 Fy loedd, mae'r ddylch yn cyfnodig ygoffrwydd yn ei gwaith, a'r gwrwydd yn ei gwrwydd yn y cyfnodig yn y cyfnodig yn ei gwrwydd. 1, Gill Patterson Thank you. To ask the Scottish Government how it is tackling fuel poverty. Minister Kevin Stewart. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Our fuel poverty bill passed stage 3 earlier this month with unanimous support from across requests us to publish to launch a strategy of tackling fuel poverty that will set out the approach to tackling the four drivers of fuel poverty—use of energy, energy efficiency, income and energy prices.rible. We're already making progress. The latest figures show that Scotland's fuel poverty rates were now the lowest since 2005-16, but we're continuing to invest significantly to support households, by the end of 2021 we will have allocated over £1 billion since 2009 to make homes warmer and cheaper to heat, and this money has attracted hundreds of millions more in energy company contributions, funding by local authorities, landlords and individual householders. Through our award-winning Home Energy Scotland service, we are also providing households with advice and support, including benefits checks and energy supplier switching, where appropriate. Gil Paterson, I thank the cabinet secretary for that very full answer. Will the cabinet secretary join with me congratulating now's housing association and faithfully in Clydebank, who received a visit from the board of off-chem this week in recognition of their exceptional work in reducing poverty and embracing the use of renewables, where they have installed roof solar panels on most of their own properties? Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am delighted to join Gil Paterson in congratulating now's housing association for the great work that they have done, both in helping their tenants to pay less for their energy but also in tackling climate change. They have been ahead of the game in their use of solar to decarbonise and reduce bills for their tenants, and I am glad that that is being recognised. Along with confirmation of our new energy efficiency standard for social housing, details have also been provided earlier today of the second round of our decarbonisation fund. A further £3.5 million is available to social landlords to invest in projects that improve energy efficiency and reduce the building's carbon footprint. Projects with outcomes just like those that Mr Paterson has mentioned and knows. Alex Rowley, to be followed by Liam McArthur. Alex Rowley, the £1 billion that the minister talks about is not to be scoffed at in terms of investment. However, the existing Homes Alliance state that the Government's committed funding falls well short of what is required for a national infrastructure project and to meet climate change and fuel poverty targets. So, whilst accepting the investment that has gone on, does he accept that if we are going to tackle fuel poverty, we are going to need to see much greater investment going on to do so? As Mr Rowley says, £1 billion is not to be sniffed at at all. What we need to do is use all the resources at our disposal to ensure that we get the biggest bang for our buck in terms of energy efficiency. I am pleased that, again today, we have announced another £3.5 million for decarbonisation, which will be available to social housing landlords. Beyond that, that is not just about the amount of money that the Government spends, it is about using money from other sources as well to ensure that we get the best possible outcomes for energy efficiency, not just in the domestic sector but also in the commercial sector. Liam McArthur Thank you very much indeed. I warmly welcome that the minister will be aware of the passing of the Fuel Poverty Act, but, of course, achieving those ambitions will be driven very much through the fuel poverty strategy. Can the minister update Parliament on the timing of the completion of that strategy? Can he also explain how the government resources and those leveraged in will be used to target extreme fuel poverty in remote and rural and island areas? Liam McArthur I thank Mr McArthur for his question. We will be publishing the fuel poverty strategy in 2020, and that will set out how we will be working towards our targets, taking actions across all four drivers of fuel poverty. In the meantime, we will continue to provide significant levels of support through our home energy efficiency programmes. As Mr McArthur is well aware, Orkney and the islands benefit to a greater degree per head of population than anywhere else when it comes to the energy efficiency programmes, rightly so. What we need to do as we move forward—and we do not have to wait until the strategy is in place per se—is to look at how we target those who are in extreme fuel poverty, as has been outlined in the bill in the past, in ensuring that folks such as Mr McArthur's constituents benefit as soon as we possibly can in terms of the resources to tackle extreme fuel poverty. Alison Johnstone To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the number of empty homes. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Long-term empty homes are a wasted resource at a time when we need more homes right across Scotland. We will continue to fund the work of the Scottish Empty Homes partnership, with more than £1.2 million across three years to provide advice and support. The partnership brought 1,128 homes back into use last year, a rise of over 300, thanks to the work of dedicated empty homes officers. It is essential that all local authorities see and adopt the benefits of that approach. More can be done, and we are reviewing our empty homes policy to ensure that we maximise the numbers brought back into use. I will carefully consider the local government and communities committees inquiry into empty homes in doing so. Alison Johnstone Only 4,340 homes have been brought back into use since 2010, so the current rate of progress will have to wait 173 years until all empty homes in Scotland are in use. Local authorities have a role to play, but surely the minister must recognise that national leadership is key, that legislation may be required and that current funding may be insufficient to address the fact that more than 83,000 homes in Scotland lie empty and unused while we have a crisis in homelessness. As I indicated in my initial answer, 1,128 homes last year were brought back into use thanks to the very successful partnership that the Government has with shelter and local authorities. I pay tribute to Shaheena Dyn, who has been at the forefront in dealing with all that. My disappointment lies with local authorities that have yet to bring empty homes officers into play. Within Ms Johnson's own region in Lothian, we have seen very little progress from councils, whereby those councils that have made the investment in empty homes officers are seeing huge benefits from their work, from Dumfries and Galloway to Orkney. I appeal to all local authorities to put empty homes officers in place. On national versus local responsibility, that is what we will look at during the course of the review, and I will continue to keep Parliament updated. