Chamber and committees

Good morning. From quickly looking at the data on people choosing option 1 to option 4, it looks like option 1, which involves a person being an employer and having someone coming and supporting them with care, is chosen least. Option 3 is basically a mixture of choices from option 1 through to option 4. In our papers, there are issues relating to stress that might be caused by being an employer. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on that. I will go to Julia Smith first. Option 1 seems to be chosen least, and it looks like option 3 involves the local authority choosing. Is there stress associated with having a personal assistant?

I welcome the debate, and I congratulate my colleague Gordon MacDonald on securing it. He rehearsed well the arguments that show the inequity in electricity standing charges across Scotland and many other parts of the UK.

In particular, Gordon MacDonald’s motion shows how my South Scotland constituents in Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders pay higher electricity standing charges than are paid by people in many other parts of the UK. At 5.20, when Gordon MacDonald was on his feet, I checked the Ofgem website, which shows that people in the north of Scotland pay a 59.36p standing charge, whereas my constituents in the southern part of Scotland pay 62.06p, which is 23.56p more than is paid in London. So, the inequity is quite striking—and that is before folk even use electricity.

Given that Scotland is an energy-rich nation, that plainly obvious inequality simply serves to demonstrate why the UK energy system is outdated and, of course, how Scotland could do much better with the powers of independence, which would give us the control that we need.

Scotland has recorded the best figures so far for electricity that is generated by renewable sources—it has generated more than enough to power the entire country. For years, Dumfries and Galloway has, through renewables, generated amounts of electricity that are well beyond what is needed for its own use. In 2022, the region generated 2,127.4GW, which was 8 per cent of the total renewable energy that was generated in Scotland. However, my constituents in Dumfries and Galloway, many of whom have renewable energy sites—mainly wind farms—in their communities, see absolutely no benefit from such projects in terms of a reduction in the cost of their energy bills. Many people tell me that they object to wind farms and more turbines because they do not see the benefits in their own energy bills.

I am coming to that. There are issues around generation, transmission and distribution, but that is only part of the inequity that is demonstrated. As other members have said, we need a fairer approach to people paying their bills, including social tariffs for people who have medical needs and might need, for example, sleep apnoea devices, electric beds or other electrical equipment. As part of Ofgem’s energy review, we need to lobby it and recommend that the whole system be made fairer and more equitable for people all across these islands.

The cost to homes and businesses of ever-rising prices has meant that stark choices are being made: householders are choosing between eating and heating. That is the reality for many people and for businesses, some of which simply cannot afford to keep going.

I am conscious of the time. Short debates do not allow us to delve into the issues.

I am a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly’s economy committee—Committee C—which is producing a report on energy and how the market works across these islands—or, in effect, how it does not work. The work is highlighting what we are experiencing in Scotland compared with the experience in other places, including Ireland and Northern Ireland, as Gordon MacDonald described.

Citizens Advice Scotland has made statements about its concerns regarding the removal of, reduction in, or alteration of standing charges.

I support the calls for changes in the way in which consumers are charged for energy. We need to make the system fairer for people across Scotland and the rest of the UK.

I remind members that I am currently a registered nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

The cabinet secretary mentioned other countries. The Northern Territory Government in Australia introduced a minimum unit price for alcohol in the same year as Scotland. How does Scotland’s experience from then to now reflect that of other countries that have taken such an approach? Has the Government considered any international learnings that might be applied here?

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has held with South of Scotland Enterprise regarding any preliminary analysis of the outcome of its recently implemented four-day working week pilot. (S6O-03057)

I met the SOSE leadership team on Friday last week and heard how the pilot is already beginning to boost staff morale, increase productivity and contribute to greater wellbeing in the workplace. Will the cabinet secretary comment on the ways in which the Government is working with business to show the evidence on whether a four-day working week is beneficial?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My voting app did not work; I would have voted no.

Good morning. I want to pick up on what Dr Pete Cheema said about education being the way forward. I have been looking at the work of Henry Dimbleby and Chris van Tulleken on the problems that are caused by ultra-processed foods and how education is not the only answer, because we need to tackle stigma and to support people to lose weight.

In relation to alcohol dependence, what opportunities are there for supermarkets—I am thinking of the big ones that are not here today—to change their model of selling to one that is similar to what goes on in Ireland, for instance, where there are shop-inside-the-shop off-licences? Would that give us an opportunity to look at how we support people?

Has the pandemic affected our ability to capture further evidence? It obviously informed the way in which some evidence was gathered. As Justina Murray described, there were higher levels of drinking during the pandemic. Do we need to continue with minimum unit pricing in order to get further robust evidence? I see that Alison Douglas has her hand up.

Thank you.