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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 17 February 2025
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Displaying 600 contributions

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Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Fairer and More Equal Society

Meeting date: 16 September 2021

Jeremy Balfour

Will you tell me about disability and employment?

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Fairer and More Equal Society

Meeting date: 16 September 2021

Jeremy Balfour

I appreciate that the member was not here in the last session of Parliament, but we passed the bill in the first 18 months of that session. It is going to take almost eight years for that to happen. The delay is not due to the Parliament. It is the Scottish Government not being able to take on the powers and relying on the DWP to do all the work.

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Fairer and More Equal Society

Meeting date: 16 September 2021

Jeremy Balfour

All five parties had that in our manifestos. We want to deliver on our manifestos, because we have listened to the faith groups and the third sector, who said that those things needed to be done. You have simply got your—

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Fairer and More Equal Society

Meeting date: 16 September 2021

Jeremy Balfour

I might be wrong about this, but I understand that we are in the Scottish Parliament and we have responsibility for Scottish decisions. If you want to go and discuss universal credit, stand down and get yourself elected to Westminster. Let us focus on what we can do in this Parliament with the powers that we have, rather than focusing on other Governments. It is of the utmost importance that we as a Parliament seek—

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Fairer and More Equal Society

Meeting date: 16 September 2021

Jeremy Balfour

The pursuit of a fair and equal society is an endeavour in which we all have a part to play. It will take all of us to strive for our goal when so many different areas must be addressed. We must be ambitious in our plans to tackle issues of inequality and, more importantly, we must deliver on that ambition. Unfortunately, the Government is very good at ambition, but woefully inadequate at its delivery. We have heard across the chamber of all the times that the SNP has failed to deliver a fair and equal chance for the people of Scotland.

My colleague Miles Briggs highlighted the role of unpaid carers and young carers, yet no one has addressed the points that he has raised, so I hope that the Government will do so in concluding. My colleague Pam Gosal laid out the dreadful and truly heartbreaking disparities in her area, whether in school performance, instances of homelessness, or life expectancy. The postcode lottery should not determine one’s school results or whether one has a home, and certainly not how long one lives.

Alexander Stewart referred to the fact that the Government has been handed powers over devolved benefits in 2016 but will still not take full control over them until at least 2025. It will take almost a decade before it gets its affairs in order, yet it keeps saying that it wants more powers.

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Fairer and More Equal Society

Meeting date: 16 September 2021

Jeremy Balfour

My colleague Mr Briggs made clear that we would have preferred an extension if possible. However, we also recognise, as Neil Gray does, that we have to make financial choices. All that we have heard from the SNP benches this afternoon is “let’s have more power”, but we have heard repeatedly that it has not even delivered with the powers that it already has. The SNP slags off the DWP, but without it, poor people would be even poorer and people would not be getting benefits.

We have heard from my colleague Sharon Dowey of the terrible lack of opportunities in our rural communities around education, employment and so on.

I echo my colleague Alexander Stewart and say that we, as Conservatives, believe in equality of opportunity. The hallmark of a fair society is that it allows individuals to thrive regardless of the situation into which they are born and the type of family in which they live. Child poverty is a massive problem in Scotland.

We have the same powers north and south of the border, so I would love the minister to tell me why more disabled people are in employment in England compared to Scotland. The Government needs to answer those questions rather than slag off other Governments.

Members mentioned earlier that it is estimated that almost a quarter of children in Scotland live in relative poverty after housing costs. If that statistic does not hit you like a punch in the gut, you surely do not grasp the magnitude of it.

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Fairer and More Equal Society

Meeting date: 16 September 2021

Jeremy Balfour

I am slightly confused by that line of argument, because all social security benefits are demand led, yet this Government has been very happy to take on PIP and DLA, which, again, go up at different times. How will we pay for those?

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Fairer and More Equal Society

Meeting date: 16 September 2021

Jeremy Balfour

No, I have no more time.