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to encourage local authorities to engage with community councils. Local authorities have statutory oversight of community councils under the Local Government Scotland Act 1973 and are responsible for engaging with community councils in their local area. Supporting that work, the Scottish Government engages collaboratively with COSLA, the Improvement Service and community council liaison officers to support community councils and ensure that their voices are heard. Thank you, cabinet secretary, for that answer. In my constituency of Strathkelvin and Bairstain, Eastern Barchshire council rarely engages with community councils, and as such, membership in several areas is declining due to the perception of not being heard. Does the minister agree that local authorities should make every effort to work with community councils that are representatives of grassroots matters in every constituency, and that they should be valued much more than they are? I thank Rona Mackay for raising the issue. I am aware of some of the local issues in Strathkelvin and Bairstain, but I also understand that, in Easton Barchshire council, community planning team is working with its community councils to resolve some of those issues. I would agree that community councils have a really important part to play in local democracy. They bridge the gap between local authorities and communities and help to make sure that public bodies are aware of the opinions and needs of the communities that they represent. As I said, local authorities have that statutory oversight of their community councils and are also required to consult community councils about planning applications and licensing matters, so they are absolutely fundamental for local democracy. I hope that the community planning team will help to resolve some of the frustrations that Ms Mackay describes and is happy to further engage with her on that, if she requires it, but also more generally on the local governance review about making sure that we can hear the voices of community councils in that bit of consultation work. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Fife Council on the action that is taking to regenerate town centres across Fife. The Scottish Government has regular discussions with Fife Council about what action it is taking to regenerate town centres across Fife. That has included its recent allocation of town centre fund investment of £4.3 million across towns and the authority. We want our towns and town centres to be vibrant, creative, enterprising and accessible. It is essential that we support town centres to become more diverse and sustainable as they face the challenge of changing and evolving retail patterns. We will invest to deliver inclusive growth so that town and neighbourhood centres can be thriving places for communities to live, work and enjoy. There are several funds available to councils and communities that can be used for community projects, regeneration and the conversion of retail properties into a limiting accommodation. Can the cabinet secretary clarify whether there is any thought to a multi-year central fund that would encompass all the above but would also have capital and revenue element in it? I absolutely agree and am aware of the importance of multi-year funding in offering security to organisations. That is the approach that we have taken through our new investing in communities fund. I am happy to engage with Mr Torrance on ideas that he has for the funding model that he described around looking at imaginative ways to convert retail properties into living accommodation. I am happy to explore that, but we absolutely understand that that multi-year funding model for communities is absolutely essential. Although there are no plans for the one that he described, I am certainly happy to take on board his ideas and build on the work that we have done through the investing in communities fund. Alexander Stewart will be filled by Mark Ruskell. The taxpayers' alliance in its report, Hollow High Street, found that Scotland has 1,146 vacant-owned council commercial properties costing £31.8 million to maintain. What measures will the Scottish Government put in place to encourage councils to bring those properties back into use so that they can stop hemorrhaging precious funds that are required, because that is the highest of any region in the UK? We continue to work and engage with local authorities in partnership. I have outlined some of the funding that we have given to local authorities through the town centre fund investment. Ultimately, we all agree across the political parties that we want our town centres to be vibrant. If there are things that we can do to ensure that gap sites in town centres can be filled, we will continue to have that engagement. We know that everyone, regardless of where they are in the country, wants their high streets to be flourishing vibrant places for people to enjoy and for people to spend their money in and to create the good places that we all want to live in. On top of the funding that I outlined around the town centre fund, there is a huge number of other funding streams that we have and work with local authorities. For instance, the regeneration capital grant fund and a whole host of other ways in which we want to ensure that we have good places and spaces to live. Mark Ruskell Business improvement districts are needed to regenerate our town centres, but we see too many bids controlled by big businesses making controversial decisions on projects such as the land training, sterling or, in the case of Dunfermline, to just shut the bid completely. Does the minister share my concern that bids do not always act in the wider community interest? What reforms to membership can be put in place to make them more genuinely representative of the communities that they serve? I am aware of some of the bid issues in the Fife region, but I would say to not look at it in the negative way in which Mark Ruskell has contextualised that bids continue to be a key platform for promoting local economic development. That is why we continue to support the work and the good work that is moving forward. I know that there is also work to evolve the bid model to make sure that it has a much more community-based focus so that it can be fully representative of the views of the people and the businesses in that district. There are lots of great examples of where people and communities and businesses have worked together to ensure that we create the thriving town centres that we all want to see happening across the country. He can write to me if there are ideas that he wants to take forward as we further evolve the bid model to make sure that we get a representative viewpoint from the bid and the bid process and support those people who are continuing to champion bids across town centres in the country to make sure that we can see those flourishing and vibrant town centres. