Chamber and committees

I am sure that I do not have time.

The director of the Child Poverty Action Group, John Dickie, said:

“Scottish Government policies are making a big difference to families. But the harsh reality is that soaring inflation and real terms UK benefit cuts means the gap between incomes and the minimum cost of raising a child is widening horribly.”

It is true that many of the actions that the Scottish Government takes are simply undermined by the UK Government cutting vital support—for example, cutting the £20 universal credit uplift. Scotland is at the mercy of UK Government decisions in tackling poverty, which is a root cause of homelessness. I hope that Labour agrees and acknowledges that.

People across Scotland are paying a steep price for the reckless economic mismanagement of the UK Government. That inevitably means more people falling into poverty and experiencing homelessness. According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, disposable incomes are predicted to fall by around 7 per cent in real terms in this year and the next.

The Scottish Government is investing £100 million to transform the homelessness system and implement the updated “Ending Homelessness Together” action plan. More people with high support needs have been helped into settled housing, and local authorities have now provided more than 1,000 housing first tenancies across Scotland. However, we have particular challenges in rural Scotland, including in Dumfries and Galloway in my South Scotland region. I will pick up on the rural aspects that the minister mentioned in his opening remarks.

Good-quality housing is essential to attract and retain people in Scotland’s remote, rural and island communities. That is also a focus of Alasdair Allan. The Scottish Government has delivered almost 8,000 affordable homes in rural and island areas since 2007, and there is a clear commitment to deliver 11,000 more by 2032. That includes 4,484 affordable homes and 1,605 housing association properties in Dumfries and Galloway. That is bolstered by programmes such as the £30 million rural and islands housing funds.

A remote, rural and islands housing action plan is also in development. I ask the minister for a commitment that that plan will have a particular focus on prioritising building on former brownfield sites, such as vacant, abandoned and derelict land, and not just on greenfield land, which could be used for agricultural activity.

I am conscious of the time. I know that there are VAT issues that UK Government ministers have been contacted about. As far as I am aware, there has been no response. VAT reduction would be an incentive for redeveloping brownfield sites and would help to bring those back into housing use.

I support the Scottish Government’s amendment.

I will be very brief, convener.

Earlier, Louise Thornton said that we are on a journey to improve coverage of sport. I agree with Catherine Houlihan that it is not about women doing women’s sport and men doing men’s sport, but is about covering sport and supporting sport and physical activity for folk to be healthier, too.

The six nations women’s rugby tournament is on now. It does not say that Scottish rugby women or Scottish rugby men are playing; it is just Scottish rugby. Is that a way to convey support for women in sport? Should we take gender out and just talk about Scottish rugby, for example, no matter which six nations tournament is going on, to demonstrate our support for women in sport?

I want to pick up on that. I am a Stranraer lass and I now live in Dumfries. ITV Border is our go-to channel for curling and for the Solway Sharks Ladies ice hockey team. I am interested in whether you track the data that Catherine Salmond talked about, regarding digital access online. You are right that the area is different; rugby is just massive in Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders, for women and men, and ice hockey and curling are also big. Do you monitor or track what people are watching on the telly?

Picking up on Tess White’s point, I see women pundits on the telly who were previously professional footballers or rugby players. Is there an opportunity for people who have played sport—professionally or otherwise—to enter a career in journalism? How would they go about doing so? Would they need to have a degree or qualification? If so, would that be at college, university or postgraduate stage? What opportunities do women who have retired from professional sport have to become journalists?

I am looking first at Margaret Mary Murray, because she is nodding.

Okay.

I propose Clare Haughey as convener.

Thank you and good morning. It is nice to be here. I have no interests to declare.

I was reading over the weekend that the Norwegian beach handball team was fined for not wearing the regulation bikini, because they came out to play in shorts. The bottom line was that they had campaigned for 15 years not to wear bikinis, because sometimes they fall down or slip up and are not comfortable.

There have been issues with regard to the uniforms that are supposed to be worn and what might be available. I have also been reading about sports hijabs for women and allowing women to choose what to wear so that they can be comfortable and participate in sport. That sort of thing seems to be growing among women who, for instance, want to align with the teachings of Islam.

Lee Craigie talked earlier about how clothing is only pink, purple or some colour in between. What are your thoughts on the availability, comfort and sizing of clothing, and what we need to support the participation of women and girls, especially adolescent girls, in sport?

I am interested in the use of social media in that regard. For instance, when the Dumfries Ice Bowl recently hosted an ice hockey world championship, I put stuff up on Facebook about the Solway Sharks Ladies ice hockey team. I am interested in Lee Craigie’s perspective on that, particularly in relation to the gravel championships, which are not as tough as mountain-biking events but are still pretty tough. What are your thoughts on the use of social media as a way to widen the visibility of women in sport?

I will go specifically to Connie Ramsay because she is fae Tain, which is pretty rural, and because Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders, which are in my region, are outside the central belt. My simple question is: what are the challenges in getting young women and girls to participate in sport in rural parts of Scotland?