As I have said, many charities have said that doubling the Scottish child payment to £20 would make a massive difference and have an immediate impact on the number of children in poverty. It would lift tens of thousands of children from the most tragic of circumstances. Of course, it is in no way a silver bullet, but it would make a real difference and it is something that I and all 128 other members can do when we vote on the budget in a few months.

If the Scottish Government wants to take these issues seriously, it must stop all the talk, roll up its sleeves and deliver effective policies that will actually promote a fairer and more equal society. What would be a better way to start than ceasing to kick such policies down the road and doubling the Scottish child payment now? Commit to it now. Vote for Miles Briggs’s amendment, and let us give a clear message that we understand what the Scottish people want us to do.

16:51  

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Tokyo Paralympics

Meeting date: 14 September 2021

Jeremy Balfour

I thank Karen Adam for securing the debate, and I join my colleagues in congratulating the whole of team GB after a wonderful success this summer. A wide range of athletes competed across a vast number of sports. Each and every one of them exemplified the British spirit and showed the best of what our country has to offer. I am sure that the whole chamber will join me in communicating our utmost pride and thanks to them—from our most senior and decorated representatives to those who made their Olympic debut this summer.

It is difficult to pick out individuals, but Sarah Storey became our most decorated Paralympian in history. Not only has her career spanned an incredible eight games over almost three decades, but her honours traverse two very different sports: swimming and cycling. I wish to convey Sarah and all our athletes from both games our warm congratulations.

I will briefly take a moment to draw attention to the unfortunate fact that there was notably less coverage of the Paralympics than there was of the Olympics. Whether in print or online, it felt like we had to do more work to find coverage beyond live action than we did just one month previously. Where were the athletes plastered over the front pages of the newspapers? There was nothing. The level of analysis and punditry outside the live broadcasts left many of us feeling hard done by, especially after the incredible broadcasting efforts a month before.

The International Paralympic Committee says that it derives its name from the Greek word “pa??”, which, as I am sure you know, Presiding Officer, means “beside” or “alongside”, inferring that the two games exist as peers. As wonderful as the Paralympics have been this year, it is clear that the name is not yet being lived up to. I am sure that everyone in the chamber would join me in looking forward to a more inclusive future, not only in three years’ time in Paris but in continuing support for different activities and sports.

I will make one final point. I remind members—I am sure that most of us do not need reminding—that an athlete is immense for what they do. Too often, people compare apples with oranges. I have often heard the comment, “If an athlete with an amputee leg can run 100m in X time, why should disabled people be given benefits instead of just getting a job?” That represents a way of thinking that reduces any kind of worth that a disabled person could have to their ability to excel, either in the sports world or in full-time employment. Such comparisons are similar to wondering why every able-bodied person cannot run a sub-10-second 100m when Usain Bolt can do it.

The reality is that humans all have different abilities and excel in different fields. Disabled people’s contributions to society are varied and individual. They are special, and they are not necessarily quantifiable by their place in the permanent workforce. Many disabled people do a lot of volunteer work, because that kind of low-intensity job is much more suited to their needs and abilities. It would of course be difficult to argue that society could function without the contribution of our amazing volunteer sector—yet it often does not get the same recognition.

In short, I encourage people to think twice before making such comments in the future—thinking of comparisons with Usain Bolt, like a disabled person not wishing to be compared with Sarah Storey and her teammates. We all contribute differently to society, and we must recognise that fact and accept that different people have different metrics of success.

I again congratulate everyone who took part in the Paralympics, and I wish them success for what happens next in their lives. I look forward to seeing many of them compete in Paris in three years’ time.

17:45  

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 9 September 2021

Jeremy Balfour

It is deeply disappointing that the Scottish Government has yet again failed to commit to paying the Scottish child payment in the next fiscal year as all other parties, civic society and the faith community have called for. Of course, the reason why it has not done that is that independence is on its mind and there is room for nothing else. Can the cabinet secretary explain why the Government insists on continually putting its constitutional obsession before the wellbeing of our young people?