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of reports of a shift in the population from the west coast to the east over the next few years to access better housing. Cabinet Secretary Eileen Campbell The Scottish Government has established a ministerial task group to consider Scotland's future population challenges and develop new solutions to address demographic and population change. As part of the task group, we will be looking at a number of factors, including housing. Donald Cameron The cabinet secretary will know of the forecasted long-term trends of depopulation in Argyll and Bute. Given that the recently announced task group that the cabinet secretary just mentioned is looking into this is only made up of Scottish ministers, can she reassure members that this group will also consult widely and seek expert external opinion as well? I am glad that the member welcomes the fact that we are looking at this issue, the issue that he describes, and he is right to point out to you about that movement from the west to the east. The group is chaired by Fiona Hyslop, and I am sure that that group will seek to ensure that organisations can contribute their thoughts and views. I would also align the work that Fiona Hyslop is doing to the work that I am taking forward around looking at a new housing system after 2021. We are certainly going to be making sure that we are very consultative. We have already engaged with a huge number of expert groups on the whole housing system in its fullest sense. I would certainly extend an invite to Donald Cameron if he has some particular issues that he wants to raise about things that he sees in the area that he represents, that he thinks should be fundamental to the review of housing, that he should absolutely get in touch with me, happy to engage with him, happy to make sure that this housing system works for Scotland in its fullest sense and addresses some of the population issues that he has articulated. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Inverclyde Council to discuss housing provision. Mr Kevin Stewart. Scottish Government officials last meeting with Inverclyde Council to discuss housing issues was on 5 June. Scottish Government officials regularly meet with local authorities throughout the year to discuss housing provision. I thank the minister for that reply. Does the minister agree with me that, whether there is already a strain on local infrastructure, as well as genuine safety concerns from the public, the Inverclyde Council should certainly reconsider the local development plan proposals to grind Cairn Drive, George Rohde and Larkfield Road to a halt, which I have been more than happy to show the minister if he wishes to visit Inverclyde in the summer. As Inverclyde local development plan is currently before Scottish ministers, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the plan. However, generally speaking, Scottish planning policy states that development should be aligned with transport infrastructure, and plans and decisions should take account of the implications of development proposals on traffic, patterns of travel and road safety. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the third sector regarding the impact on the findings of the report, handing back contracts and its ability to contract a range of public services from local authorities. We know that changes are needed in social care support, and that is why, on 12 June, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport launched a national programme with Councillor Cury, the COSLA spokesperson for health and social care, to support local reform of social care support. It has been jointly led with COSLA, whose members are responsible for delivering and procuring those vital public services. The Scottish Government is in regular dialogue with the Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland and Scottish Care on a range of issues, including contracting, and they have had a central role in shaping the work that is required to improve the support and care that people require. It is good to talk, but perhaps the cabinet secretary can tell us exactly what measures the Government has in mind to try to address the growing trend that threatens the sustainability of the model of social care around our country. Okay, it is good to talk, but absolutely this Government is not just about talking. We have followed in this reform of social care with coherent action. Integrated authorities managed £9 billion of funding, which was previously managed separately by health boards and councils. We have increased our package of investment in social care and integration to exceed £700 million, underlining our commitment to support older people and disabled people, and to support the commitment to pay the living wage. We are committed to attracting and tray-retaring the right people and raising the status of social care as a profession. I could go on and list a whole host of other actions that we have taken as a Government to make sure that we support social care and that integration process backed up, not just by warm words but by with significant investment and significant progress. I will squeeze in question 8, Alison Harris. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the local government revenue provision out turns and budget estimates that records councils using reserves to keep services running. The Scottish Government has provided local government with a real-terms funding increase in 2018-19 and 2019-20. We welcome this as reflected in the provincial out turn and budget estimates that confirms net revenue spending by local authorities has increased by £292 million or 2.4 per cent in 2018-19. Net revenue and capital budget estimates have also increased respectively by £497 million and £730 million in 2020. Decisions on the use of reserves are rightly the responsibility of councils to take where it is prudent and sustainable to do so. I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer. If councils are having to spend from their reserves to provide everyday services, then I think that we can all agree that something is wrong. What assistance can the cabinet secretary give and offer to local authorities to ensure that everyday services are in fact funded through sustainable means and are not out of revenue? Let us up to each local authority, how it manages its day-to-day businesses and best to allocate such resources. I think that the best advice that I can give to local authorities is that at least it was this government that took the action around the spending decisions at the budget and not Alison Harrison's party. For instance, if we had followed the tax plans of the Conservatives, then Falkirk Council would be minus £14.4 million. The decisions that the Government has taken go a long way to support the policies and processes that local government across the country are taking and they are better off for it. To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in developing new face-to-face assessments for the new-devolved benefits. The consultation on disability assistance in Scotland, which closed on 28 May 2019, sets out the Scottish Government's proposals relating to face-to-face assessments. The process of designing social security Scotland's assessment service is under way and will be shaped by consultation analysis, engagement with experience panels and input from stakeholders. We are committed to providing individuals with person-centred assessments delivered by suitably qualified assessors. Individuals will have a greater choice and control over their assessment and will be treated with dignity, fairness and respect throughout. John Scott I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer. Can the Scottish Government give assurances that recruitment for mental