 GOOD Afternoon. The next on of business is portfolio questions. The portfolio questions this afternoon is social justice, housing and local government. I would ask any member who wishes to seek to ask a supplementary question, to please press the request to speak button during the relevant question or to enter the letters tots, in the chat function, during the relevant question. I would appreciate that I thanks守d questions and answers in order that I can get in as many members as possible. Question number one, Alexander Stewart. Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government what actions it is taking to address any issues of damp and mould in social housing. Cabinet Secretary, Shona Robison. The latest Scottish House condition survey 2019 shows that 99 per cent of social homes are free from damp and 86 per cent are free from any sign of mould. The Scottish Housing Regulator is responsible for monitoring social landlords' progress towards the Scottish Housing Quality Standard, which they are required to meet. The regulator can use its legal powers to intervene where there are problems so that landlords make any improvements that they need to make. Scotland's social rented homes have improved over a number of years to meet the standard. Alexander Stewart. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Many social landlords who own or manage properties across local authorities have admitted that they do not place any particular marker on properties to identify if they have damp or mould problems. Therefore, what measures can the Scottish Government put in place to provide its financial assistance to support social landlords in order to tackle damp and mould in their properties? Of course, social landlords are required to use the monies that they receive through rents to ensure that the investment in the properties keeps them to a good standard. As I have said in my initial answer, the condition survey, the latest, shows that on the whole, social homes in Scotland are meeting a good standard, but there is always room for improvement. That is where the regulator is so important in making sure that the sector is striding to make those improvements where it needs to make them. Of course, we continue, as a Government, to make the investment in social housing more generally so that there are new homes available and investment that can be made in bringing homes up to standard is also important. To ask the Scottish Government to provide an update on the pilot on using internet of things technology by two Glasgow-based housing associations to measure dampness in their properties, which is being delivered by technology from north, which has a base within my constituency of Renfrewshire north and west, and has been backed by £3 million enterprise funding by the Scottish Government? If it is successful, it could be rolled out to other social housing providers. I can tell Natalie Dawn that we very much welcome this trial and support technological innovations that will help social landlords to improve the condition of their homes. The pilot will see sensors in homes share real-time data through the internet of things Scotland network to help local authority and housing associations to proactively intervene and minimise issues, including dam and mould. The development was supported by £2.7 million of funding by the Scottish Government, £150,000 by Scottish Enterprise and £30,000 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and we will be taking a close interest in the outcomes of this on-going trial. The tragic death of Awad Isha raises the very serious impact on people living in dam and mouldy housing. That is a problem across Scotland exacerbated by our climate and often poorly insulated and ventilated housing. I have a constituent with three children living in a Highland Council property that has considerable mould and damp. My constituent provided the council with a GP letter detailing that the children's breathing problems are due to mould, but the council has been slow to take action given the cost to health services as well as people affected of damp homes. In what ways is the Scottish Government working to ensure that prevention of ill health through improved housing conditions is a reality in practice? I want to say to Arianne Burgess that the death of Awad Isha is absolutely a tragedy and nobody should lose their life due to poor housing conditions. I am also very concerned to hear about her constituents and would be happy to look further into the detail of that if the member would like to provide me with those details. At present, there are defined minimum standards, and although we do not specify what measures landlords should fit, insulation would normally be needed in order to meet the required level of energy efficiency. Although housing conditions in Scotland have been gradually improved, we recognise that there is more work to do, which is why we have committed to developing a new housing standard. However, as I say, if Arianne Burgess wants to write to me with the detail, I will look into the details of the case. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what work it has undertaken to help Homeless Project Scotland to find premises in Glasgow. The Scottish Government officials maintain regular contact with Homeless Project Scotland and Glasgow City Council and have encouraged the charity to continue to engage with the council and to explore accommodation options. The council is best placed to support the charity with identifying suitable premises. I understand that it has offered properties to Homeless Project Scotland. Those were declined, so the council continues to explore potential sites. However, I am aware to date that there is a limited number of available properties that meet the charity's specific requirements, but I would encourage both to keep discussing. