 The next item of business is a debate on motion 8758, in the name of Emma Roddick, on tackling social isolation and loneliness. I'd be grateful if members who wish to speak in this debate were to press their request to speak buttons now, and I'll allow a moment or two for members to get themselves into position. I call on Emma Roddick to speak to and move the motion up to 15 minutes, minister. Thank you and good afternoon, Presiding Officer. I'm delighted to be opening this debate today on social isolation and loneliness. I don't want to pre-empt anyone's contribution today, but I think it's safe to say the importance of tackling social isolation and loneliness is something we have quite a lot of agreement on across the chamber. It can be hard to admit being lonely. Humans are generally social creatures and it can feel like some kind of failure to admit that you don't have the friendships and connections that you would like to have or that you think others have. I think it's important to recognise that there is a difference between what we often think others have and what their real experience is, particularly with the growth of social media and being able to effectively present your life in a way that's very different to reality, showing only the smiles with friends and not the time that you spend lonely scrolling and looking at other people's smiles with friends. It's so important that we tackle this stigma around social isolation and loneliness, so I welcome this debate today. I want to take a little time to remind you of the context in which our work on social isolation and loneliness has developed and then outline for you what the Scottish Government is doing to tackle this important issue. In 2018, we were proud to be one of the first countries to bring forward a strategy for tackling social isolation and loneliness and bringing stronger social connections. As part of that strategy, we set up an advisory group of expert and trusted stakeholder organisations working daily with people who live with the experiences of social isolation and loneliness. The group's remit was to build a cross-sectoral approach, develop a plan to implement the strategy, advise the Scottish Government and share good practice. The group helped us to find what we mean by social isolation and, for the purpose of this debate, that's worth repeating here today. We define social isolation as when an individual has an objective lack of social relationships in terms of quality and or quantity at individual, group, community and societal levels. We define loneliness as a subjective feeling experienced when there's a difference between the social relationships we would like to have and those we have. The strategy also sets out a clear vision for the kind of Scotland we want to see, where community connections are increased and no one is excluded from participating in society for any reason. Our vision states that we want a Scotland where individuals and communities are more connected and that everyone can develop meaningful relationships regardless of age, status, circumstances or identity. I will shortly outline how we are implementing that vision and I look forward to hearing from others today across the chamber about the work that they are aware of that tackles social isolation and, of course, listening to how we build on our collective efforts delivered so far. Before I do that, it's important that we recognise the significant impact of the pandemic on social isolation and loneliness. Throughout the Covid pandemic, when Governments around the world imposed physical distancing to save lives, social isolation and loneliness rocketed. People lost casual connections, close support and even loved ones to the virus. At the height of the pandemic, around half the population reported feeling lonely at some point in the previous week. Loneliness is not just an inconvenience as research has shown chronic loneliness that is feeling lonely most or all of the time is bad for your mental health and it's bad for your physical health. Loneliness and social isolation have been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, dementia, anxiety, depression and thoughts of suicide. Loneliness is a public health issue, but more than that, loneliness is also an issue of inequality. We know that loneliness does not affect everyone equally across Scotland. Data gathered by the Scottish Government and others during the pandemic reminds us that some people are more at risk from the damaging effects of loneliness than others. Often, they are the people most at risk of experiencing other kinds of disadvantage. Loneliness is a significant problem for older people but not only older people. Young people experience high rates of loneliness despite being almost constantly connected to the world through social media. Disabled people experience the highest rates of loneliness during the restrictions brought about by the Covid pandemic. We've heard from disabled people that this feeling of being disconnected from family and friends has persisted well beyond lockdown. Research from carers UK suggests that as many as 8 out of 10 carers have felt lonely or isolated as a result of looking after a loved one. People who have low incomes have also reported more persistent loneliness. It's not difficult to understand why and it's not difficult to imagine the impact that the cost crisis is now having. Research by British Red Cross last December told us that 81 per cent of Scottish people agreed that the increased cost of living will make people more lonely. Just last week, Carnegie UK published a report, The Long Shadow of the Cost of Living Emergency, with the key message that the cost of living emergency is hurting our ability to do the things that are important to us, such as visiting friends or family, resulting in increased loneliness and social isolation. As Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees with portfolio responsibility for tackling inequalities and advancing human rights and connected communities, I recognise the challenge that the unwanted experience of loneliness and social isolation presents us with. I mentioned earlier that this is a public health issue. Left unaddressed, it