health specialists for face-to-face assessments will not adversely impact on recruitment streams for other policy areas requiring mental health specialists and will every effort be made to avoid any such adverse impacts? Cymru We are very cognisant as we move forward with our workforce planning for the social security agency and with the assessments in particular to be mindful of working not just for social security but across Government and having those discussions with the health directorate and also with the professional bodies as well. Within the medical profession, for example, that work is on-going and I can assure John Scott that we will be very mindful of that as we move forward with the final phases of planning for the disability assistance packages. Many of us will be aware of the often cruel and unnecessary assessments carried out by the DWP. In Scotland, we have a chance to do things differently with our new social security powers. Can the cabinet secretary confirm that, where assessments are needed, they will be delivered through the agency and never the private sector and that assessments will be flexible and will be offered at a time and place that suits the claimant? I am very happy to confirm once again that the assessments and any case management will of course be delivered by Social Security Scotland and there will be no role for the private sector in that. It is very important as we develop our system that we listen to the feedback of those who have went through the UK system. They describe it themselves as having created stress and trauma for sometimes those that are the most vulnerable in our society. That is exactly why we have to listen to that feedback and ensure that we do not repeat the same problems in our system. We are very clear that we will have a system that will allow people to be seen at a place and at a time that is convenient to them. That is the very least that they can hope for, but I would reiterate that we are determined to significantly reduce the requirement for face-to-face assessments by using our case managers to ensure that we are getting the right decision with the right information before things have to get to a face-to-face assessment at all. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making with preparing to commence the delivery of disability assistance for children and young people. We have made significant progress with the preparations for commencing the delivery of disability assistance for children and young people and we are on track to deliver by the summer of next year in line with our commitments. Development of the application process is well under way. That is being designed with the people of Scotland who are engaging in testing our designs on a frequent basis to ensure that it is as easy as possible for people to apply for disability assistance in Scotland. The motability scheme provides people with disabilities more independence, more employability opportunities and reduces social isolation. If we are creating an equivalent Scottish motability scheme, what plans are in place to ensure that there are the necessary number of cars, scooters or powered wheelchairs in place for those who need them? Murdoff Razer raises a very important issue. I am pleased to be able to have the opportunity to provide reassurance on the aspect that we are ensuring that motability assistance, as is known through the UK system, will be available. It is very important that we do that because, as Murdoff Razer has detailed, it has significant positive benefits for the individuals involved. We need to ensure that the same level of service that those people have been used to under the motability system is absolutely available to them once we have the devolution of the disability assistance benefits in Scotland. I hope that that provides Murdoff Razer on the chamber with some reassurance that we are determined to provide that service as the benefits are devolved. 3. Jackie Baillie To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Social Security Committee's recommendation that the housing element of universal credit should be paid directly to a landlord by default with the option for a tenant to opt out. As part of the development of the UC Scottish choices in 2017, we worked directly with people in receipt of UC. The feedback from that was that people wished to have a choice about whether or not to have the housing cost in their UC award paid directly to their landlord. The evidence so far shows that almost 50 per cent of the people who have been offered the choices have taken up one or both. In other words, they have decided for themselves whether it works better for them to have their housing cost paid directly to their landlord. 4. Jackie Baillie Can I thank the cabinet secretary for her response? She will be aware that, last week, the Scottish Association of Landlords welcomed the report and, in particular, backed the move to pay the housing element direct to landlords as the default. The cabinet secretary knows that it can reduce the risk for landlords, but it can also secure tenancies by preventing arrears and was backed overwhelmingly by those who gave evidence to the committee and, of course, the committee itself. Will the cabinet secretary support that recommendation and commit to allowing the money to go straight to landlords to ensure that Scotland's powers are used to maximum effect to support and protect tenants? I appreciate where Jackie Baillie is coming from on the issue. However, I point into it, as I said in my original statement, when we asked people directly, in receipt of UC, what they wanted to happen, they asked to have the choice. It is very important, as we build a system that works for the people who are receiving a service, that their asks and requests are taken on board. I fully appreciate that the Scottish Association of Landlords and others have asked for that to look at. I appreciate that the committee has asked to look at it. As I said to the committee, as we were going forward with the Scottish Government's response on this, it is important that we listen to the individual requests and asks in this as well, not just the landlords, but to try to balance those judgments up. That is exactly why we took the decision to ensure that that choice lies with the individual initially. There is a review of UC choices coming up at the end of this year. That may be something that people might want to look at from that, but certainly the responses that we had when we initially developed that project from people directly was that they wanted that choice themselves. Shona Robison The report also showed that the five-week delay for universal credit has greatly increased renter years and that an effective communication and poor exchange of information by the DWP inevitably has a human cost. Does the cabinet secretary think that that is yet further evidence of the mishandling of universal credit under the Tory Government? Does she agree that it is unsustainable for the Scottish Government to continue to mitigate UK Government welfare cuts, which will reduce the social security spending ability by £3.7 billion? Shona Robison is quite right to point out and once again highlight the impact of the minimum five-week delay for UC claimants receiving their first payments. That greatly increases