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. She will of course remember that it was in April this year that the First Minister said, and I quote, I am happy to engage with the Homeless Project to see whether there is more that we as the Government can do to help it find a building. Seven months on, winter is well and truly here, and with numbers of homeless people increasing and the use of the soup kitchen increasing due to the cost of living crisis, nothing has really changed. I welcome the engagement, of course I do, but can the cabinet secretary tell me why there has been little progress to date and what she can do to help to secure premises for this very worthwhile project? First of all, to Jackie Baillie, we are concerned as well about people queuing up in the street for food, particularly in the winter. We all want the outcome of appropriate premises to be found. Jackie Baillie will also understand that it is not for the Scottish Government to be able to procure and find a building. That is for Glasgow City Council. What we can do, though, is to encourage both parties to continue to discuss. Jackie Baillie will be aware of some of the issues around the properties that were offered, but we need to see some solutions here. Glasgow City Council are best placed to find those properties that could meet Homeless Project Scotland's needs, but there will need to be discussion, dialogue and perhaps compromise from both parties. Deputy Presiding Officer, Shelter Scotland in their Scottish Housing Emergency Action Plan called on the Scottish Government to conduct an order of all homelessness funding, national and local, to identify the true levels of investment and to identify shortfalls, which is often leading to the situation that Jackie Baillie has outlined. Will the Scottish Government undertake to do that? We will always keep funding under review. We are in the middle of a budget process that Miles Briggs will be aware of. Of course, if Miles Briggs wants to bring forward some proposals around funding, we will consider them. In addition to the resourcing that local Government gets through its funding, we provide additional funding through £100 million for the ending homelessness together. Some of that is focused on housing first, and there has been a lot of success there in making sure that housing first supports people with not just a tenancy, but the wraparand support that is required. We will keep those things under review, but I do not think that anyone can question the commitment that we have made on some of the world-leading homelessness legislation, and we have backed that up with real investment as well. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the latest homeless death 2021 figures from the national records of Scotland, which show that an estimated 250 homeless people died in 2021. Those figures serve to remind us of the human story behind the statistics and drive our commitment to do all that we can to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place. We know that experience of multiple forms of extreme disadvantage is linked to higher rates of ill health and premature death. The national mission on reducing drug-related deaths includes work to strengthen partnerships between health and homelessness services to improve outcomes for people experiencing homelessness with complex needs. An independent evaluation shows Scotland's housing first programme can transform the lives of people with difficult experiences of homelessness. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. She will be aware that the latest available statistics from the national records of Scotland to show that homelessness death rate in Fife has trebled since 2017. Statistics from Ireland following their own rent freeze showed that a 30 per cent increase in the rate of homelessness after that rent freeze went into process. What evidence does the cabinet secretary have that the SNP Green Government's recent rent freeze act will not make an appalling set of statistics in Fife even worse? First of all, the rent freeze was to help tenants to afford their rents. It is very disappointing that the Conservatives did not recognise the fact that in a cost of living crisis, partly caused by her own UK Government, tenants are going to struggle to pay their rents. Therefore, the rent freeze is to help tenants to afford their rents. That was the whole reason for it. In a cost of living crisis, I would have thought that the Conservatives might have supported such a measure. In terms of going forward with that, the member will be aware that the rent freeze is in place until the end of March, and we have set a number of criteria to look at whether that will be extended. Of course, we are in dialogue with the social rented sector around an agreed outcome with them, which will be announced soon. In terms of drug deaths, I have set out the complex nature of homelessness deaths, rather, and the relationship with multiple forms of extreme disadvantage relating to things like drug-related deaths. We need to understand the complexity of that. I think that trying to link it to a rent freeze is a rather simplistic look at what is a very complex issue. We will continue to tackle homelessness. We will also continue to invest in reducing drug-related deaths through the investment of the £250 million over the course of this Parliament. We will continue to do that, because we are concerned about the human stories and tragedies behind those statistics. Those figures are, as the cabinet secretary rightly said, heartbreaking, and my thoughts are very much with everyone who has lost a loved one. In addition to the measures that are already outlined, could the cabinet secretary provide further detail on the legislative measures that the Scottish Government is taking to tackle homelessness, in particular on the suspension of the local connection test, which came into force this week, and measures in the forthcoming housing bill? Briefly, please, cabinet secretary. Local connection requirements have long been recognised as a barrier to people realising their rights, which is why we have removed them. Most people who are homeless want to live in a community where they are already settled, but the legislation gives people choice about where they live. The forthcoming housing bill includes rental sector reforms, further strengthening existing rights for tenants, and introduces new homelessness prevention duties. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is and whether current funding provisions will enable local authorities to meet the standards in its housing strategy regarding social housing, including energy efficiency. While it is for local authorities to determine how the use funds provided to maintain housing stock and ensure compliance with relevant standards, at least £1.8 billion over this parliamentary term will be allocated to help to retrofit heat and energy efficiency measures. This includes our £200 million social housing net zero heat fund, which is designed to accelerate the delivery of energy efficiency measures and zero emissions heating systems in social housing. Social landlords can also access the £300 million heat networks fund. We recognise the challenges that social landlords face and continue to have constructive engagement with them on those in a range of matters. I have been contacting local authorities to ask them the very same question. Some have stated that they cannot meet the energy efficiency standard for social housing in their HRA revenue alone, while others suggest that the levels of current support are not enough to meet the Scottish Government's heat and building strategy and new supply programme within existing timescales while keeping rents frozen. When the Scottish Government initialised the rent freeze, did it consider the unintended consequence of the social housing strategy, especially targets on energy efficiency, and irrespective of that, whether they are going to do about it to ensure that those important targets are met? The Scottish Government has continued to have constructive conversations with social housing providers in the same spirit, as has been outlined by the member, to gather evidence on the impact of the freeze on rents and on reaching agreement in relation to rent setting in the social sector, and that constructive engagement continues. In terms of energy efficiency, social landlords have already made substantial investment in energy efficiency to remove poor energy efficiency as a driver for fuel poverty and to contributing to achieving the Scottish Government's ambitious climate change emissions reduction targets. I note the points that the member has raised and will certainly look to feed back to him through colleagues on those points, if that would be of constructive assistance. The cabinet secretary indicated last time that mid-market rentals run by social landlords could be classed as social housing with regard to rent-capping provisions. In a written answer to me, Patrick Harvie told me the opposite. He said that mid-market homes are let under private tenancy arrangements, so can the minister help me? Are mid-market rents social or private? The ministerial colleagues will write with further clarity to Mr Rennan. I appreciate that this is not on energy efficiency, but we will follow up on that question. To ask the Scottish Government how it supports local authorities to ensure that the provision of local services meets the needs of local communities. The Scottish Government works constructively in partnership with local government, engaging regularly and collaborating extensively to serve and support communities. However, we also respect and appreciate that it is the responsibility of individual councils to manage their own budgets and for local democratically elected councillors to make decisions on how best to deliver services in their local communities on the basis of local needs and priorities. Pupils and parents celebrated the opening of Dargavo primary school six months ago, but parents and others in the community warned that the school was half the size that it needed to be, and they were right. The school can take 548 pupils and it needs space for 1,100. The council is apologised but says that it cannot explain its monumental incompetence to deliver the vital local service. Can the minister use his position in any way to find out why the local authority got it so badly wrong and how it would put right? I appreciate the nature in which the member has raised this issue on behalf of his constituents. It is clearly an important issue for his region and for those who he represents. However, I would direct him to the local council on this matter in order to emphasise the points to the council and the concerns that he has in his constituents. I am sure that he would appreciate that it would be inappropriate for ministers to intervene in matters that are the responsibility of local councils and the responsibility of holding the council to account of local elected councillors. However, we will note his concerns and I will certainly relay the question to the education secretary for however information, but again I encourage the member to take the matter up with the local authority. Without the full fiscal powers of a normal European state, the Scottish Government has consistently delivered as fair and affordable settlements as they can within the fixed budget that they get. Will the minister underline to his counterparts in the UK Government that Scottish local authorities need investment from all levels of government to meet the needs of communities as they grapple with the cost of living crisis? It is important to recognise that Scotland's settlements from Westminster have suffered a decade of austerity from 2010 to 2011, with average real terms cuts of over 5 per cent. That equates to a loss of £18 billion over that period. Despite that, local authority revenue funding is £2.2 billion or 22.9 per cent higher in cash terms in 2022-23 than it was in 2013-14. The UK autumn statement does not go far enough to ensure that the Scottish Government can fully support our people, communities and businesses through the most challenging financial situation since the evolution. Of course, finance ministers are working through the implications of the UK Government's budget and will announce our plans in the forthcoming Scottish budget later this month. To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in the last six months in removing dangerous cladding from buildings. The safety of residents and home owners is our absolute priority. We are taking forward a robust programme of comprehensive and technical assessments through our single building assessment programme, which, in the last six months, has been expanded to more than 100 buildings. Assessments are being completed and discussions on remediation are underway, and, although we expect the vast majority of buildings to be found to be safe, if issues need immediate action to safeguard residents, we will take action. We are also working through Homes for Scotland with housing developers on our safer building accord. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. I was recently contacted by a group of residents in Glasgow who were astonished to discover that they had been presented with remedial bills, running into tens of thousands of pounds due to flangol material found in the cladding in their buildings. If those charges are not met, many of those residents will face extremely difficult choices and could possibly lose their homes. After turning to their local MSP in Glasgow, they were told that the Scottish Government has no money to help them. Can I ask what action the Scottish Government is taking now to support residents like my constituents and whether the cabinet secretary will join me to meet them to discuss financial support in more detail? Of course, I will meet them. If Annie Wells in advance of that could send me some detail, I would want officials to look into that, because communication with homeowners around those matters is very important. When I said in my initial answer that we take immediate action to safeguard residents, we have taken action and that includes some waking watches that the Scottish Government is helping to fund. The issues here are also about responsibility. We have said that the £400 million that we have committed to this programme of work—we have spent almost £1 million so far on assessments—needs to be the responsibility of a developer where a developer can be found in connection with the property, where there is no developer to be found or they do not exist anymore. That is where the Scottish Government will step in in order to fund any remediation work. I am not sure what the details are around the case, but I am happy to look into it if Annie Wells will furnish me with the details. 8. Leanne MacArthur I thank you to ask the Scottish Government what its response is to aid Scotland's report on keeping the doors open. We recognise that community groups are a source of support, particularly in these difficult times, and that there are challenges for some, so we will closely consider the report's recommendations. We have committed to tackle social isolation and loneliness and invested £1 million last year for immediate work, including helplines, befriending and practical support, and we continue to work with the social isolation and loneliness advisory group, of which Aid Scotland is a very valued member. The community's mental health and wellbeing fund also tackles social isolation and loneliness and mental health inequalities, and £36 million has been made available for that this year. 9. Leanne MacArthur I thank Christina McKelvie for that response. I shall be aware of Age Scotland's report to reveal the extent of the Covid-related pressures that are facing our older people's groups across Scotland. Plugging gaps in statutory services has dramatically increased demand for assistance from those groups. In Orkney, dementia diagnoses are not being made in NHS Orkney's withdrawn from podiatry, placing huge pressure on Age Scotland Orkney's services. Will the Government accept Age Scotland's call for a national fund to support older people's community groups to help members through the cost of living crisis, and will ministers rethink the decision to remove funding from the men's shed movement, which risks undermining an initiative that does such vital work in Orkney, and communities across Scotland? Thank you very much for that question. I know that local authorities, local organisations and lots of charities and third sector organisations are really feeling the pinch with the cost of living crisis, and that is having an impact on the work that is delivered. On men's sheds in particular, I have visited many men's sheds and they have always been a joy to visit, because they not only just do the work that men's sheds do, they do lots of community work and lots of public health work too. We have gone from five men's sheds in 2013 to over 200 today. The Scottish Government has provided £570,000 since then, 2014-15, and Age Scotland has provided £150,000 to men's sheds too. In this year, £75,000 has been made available to help Scottish Men's Shed Association to build further success as they continue to develop their business model with new funding partners to come on board. On the point of particular issues in local areas, especially in rural or island communities, I would be happy to speak further with Liam McArthur on what more we can do in those areas. The Age Scotland report calls on the Scottish Government to continue to recognise loneliness as a key public health issue. Therefore, what work the Scottish Government is doing through its national strategy to tackle loneliness and social isolation? In the first 100 days of this Parliament, we invested £1 million for immediate work by organisations tackling social isolation loneliness, including those helplines befriending networks and practical support, but we also committed to investing in supporting organisations to tackle the public health issue. We are working with the Social Isolation and Loneliness advisory group, of which Age Scotland, as I said, is a very valued member of that group to create a new delivery plan to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 and the on-going cost-of-living crisis on groups that are most adversely affected. We expect to publish the new delivery plan in early 2023 outlining the range of actions that the Scottish Government will take to deal with social isolation and loneliness, and I hope that the member will look out for that and share it as widely as possible. That concludes portfolio questions on social justice, housing and local government. There will be a very short pause before we move on to the next item of business to allow those who wish to change position to do so.