means poorer quality lives for the people affected and greater demand on our health and social care resources. When we think about a preventative approach to public health, it seems to me that tackling social isolation and loneliness is a key part of that jigsaw. In our 2021 manifesto and our subsequent programme for government, we made a commitment to further develop our work to tackle social isolation and loneliness by setting up a loneliness fund and developing a new delivery plan for our strategy. While that work was under way, we provided £1 million in emergency short-term funding in August 2021 and then a further £1 million in January 2023. The short-term funding boosted the work of organisations working to tackle social isolation and loneliness, whose services were facing unprecedented demand, firstly because of the Covid pandemic and laterally because of the cross-crisis over the winter months. I would like to give you a flavour of some of the things that this most recent winter funding package has enabled to happen. For example, the winter funding has helped Age Scotland to support community groups to help to keep their doors open for older people. It has helped Home Start Scotland to provide family group activities to help young, isolated families and it has helped faith organisations to provide warm spaces and warm meals over the festive period. All of those activities have contributed not only to mitigating the impact of the cost of living crisis but to helping people to come together, interact and make and maintain those vital social connections that we all need to have. Miles Briggs. I thank the minister for taking that intervention. Part of that commitment was also around £10 million of funding over five years of this Parliament. Looking at some of the announcements that the Government has made, I have only been able to see around £5 million currently committed over the course of this Parliament. Is the Scottish Government committed to £10 million still going to address this issue? £10 million, as a whole, has to be looked at as part of a spending review. I would point out the 3.8 that I referred to at the moment. That is to be spread across three years to give organisations confidence in their funding over a longer period, which is something that the Scottish Government was asked to do. It is certainly not that small but things have to be prioritised to other areas in the portfolio. Miles Briggs. Is the Scottish Government saying that only £5 million will be delivered over the course of this Parliament, not £10 million? I am going to get on in a short while to some of the other spends. It is not only £6 million that will be spent on the issue of social isolation and loneliness, but I can hopefully provide some clarification later on in my contribution. I can also write to the member with further detail if that would be helpful. Following the fund, I am delighted to say that on 8 March this year, my predecessor, Christina McKelvie, launched both a new delivery plan and a three-year social isolation and loneliness fund, fulfilling our manifesto promise and programme for government commitment. The delivery plan is called Recovering Our Connections, and it builds upon our original strategy to outline how we will take this work forward over the next three years. Our priorities remain the same. To empower communities, build a sense of shared ownership, tackle stigma, provide opportunities and support an infrastructure that fosters connections. Of course, that is a shared responsibility. The Scottish Government cannot tackle social isolation and loneliness in a bubble, and we are committed to building shared ownership across the public, private and third sectors. Our partners in the social isolation and loneliness advisory group are absolutely key to our ambitions to provide collective leadership in the area. We will continue to work with the advisory group, whose input and advice has been invaluable in ensuring that the plan is implemented over the remaining life of this Parliament. Turning to the social isolation and loneliness fund, the response to the launch has been incredible with over 1,300 expressions of interest. It really highlights the pressing need for this work and also the passion, commitment and creativity of the organisations who work to tackle social isolation and loneliness in our communities every day. Fundamentally, that is all about communities and the links that we make within them and between them. As the First Minister outlined in his policy perspective, his Government's missions are centred around equality, opportunity and community. Tackling social isolation and loneliness does not start and end with the programme for government commitment that I spoke about a moment ago. There is a huge range of work happening all across the Scottish Government, which will have a positive impact on people's ability to make and maintain connections with one another. From the volunteering action plan to 20-minute neighbourhoods from the child poverty strategy to tackling the digital divide, there are a wealth of actions being taken over the next three years. Our flagship digital inclusion programme, Connecting Scotland, ensured that those who were digitally excluded had the means, confidence and support to engage with digital services during the pandemic. The programme delivered 60,000 devices and provided internet connection for two years. That could not have been achieved without the support from the Scottish Council for voluntary organisations and other third sector public organisations. The evaluation of the Connecting Scotland programme validates the value and lifeline it provided to the people of Scotland. Recipients told us what it means to be online and to be able to stay in touch with friends and family, and they highlighted the access they then had to vital information and services. All of this combined to preserve their mental health and wellbeing when face-to-face services had all disappeared. With the current cost of living crisis, getting online and staying connected is just as important as it was during the pandemic. The digital divide is more significant than ever. Those who are online can access the services, savings