renter years as she points out and has a severe impact on people, not just on the money but on the stress and difficulty that we are going through at a very difficult time. Research conducted by COSLA suggests that renter years increased by an average of 26 per cent across all UC full service local authority areas between March 2016 and March 2018, and that is highly concerning not just for the individuals involved but for the landlords too. We are, as the Scottish Government, doing all we can to mitigate that against the worst excesses of the UK Government's policies, spending, for example, more than £125 million in 2019-20. However, as Shona Robison quite rightly points out, the scale of the challenge, £3.7 billion, is simply unsustainable for any Government to be able to fully mitigate against. To ask the Scottish Government how many carers in receipt of carers allowance supplement in Glasgow Mary Helen Springburn constituency? Although figures at constituency level are not available, 13,475 carers in Glasgow are currently in receipt of carers allowance supplement. This week, the third payment of carers allowance supplement was made to carers in Scotland since we introduced it in September 2018. As a result, Scotland's carers, who are eligible for both payments, will receive an extra £452.40 in 2019-20, in recognition of the significant contribution that they make. I am pleased that the Scottish Government will provide extra financial support for young carers in Scotland, but that will be the first of its kind in the UK. Will the cabinet secretary ensure that all those who qualify for the young carers grant will receive it? Does she agree that it is important that they do so, given the huge contribution that young carers make? I absolutely agree with Bob Doris's statement that young carers make an invaluable contribution to our society. That is why we are determined to do all that we can to maximise the take-up of the young carers grant. As we do with all the payments that are made by Social Security Scotland, there will be bespoke communications packages that will drive that take-up strategy, and they will have to be particularly balanced for the young carers grant to ensure that we are targeting that communications directly to young carers themselves, their family and friends who may support them, for example, and to ensure that that application is available in a multiple of formats to cater for all disability accessibility needs. Carers organisations would like to see changes to carers allowance, such as a removal from the restriction on studying, a change to the earn the threshold and the restrictions around the number of people who are cared for. Can the cabinet secretary set out what the Government's ambition for changes to carers allowance as a whole when agency arrangements with the DWP come to an end? We will ensure that we will have a full consultation, a public consultation, to discuss all the possible changes that could be made and that people want to see to the carers allowance. We are delivering that through an agency agreement with the DWP at this point, and I would restate once again the reason for that, to ensure that the first action that the Government took with the new Social Security Scotland within its first couple of weeks of opening was to deliver the carers allowance supplement directly to carers, ensuring that we got money into carers pockets as quickly as possible. To ask the Scottish Government what reviews it has carried out of the cost of delivering and implementing wave 2 benefits. The social security programme level business case is currently being reviewed and will be finalised shortly. We recently completed an internal review of the finance function for the social security programme. Its focus is on ensuring that our financial arrangements are evolving in line with the complexity of the programme, and an update on the implementation costs will be provided to Parliament in due course. Could we have a more precise timetable as to when that will be provided to Parliament? Well, as I hope Gordon Lindhurst appreciates, we have very recently closed the consultation on disability assistance. That work will have to analyse the work within that disability assistance consultation, because the policy decisions that will fall from that may have implications to the reviews that he was speaking about. Therefore, it is very important that we ensure that that work is completed to be able to feed in to the review work to ensure that the update is as comprehensive as possible. Question 6, Finlay Carson. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reports that services for older people in Dumfries and Galloway are facing, an in-year deficit of £6.85 million. Whilst that is a matter for Dumfries and Galloway Council, working with Dumfries and Galloway integration joint board NHS Dumfries and Galloway, Dumfries and Galloway Council are committed to developing a recovery plan that systematically reduces the deficit without reducing capacity by redesigning services and delivery and investing in quality sustainable care. It is not unusual for integration joint boards to begin the year with a variance against budget and for that to reduce throughout the year as savings plans are developed and expenditure patterns become clearer. Over the last 20 years, Dumfries and Galloway's population aged 75 and over rose by 43 per cent. That population over the next decade is protected to see a 28 per cent rise in the region. With demands for services and increase in major problems surrounding recruiting the required staff for the region, how can the Scottish Government support Dumfries and Galloway's health and social care partnership in laying out their plans to continue to provide and protect those vital services to make them on par with the rest of Scotland? It is a really interesting question. Our question is old to people's minister here. We will know that I am taking a huge interest in it because we have an ageing population and populations demanding more services as we move on through the next few years, and we are working really hard on that. On specifics about Dumfries and Galloway and the progress that they have made in their integration of health and social care, which will be a key driver in all of that progress, all health and social care partnerships completed the self-assessment of their current position on 15 May 2019. I think that that will go some way to help us to understand what some of those pressures are. Ensuring quality, sustainable care and support for individuals at home and in homely settings requires a whole systems approach, and we are working really hard to ensure that that happens. The self-assessment approach taken by joint integration boards will provide us with that information. We will plug that into the work that we are doing with older people's strategy and some of the other strategies that we have got working alongside that so that we can ensure that going forward in the future for all of our older people's organisations and all of our older people's populations that we are providing the best care for them. The member's constituency and across Scotland, tens of thousands of older Scots over 75 will be left worse off as a result of the UK Government scrapping the free team licence. Does the minister agree that, after years of Tory austerity, the last thing that our older people need is more money being taken out of their pockets by the Tories? The member will not be surprised. I totally and utterly agree with her when I attended the Scottish Pensioner Forum conference just two weeks ago that this was a hot topic on the agenda, so I absolutely agree that the UK Government has shirked the responsibility to support older people and they have pushed that on to the BBC, an absolute abdication of that their Government on a welfare policy. The plan to link the licence to pension credit will fail to help many vulnerable people as we know that many do not actually claim it. The policies and attack on our older people and our most vulnerable people many already socially isolated and maybe our two Prime Ministerial candidates should make the commitment to end and reverse the disgraceful decision that they have taken on TV licences for our over 75s population. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support third sector groups to help to address loneliness among older people. I am delighted to tell Miles Briggs but no doubt he will already realise how delighted I was to launch a Connected Scotland, our national strategy for tackling social isolation and loneliness and building social connections that recognise the vital contribution of the third sector in supporting all vulnerable groups, including older people, and tackling those issues. There are a number of third sector organisations on the national implementation group, which I am chairing that meets this week. We are looking forward to that meeting to taking forward all that. Many of the organisations, including the Scottish Pensioner Forum, Age Scotland and many of the organisations that deliver those services will be part of that implementation group. We are also supporting a number of third sector organisations to do vital work in this area, including funding Age Scotland for their silver line and their shed effect scheme. I welcome the publication of a Connected Scotland strategy and wonder if the minister could outline to Parliament how local groups, for example, can help to build capacity. Here in my own region, for example, we have groups like Vintage Vibe, Health in Mind and Connect to the Elderly. How will the strategy work to help them to reach out to more people affected by loneliness? Absolutely. That is a key theme of the work that the implementation group is working on. When we compiled the strategy, many of those groups gave us their thoughts and their feelings on how they can take part in the process of doing that. We know absolutely that none of that will work out there in the community unless the community is involved and bought into it. We have invited them all to take part in that. I have been at loads of visits in order to understand some of that. He will understand how important that is. The older people's strategy, the older people's strategic action forum of which I chair alongside the social isolation and loneliness strategy, the key themes of that is how we ensure that communities can provide those services, be sustainable in those services and be made by those communities for those communities to really focus on that. A perfect example is the football memory scheme, which celebrated its 10th anniversary. I visited with them last week when they have gone into partnership with Greater Glasgow Clyde health board to network all the work that they do in football memories and the great impact that that has on older people. If Miles Briggs has organisations in his area who want to talk to me about that, please come and let me know. The more ideas that I have, the more we can reflect the policy that meets the demands of the people. I apologise to Liam Kerr for not having time for any more questions in that section, but we turn to finance, economy and fair work. To ask the Scottish Government when the finance secretary last met Glasgow airport to discuss the economy and fair work. Cabinet Secretary, Derek Mackay. I have had a telephone discussion with Glasgow airport on 7 May to discuss matters relating to my role as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work. I also attended a meeting with Glasgow airport on 17 June in relation to constituency business. The cabinet secretary will be aware of the on-going industrial action at Glasgow airport where hundreds of workers, many of whom are constituents, are striking for fair pay and to stop the closure of their pension scheme. Unite the union members are understandably frustrated that an airport posting pre-tax profits of over £90 million will not invest a fair share of those profits in its workforce and bring in a dispute to an end. They are also concerned about reports in the Sunday post that the use of strike-breaking labour is putting public safety at risk with 95 suspicious items slipping through security on each of the first two days of strike action. What will the Scottish Government do to help to resolve this dispute and ensure that airport workers and the travelling public are kept safe? First of all, safety and aviation security is absolutely paramount. There should be a focus on that and no standards should be reduced. Mr Bibby is aware that the Scottish Government does not have a role in the dispute. I understand that there have been talks. Hopefully, those talks will continue, and a resolution can be found to the satisfaction of all. Certainly not least, the workforce as well, so that operations can absolutely go back to normal and it can be addressed. Although the Scottish Government does not have a role in that, there is not a party to the dispute. I am happy to engage as Cabinet Secretary if and when that is appropriate. Jamie Greene If Glasgow Airport is to grow at the right which it plans to and employ the amount of people that it wants to grow to, the Cabinet Secretary will be aware of the severe strains that are putting on infrastructure. The airport connectivity must be improved. He will be aware of the Glasgow connectivity commission's recommendations. Can he tell us if the Scottish Government is going to reply formally to any of those recommendations and how he will help to support growth and jobs in the infrastructure area and beyond? Of course, in the bounds of decent standards of politicians and ministerial code of conduct, Glasgow airport is my constituency, so resources would be allocated as appropriate rather than be given any sort of preferential treatment just because it is the finance and economy secretary that represents the airport. I agree with the underlying comments, the premise of the question, that should we ensure that the airport has the best possible connectivity and infrastructure? Yes, I do agree with that. Clearly, the city deal partners are looking at the issues in relation to the best form of surface access. The resources from the city deal are still there. There is still a timetable that can be delivered. The connectivity commission works very interesting as well. It is a rather substantial price tag to do all that work, so it should be looked at methodically to see what can be delivered. Of course, some of those recommendations are different from projects that are currently under way. It requires proper analysis, but it is more appropriate for transport and infrastructure