts to nearly £300 million for each of the 17 years that the SNP Government has been in office. On European Union funding alone, despite the SNP’s claims to the contrary, it is clear that millions will go unspent and unallocated. Those figures are just the latest example of the Government’s financial incompetence.

That financial incompetence is not just bad management; it is a betrayal of every Scot who relies on or works in our vital public services. The truth of the matter is that the SNP, along with the Tories, wants us to vote for and accept failing public services and a struggling economy, but we deserve better. We want change, because every institution in Scotland has been left weaker by the SNP, and nowhere is that clearer than in our NHS.

On this Government’s watch, our NHS—the finest achievement of a Labour Government—has been allowed to crumble. With an overstretched workforce and an ever-growing patient waiting list, bold changes are required. Here are some shocking numbers from our NHS: more than £1.6 billion has been used on agency spending and £1.3 billion has been lost to delayed discharge. That chaos absolutely has to stop.

Kate Forbes criticised Humza Yousaf for sticking with the same failing strategies, but nothing has changed since John Swinney became First Minister. In fact, John Swinney and his deputy have been responsible for more than half of this Parliament’s budgets—they have been responsible for 13 of the SNP’s 17 budgets. They have had oversight of the vast majority of this Government’s financial mismanagement.

It is clear that they have had an impact. We have had 14 years of Tory chaos, but we have also had 17 years of SNP mismanagement, which have left the NHS in the state that it is in. That is why the general election is a chance to take the first step along the road to change—the first step along the road to delivering an NHS that is fit for the people who rely on it.

I want to touch on local government, which is one of the key delivery partners of our vital public services. Since 2013-14, the SNP has cut more than £6 billion from our local councils. Bins are overflowing, potholes are not filled and libraries and sports facilities are being forced to close. Those cuts are hurting every day. Our local authorities desperately need support, partnership and proper funding but, instead, they get the gimmick of a council tax freeze handed down to them by a Scottish Government and funding that does not cover it.

Those are hard facts that members will not hear from the Government today. Local government core revenue has been cut by £62.7 million and the core capital budget has been cut by £54.9 million. Between 2011 and 2021, funding for parks and open spaces was cut by more than £365 million, library funding was cut by almost £260 million and street cleaning was cut by more than £320 million. Councils face a budget gap of up to £585 million this year, which will rise to £780 million by 2026-27.

I do not listen to off-the-record briefings, and I would advise the cabinet secretary not to either. The Labour manifesto has been published and I am sure that she will have a good read of it and see the kind of change that we will be delivering for the whole of the UK and, I hope, in Scotland in 2026.

Right now, there are more than 1,500 fewer secondary teachers than in 2007. Some areas have been hit harder than others. In my area of North Lanarkshire, there are 211 fewer teachers. Dumfries and Galloway has 204 fewer teachers. Dundee City has 154 fewer teachers. We cannot keep going on like this. It is not only those who use those vital services who are suffering; those who provide the services are also feeling the brunt of the chaos and incompetence of two failing Governments.

Public sector workers do invaluable work for our communities, and the Scottish Government must urgently provide clarity to public sector bodies, unions and workers regarding its future plans for the public sector workforce. It is by working in true partnership with our public services workforce, growing our economy and investing in our public services that we will begin to reverse the decline of the past 17 years.

That is what Scottish Labour will do. Under a UK Labour Government, we will grow Scotland’s economy, create jobs and bring new opportunities. We will renew our public services after years of mismanagement. We will close tax loopholes to fund the NHS and tackle the mental health crisis with real funding increases. We will put forward a true NHS recovery plan that values staff and promotes health. We will prioritise the delivery of economic growth in all parts of the country to create jobs, boost incomes, reduce poverty and allow for greater investment in and, crucially, reform of our public services. We will reverse the abject decline in local government funding.

It is time for change that revitalises our public services and puts the needs of the public first. The man who delivered his first budget in 2007 cannot deliver that change. Scottish Labour will deliver the change that we need.

I move amendment S6M-13602.2, to leave out from first “welcomes” to end and insert:

“recognises that communities across Scotland are being failed by the Scottish National Party (SNP) administration’s approach to reform and funding of Scotland’s public services; notes that there are significant issues across Scotland’s vital public services, including in the NHS, education, local government and housing, and that these issues are having a real impact on inequality; understands that the SNP has consistently failed to deliver the reform that Scotland’s public services have desperately needed over the last 17 years; recognises that funding for local authorities has been cut by a cumulative total of over £6 billion since 2014, resulting in local authorities across Scotland being forced to make difficult decisions on the provision of essential services in order to make ends meet; understands that the NHS is particularly impacted by the SNP’s failure to deliver reform, with £1.3 billion spent on delayed discharge since the Scottish Government committed to eradicate it, and millions spent every year on agency staff; recognises the invaluable contribution of Scotland’s public sector workers, who deliver the services that people rely on in challenging circumstances; believes that improving the terms and conditions of workers across the public sector is essential, especially in areas such as social care; understands that financial mismanagement and a failure to deliver economic growth has resulted in less money being generated for investment in public services; recognises the role that technology can play in improving public services, and calls on the Scottish Government to prioritise economic growth to boost wages and create jobs in all parts of Scotland, as well as financial competence and transparency to ensure that all taxpayer money is used effectively and towards delivering the support and reform that Scotland’s public services desperately need.”

I will take an intervention from Ms Adam.

I will take an intervention from the cabinet secretary.