and opportunities that are denied to those who are digitally excluded. I am delighted to tell you that the new Connecting Scotland programme will be launched soon with a more sustainable and inclusive approach. More information will be available shortly. To take another part of my portfolio as an example, Scotland has a long history of welcoming people of all nationalities and faiths, including those seeking refuge and asylum from war and persecution. Our approach to supporting asylum seekers and refugees living in Scotland is set out in the new Scots refugee integration strategy. New Scots sets out a vision for a welcoming Scotland, where refugees and asylum seekers are able to rebuild their lives from the day they arrive. We remain committed to supporting their integration into our communities and providing the safety and security that they need as they begin to rebuild their lives. Yet another example, this time from health and social care, is the community's mental health and wellbeing fund. Just last week, the cabinet secretary for NHS recovery health and social care announced a further £50 million to meet the demand for local grassroots mental health and wellbeing projects in 2023-24. That is a total investment of £51 million over three years. The community's mental health and wellbeing fund supports grassroots community groups in building resilience and tackling social isolation, loneliness and the mental health inequalities made worse by the pandemic and most recently the cost crisis. In the first two years, approximately 3,300 grants were made to a wide range of grassroots community projects, including those based around peer support, physical activity, arts and crafts, social interaction and refrending, with a strong emphasis on the key themes of prevention and early intervention. The fund has a particular focus on social isolation and loneliness with 1,026 projects funded on this topic in year 1. The three-year funding will make a big difference to communities across Scotland, enabling them to build on the examples of good practice supported so far and providing them with further opportunities to reconnect, revitalise and promote good mental health and early intervention for those in distress. There are plenty more examples that I could give, but I know that members will be keen to provide their own contributions and perspectives just as I'm keen to hear them. I'll end by saying that this is an incredibly positive and exciting time for me to become involved in this area of work. I'm looking forward to chairing my first meeting of the social isolation and loneliness advisory group in June. I know that my predecessor very much enjoyed getting out and about to learn about this area of work and to meet the fantastic organisations who are making life better and more connected for the people of Scotland. I fully intend to do the same. I now call on Alexander Stewart to speak to and move amendment 8758.1. The problems associated with poor mental health have become a regular part of the wider public health debate, and rightly so. The loneliness that the pandemic created in many groups, which today's motion speaks about, are well documented. As such, I welcome time that has been set aside today, because I do believe that a debate shows us the risks to social isolation, loneliness and how we should best tackle those as we go forward. As my party's shadow for older people, I would like to begin by speaking about the particular challenges that loneliness poses for that group. Loneliness is an issue that affects the lives and wellbeing of thousands of older people across Scotland. Research by Age Scotland showed that nearly 220,000 people aged over 50 in Scotland say that they feel lonely either all or some of the time. Perhaps the most telling statistic is the issue that talks about the persons of pensionable age and that in every street there is one person of pensionable age who feels lonely chronically at all time. That is quite a damning statistic that we have in every street in Scotland. We know that much of loneliness can be damaged to older people and their quality of life can be damaged by it. There is clear evidence that loneliness in older people risks other conditions such as heart disease, stroke, anxiety and depression. However, there are all significant links to the issues that come in when people are dealing with mental health and dementia in the older generation. Research from Harvard has highlighted that lonely people aged between 60 and 79 are three times more likely to develop dementia than those of other areas and other sectors. Although loneliness can restrict individuals from developing and going forward with their health, there is no need to develop that when it comes to physical and mental health. In Scotland, there is a significant gap between healthy life expectancy and total life expectancy, a difference of nearly 20 years for women and 16 years for men. As declining physical health makes it more difficult to create and maintain relationship, loneliness can often have consequences on health and conditions that people develop. Of course, that means that we are able to access healthcare and individuals who require to access healthcare do so, but if there are delays in that access, that also can cause many issues for them going forward. It is very important that we play that role in tackling loneliness and isolation. There is a clear link between older people living lives longer and healthier. If they do not have that connection and there is a break in trying to ensure that individuals receive support and care, that has an impact on their wellbeing going forward. The record waiting times that we now see is an issue. There is no question for everyone within government, but for older people in particular who are suffering and do not get the guarantee of ensuring that their support is there. We need to ensure that that does become a reality. Scotland has a new health secretary, and I would suggest that the NHS recovery, which is now part of his remit, is something that we need to focus on. We need to talk about the recovery going forward because that approach will support and will help many older people. It is time to