ministers to respond rather than finance secretary. I want to make sure that the infrastructure is there to grow our economy and to ensure that the airport has a dynamic and successful future, and that is the role that I will certainly pledge to undertake. To ask the Scottish Government whether the UK Government has provided it with details of the shared prosperity fund, which it claims will replace European structural funds post Brexit. Despite pressing the UK Government on its proposals for the shared prosperity fund and that any new arrangements must be co-designed with devolved administrations, no details have been provided from the UK Government. We therefore continue to develop our own thinking on future funding arrangements and will engage with lead partners, delivery bodies, individuals and communities across Scotland to inform our thoughts. To enable that, I have confirmed this morning that we will undertake our own consultation overseen by an external steering group to develop a coherent and robust position and ensure that the best interests of Scotland are met. I thank the minister for that answer. On 5 December, in response to a question from Patricia Gibson MP, the Prime Minister said that European structural funds, and I quote, will indeed be replaced by the shared prosperity fund. The Government will be consulting before the end of the year—that was the end of last year. What are the implications of a delay in taking forward this new fund? I know that the Scottish Government has not been consulted on this issue in the lack of consultation and subsequent delay has the potential for significant social and economic impact to local communities and projects, including third sector groups across Scotland receiving support through the current European structural funds programme. The Scottish Government, along with Wales and Northern Ireland, must be equal partners in co-designing any system to replace European funding after Brexit, and the UK Government must not impose a system on the nations of the UK. Richard Leonard. The Industrial Communities Alliance has said that the allocation of the funds within devolved nations should be a matter for devolved Governments. Can the minister share with us what the allocation formula would be should the Scottish Government be in charge of that fund? The Scottish Government's position is that the amount that comes to Scotland under the new shared prosperity fund would be absolutely no less than we are receiving under the UK programmes at the moment. That is our position and that is what we are pushing the UK Government on to confirm to make sure that there is no detriment and no loss of funding coming to Scotland from the UK Government under the shared prosperity fund. Question 3, Alexander Burnett. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and can I ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made since August 2018 on increasing the number of foundation, modern and graduate apprenticeships that are offered and taken up? I note members to my register of interest regarding apprenticeships. Minister Jamie Hepburn. Officials statistics published on 11 June 2019 show that there are 28,191 new apprenticeship starts in 2018-19, including 921 graduate apprenticeships. That was an increase from 2017-18 with 27,145 more apprenticeship starts, representing an increase from the year before where there are 26,262 such starts and 278 graduate apprenticeship starts. Work is already under way to expand the offer, providing 29,000 new starts in 2019-20, including up to 1,300 graduate apprenticeships. There were 2,600 foundation apprenticeship opportunities made available across 12 frameworks in 2018 and 5,000 opportunities, no avail for 2019. Alexander Burnett. I thank the minister for that answer. Last month, the Scottish Conservatives set out our policy to introduce a skills participation age. That would make it law that everybody up until the age of 18 has to either go to school, college or university, or if they want to start work through a structured apprenticeship or a traineeship. We would think tank IPPR Scotland backing this policy to close a massive worker shortage by 2030. Will the minister clarify whether the SNP Government will support such a policy? We will do what we are continuing to do right now in delivering success for young people. Right now, in the labour market, we have record levels of employment, a record low in unemployment. We have better performance in terms of youth unemployment here in Scotland. We have the upward trajectory of modern apprenticeships that I have just referred to. We have record levels of positive destinations. It suggests to me that the system that we have is working well. Of course, we seek to refine it. Of course, we seek to improve it, and that is something that we will continue to do through the developing young workforce agenda, through the Scottish learner journey review and, indeed, through the activity that I will be taking forward through the future skills action plan and the national retraining partnership. Thank you. Question 4 has not been lodged. Question 5, Patrick Harvie. Thank you to ask the Scottish Government what implications would arise under the fiscal framework if the UK Government made a significant rise in the threshold for the higher rate of income tax? The net impact on the Scottish budget will depend on how any tax cut is funded. A reduction in our UK income tax receipts would, all else being equal, result in a positive adjustment to the Scottish block grant. If it was funded through spending cuts, there could be a negative knock-on effect through Barnlip. I would strongly caution the incoming chancellor against any reserved tax increases in Scotland to fund tax cuts for the UK rich. This policy has been promoted by its advocates on the basis of the spurious concept of fiscal drag, which ignores the fact that people will only be paying more tax if they are earning higher incomes. However, if it is implemented, it will inevitably lead to more pressure from people with a similar mindset calling on reductions on taxation for high earners in Scotland. Does the cabinet secretary agree that we must be absolutely resolute in saying that we will not move one inch in that direction and that, for example, any MP or MSP advocating this policy could be fairly accused of naked self-interest? Of course, it will be MPs that make the decision around national insurance contributions. It will be MPs that make the decision around the RUK income tax system. Of course, the UK fiscal policy and tax policy will impact on ours because of the fiscal framework. I agree with Patrick Harvie that, at any point in time, it is perverse to focus on tax cuts for the riches in society, simply to stimulate the Tory membership rather than stimulate the economy. We have set out for test an income tax policy, which I would apply to future decisions. However, yes, I would urge any Tory candidate—not that they will listen to us, of course, on any matter—to encourage Tory candidates or any new incoming Tory chancellor to resist the urge to pander to the Tory membership and make tax decisions that are right for the country. Surely, that is to support a more progressive regime that is a fairer system of income taxation but which can also invest in the public services and