scrap the previous recovery plan and put in place a new one that will take in control and that will actually tackle some of the measures that we find ourselves in. Community groups also play a very important part in the support networks that are available to older people as their services go forward. That is a great way of combating and ensuring that loneliness is tackled. I pay tribute to many of those organisations who tirelessly work in the sector and are leading the sector and do so much to combat loneliness for so many individuals. The long-term social isolation that is taking place is becoming a major issue. They are identifying the work that they are doing and the work that the Government is doing, but there are still gaps, and those gaps require to be filled. In fact, it is estimated that around 200,000 older people in Scotland rely on some part of social group or club for company. That is why I welcome the additional funding that the minister has spoken about today, and the Scottish Government is doing that. There is no doubt that more is required to be put into that sector, because that sector requires the support that it has. As I say, I pay tribute to them, but they keep the doors open for many organisations. By doing that, they support many individuals in our communities. It remains the case that many of those groups are struggling financially. We know that. They have told us time and time again that more is required because, as the population grows and the population ages, they need more and more. Many Scotland have told us that more than 30 community groups are struggling at the present moment in time. We have heard that that has an impact on the cost of living crisis, but it also has an impact on those organisations to maintain and sustain so that they can become sustainable for the future. We have also heard about the gaps that appear within the market. As I say, the third sector, our council support works and the Government are all working together, but there are still areas that require more. I welcome the assurance from the Scottish Government and the Minister that protecting those community groups will be a priority going forward. That is one of the biggest ways of managing the strategy from loneliness and isolation. Of course, the general assurances were there from the Government. I acknowledge that, but I have already said in a previous debate that Christine Grahame brought as a member's debate recently. We had the First Minister making his priorities for the Scottish Government. He did not mention specifically anything about that in his First Minister's first approach. I think that that was a gap. I have heard what the Minister said today, but I still believe that the First Minister should be looking at our ageing population and thinking about what we can do. We have talked about crossovers with portfolios and, yes, that happens, but there should be some real priorities from the Scottish Government as to where we see that setting. As my amendment points out, it is important that the Scottish Government study and look at what is happening to our older population, but it also acknowledges that loneliness and isolation also affect younger people. I know that loneliness has been talked about in all parts of our society, and it is important that we do that. For example, research from higher education policy has found that in four students are lonely, either some or most of the time. That figure should set alarm bells ringing for us that young people who are students are in that situation. In 2018, £20 million of funding was put in place for around 80 councillors positions at Scotland's colleges and funding. I welcome that, but indeed our own Education, Children and Young People Committee found that the targeted counselling funding was not getting to all the individuals it should. However, the removal of that has happened, and in some colleges they are no longer able to fund some of that. That becomes a major issue when you are looking at trying to do that. It is time for the Scottish Government, along with the mental health foundation strategy, to listen to some of the colleges. I believe that 20 principals wrote to the Scottish Government co-signing a letter issuing the problems that they see coming down the track when it deals with younger individuals. If the funding is necessary, then it should be provided. We know that colleges and universities are well placed to address mental health issues among their students themselves, but they need support as well to ensure that that takes place. Today's motion talks about tackling loneliness and isolation in shared responsibility, and I believe that we need that shared responsibility because that brings together the whole idea about what we are trying to achieve. It is no secret that the years of the pandemic were particularly damaging to many individuals in young and old, but the younger found it quite phenomenal. The Mental Health Foundation in Scotland has found that 50 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds experienced what was known as lockdown loneliness for them. They were spending their time at home not doing things. I guess that social media was there, but that is not always for supporting them to go forward. The pandemic itself also highlighted that there were still individuals struggling with aspects. Covid has been a massive impact. We talk about 200,000 people in Scotland suffering from long Covid, and that has had a massive impact on individuals' wellbeing. Many of those individuals are finding themselves cut off from society because of the impact of the long Covid that they have. We have talked about having dedicated specialist services to help sufferers of long Covid. That needs to be addressed. The social isolation that many of those individuals are suffering is going to increase because we do not have that facility. We cannot become complacent. As I have said already, I have spoken about the battle to ensure that the Government plays its part, that the voluntary sector plays its part and that the third sector plays its part, because all of that is there to ensure that all of us are doing the best that we can. Going forward, the job of this Government