fairness of our country. Murdoff Fraser, to be filled by James Kelly. Thank you. Talking of the Tory membership, perhaps I could ask the cabinet secretary this. Today, according to the Fraser of Allander Institute, the SNP's £500 million tax rate in hardworking Scottish families hasn't actually raised an extra penny for public services. It's all disappeared into the black hole that's been created by more slowly growing income tax receipts than previously expected. So what exactly is the cabinet secretary going to do about this particular problem? How is he going to fill that gap with the powers at his disposal? In terms of the figures that have to be reconciled, I've addressed this at committee and through the medium-term financial strategy, the issues that we have. There is an issue whether it's cyclical or whether it's structural of deepening inequality across the whole of the UK that's driving faster wage growth for those at the top end of the system. So, again, even under that circumstance, I think that it is perverse for a prospective Tory Prime Minister to be looking at how to give further tax cuts to the richest in society. In relation to the figures that have been outlined, what are the benefits of having a devolved income tax system, so that we can make income tax fairer, as we've done in Scotland, where 99 per cent of people are actually paying less tax in the current financial year than they were in the previous financial year. 55 per cent of taxpayers are paying less in Scotland than they would be if they were living south of the border. Our tax policies have actually, and will, raised that extra £0.5 billion that, if we had followed the current tax position, the previous tax position of the Tories would have cost public services £0.5 billion. It would have been £0.5 billion from Scotland's public services to pay for the last round of tax cuts that the Tories proposed. Never mind the next round of tax cuts for the richest in society, and I will, as always, balance Scotland's finances in a competent and prudent way. James Kelly Thank you, Presiding Officer. Given the shortfall and tax revenue of £1 billion forecast by the Fiscal Commission and the potential impact on the Scottish budget, it's disappointing that the Cabinet Secretary's medium-term financial strategy has been described as inadequate. Does the cabinet secretary not think that it's time that he rewrote the financial strategy in order to take account of the tax forecast and to outline how the Government is going to meet key policy targets of funding public services, tackling poverty, and reducing climate change emissions? If the medium-term financial strategy does exactly take account of the SFC forecast on taxation, it will do so again at the next fiscal event, which is the Scottish budget. It is at that point that we set out how we approach the reconciliation issues and some of the other issues that James Kelly has referenced. I have also attended the Finance Committee to give evidence. I think that I was there for about two hours. I would happily stay longer if members, including Mr Kelly, Mr Fraser and others, had further questions. I have gone through the kind of approaches. I know that they like the answers so much that they can hear them again at some point in the future, but probably I do not have time to do it justice here and now. Essentially, I have outlined, in terms of income tax reconciliation, the options that we have do include looking at the wider financial envelope that is driven by UK tax and fiscal policy. The overall settlement to Scotland is still the majority of funding that the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government has. The reborrowing powers in terms of income tax reconciliation for forecast error—let us bear in mind that the income tax reconciliation figures are about forecast error—will look at how we grow our economy. The SFC report and the FIA commentary say that the greatest challenge and threat to Scotland's economy right now is Brexit. It is Brexit that needs to be averted to be able to help us to grow our economy. That would lift the economic forecast overall for Scotland. Of course, there is a range of other decisions that will take around spending, not least on inequality and poverty that we are getting on with in doing the day job, although others are totally misdirecting themselves on that Brexit catastrophe. Question 6, Brian Whittle. To ask the Scottish Government what value of the third sector is to the Scottish economy. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations estimates that the third sector contributed more than £5.5 billion to the Scottish economy in 2016-17. The sector employs more than 107,000 people and, in addition, the value of formal volunteering is estimated to be around £2.2 billion per year. Brian Whittle. Given her noting the significant value that the third sector has to the Scottish economy, can I ask how that investment in the third sector is evaluated? Does she agree with me that further investment into the third sector would be cost-effective and further benefit the Scottish economy? I agree that we need to support and fund the third sector, which the Scottish Government is already doing. The third sector budget for 2019-20 has been set at £24.9 million. Of course, new investment is necessary because of the great work that the third sector does in tackling poverty and mitigating UK Government welfare changes, particularly over the past few years. We will continue to invest, we will continue to commit to providing multi-year funding, we will continue to invest in the investment community's fund all because of the growing inequality, which of course tax cuts at the top do not do anything to support. To ask the Scottish Government how the finance secretary determined the budget allocation for its proposed publicly owned energy company. Allocation of individual portfolio budgets is a matter for the relevant portfolio ministers and are subject to consideration by the relevant committee as part of the budget scrutiny process. Thank you. The establishment of a publicly owned energy company was first announced by the First Minister almost two years ago. However, according to the most recent update from the Scottish Government, the energy company has not even passed a feasibility assessment. Is this another example of the SNP overpromising but under delivering on a flagship policy? On the contrary, this is an example of the SNP thinking innovatively and trying to tackle some of the very deep-seated social issues that affect our society. We recognise that a new energy company could do a lot to tackle fuel poverty, to promote consumer engagement in energy matters and over time contribute to economic development opportunities, which I think Dean Lockhart supports. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I would hope that a publicly owned energy company would show commitment to the Scottish supply chain, which would support companies such as BiFab. Can I take this opportunity to ask the minister if the Government is seeking a meeting with EDF and if it intends to include the trade unions on this? I know that the cabinet secretary has met with EDF. Thank you very much for that. On that note, we end portfolio questions. I will just take a short pause as we move on to the next item.