must be to further raise awareness of the dangers of loneliness and isolation in both young people and older people. My amendment talks about the introduction of a national awareness campaign on this issue. If today's debate should demonstrate anything, it is that that kind of campaign is needed even more than ever and needed today. I know that there is a lot of good work going on and I acknowledge that, but there are still gaps in the process. There are still areas that we should take on board. We should use the voluntary sector and the third sector because they are experts in this field. Government could take well. I know that you have a number of organisations that you support and that support the Government, but much more could be done. We can also learn from other locations as to how they have tackled some of their problems. We are all suffering very much the same, so I look forward to hearing the debate today. I acknowledge the work that the Scottish Government is doing, but I will still hold them to account on the way they go forward and the things they do. I am pleased to be opening this important debate on behalf of the Scottish Labour Party. The Government motion is right to recognise the impact of the Covid pandemic on social isolation. Indeed, I agree with much of the minister's contribution. It is undoubtedly the case that, by his nature, the pandemic exacerbated social isolation as people practised physical distancing, limiting their social interactions to those within their own household bubbles. Indeed, it sometimes can be hard to recall those days, which, of course, were only a few years ago and I think impacted us all in such a profound way. The Scottish Government made an important step when it published its strategy on social isolation and loneliness in 2018, but it is frustrating that, five years after the publication, we are still debating its implementation rather than examining its impact. I understand that the implementation of the strategy was delayed by the pandemic, but it is the case that the strategy is needed now more than ever. That is why I welcome the publication of the updated delivery plan and again the minister's commitment to that in her opening remarks. Throughout the pandemic, I think that we were acutely aware of the impact of social isolation and of loneliness, and there was a concerted focus on how to stop people feeling disconnected, isolated or lonely. However, at the end of restrictions and at the reopening of our society, the epidemic of loneliness that we are currently facing did not end along with those restrictions. Indeed, in the latter days of the pandemic, as we started to think about our Covid recovery, the political discourse was infused with hope, focused on building back better and how to establish better new normals. However, in rebuilding after the pandemic, the British Red Cross found that two in three Scots agreed that tackling loneliness should be a priority for the Government. I think that the pandemic actually revealed everyone's vulnerability to loneliness. New research from the British Red Cross found that 37 per cent of people in Scotland feel lonely always, often or some of the time. As I have said already, for some, the pandemic exacerbated an underlying sense of isolation. However, for many others, the pandemic was people's first or perhaps most profound experience of a despairing sense of loneliness. It is concerning that there remains a stubborn, persistent stigma surrounding feelings of loneliness, with the Mental Health Foundation finding that 39 per cent of adults in Scotland would never admit to feeling lonely. People's loneliness is being compounded by silence, with too many people not able to access the support that they need because they feel too embarrassed or too ashamed to speak out. I think that there is consensus today that we must treat loneliness as a public health issue. Loneliness is more than feeling isolated or disconnected. It has a profound impact on our general health and our mortality. For example, the National Institute of Aging has estimated that social isolation and loneliness can shorten someone's life expectancy by up to 15 years, with loneliness increasing the risk of stroke and heart disease by around 30 years. In my region during the Easter Reef Fath, I took the opportunity to go and visit some projects that are seeking to reduce social isolation in the community. I had the great pleasure of visiting a local knit and natter group in Giffnick library. The group has helped local people to reconnect and reintegrate in local society coming out of the pandemic. It is helping a range of people who are still dealing with the effects of long Covid and those suffering from residual social anxiety, and those who perhaps moved to a new area during the pandemic and, as a result, have struggled to meet new people and to integrate into the wider community. The knitting is secondary to the nattering, which was just as well, given my lack of abilities with a set of needles. The importance of the group is rooted in its ability to bring people together, to provide them with their own space, to make social connections and to engage in general chit chat, which is so important in people's everyday lives. It was a real privilege to listen to the many members explaining the profound impact of dealing with their feelings of isolation and of doing so in a really informal way. Many of them told me about the improvements that they have seen in their own mental health as a result. The group might be an example in one town, but I know that there are groups like it across Scotland, and I am sure that we will hear many of those examples across the chamber today, but it is groups like this that are helping to rebuild confidence, tackle loneliness and create new friendships. Those are the types of interventions that we need in order to deal with this endemic loneliness. Yes, of course we need big, bold action to address these issues, but it does not mean that all resources should be targeted towards centralised or national-based campaigns. We need strong support for local initiatives, initiatives rooted in communities and reflecting the needs of specific communities around the country. Any initiative to tackle social isolation and loneliness must be rooted in removing all the barriers that hinder social interaction, and that must be holistic in its nature. For example, when looking for a location in the community, we must consider if the venue is accessible, affordable or free, warm, easy to travel to by walking or by public transport, as well as car. Emma Harper is talking about how we address social isolation, and the member thinks that there needs to be specific consideration for rural areas versus urban areas, because it might mean that we do stuff different. Emma Harper represents a community that has rural and town settings, perhaps a little more rural than the west, but we can both see the importance of ensuring that we tailor our approaches to those communities where isolation perhaps manifests itself in a different way. Just to get someone into a town setting or a village setting can be quite challenging in itself, so we need to look at those particular needs and work with partners across the third sector and local government to be able to do that. In our communities, the role of the voluntary sector is critical in the delivery of services, but we know that organisations are facing immense financial pressure with SEVO, finding that over 90 per cent of organisations have reported increased costs in comparison with August 2020. In tandem with rising costs, the third sector has experienced a significant increase in demand for services. In that respect, I think that they are often operating with a hand tied behind their back, being asked to provide more support with less resource. That is why SEVO has called for a new fair funding deal from the Scottish Government. That means longer-term funding of three years or more, sustainable funding that includes inflation-based uplifts and allows for staff to be paid at least the real living wage and indeed more flexible core funding that would allow organisations to plan more effectively and with greater security. Our third sector needs greater stability, rather than being limited by continuous cycles of trying to secure short-term funding. The instability that is caused by short-term funding cycles is bad for the third sector, who are unable to properly plan for the medium to long term and bad for communities who benefit so much from the vital work of third sector organisations who are the lifeblood of communities. The £3.8 million social isolation and loneliness fund is, of course, welcome, but having time-limited funds is not always helpful in addressing the longer-term issues and the insustainability that I have just spoken about, which has been part of the voluntary sector's experience for a good long while. When I worked in the voluntary sector after leaving university in the early 2010s, we were discussing those issues, so we have not made a huge amount of progress in dealing with three-year funding cycles and the associated short-termism. The pressures are being compounded by decisions that have been taken over the past 16 years and have chipped away at funding not only for the third sector but for local government, where we have seen their budgets reduce and services being cut. I am conscious of time. I will begin to draw my remarks to a conclusion. Scottish Labour supports the Government's efforts to address social isolation and loneliness, but it is time to deliver on that 2018 pledge and recognise that the scale of the challenge is now larger and more significant, impacting a wider demographic of the population than it was prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is time to deliver on a commitment of building back better, and that means recognising that in the aftermath of the pandemic we are facing that endemic of loneliness. It is a crucial public health issue, and it is time to start treating it with the resources and urgency that it reflects, and giving sustainability to those organisations that can make the most difference in our local communities. I move the amendment in my name. Before I call Willie Rennie, members will wish to know that there is time available. Should they take interventions, time will be given back. I am quite hopeful that the new minister will have great potential, because her background and authenticity in which she speaks in this chamber will serve her well as a minister. It does not mean that I will always agree with her, but she has got a huge amount of potential and I look forward to many more of her contributions. According to the Mental Health Foundation, over a quarter of us in Scotland felt lonely over the previous month. We know that there is a significant stigma around loneliness as well, with around half of Scots saying that they would hide feelings of loneliness from other people. I think that our first and important task is to increase the discussion around loneliness with the public, because only through discussion will we be managed to shake that stigma. That has already started. This debate is in part about that, but last year's mental health awareness week theme was loneliness. I want to thank all the various organisations that were involved in making that such a success from the Mental Health Foundation, Age UK, SAMH and various other organisations. I am sure that this afternoon we will all pick out our own individual groups that we will highlight in the minister and others have done that already. I will do the same. I am going to pick out some individual groups. The thing about loneliness is that it affects every group in society, everyone, and it can catch anyone at any time. It is important that we have an all-encompassing strategy that addresses all the various groups. Public awareness is vital, but we need to have action in addressing the underlying causes associated with loneliness. Loneliness is not necessarily about the time that one spends alone, but rather where there is a mismatch between what people want and what is provided for them and what is available to them, meaningful connections in other words. It can affect anyone at any age, and contrary to popular belief, loneliness is particularly prevalent in young people. According to the Mental Health Foundation, during the pandemic, 4 in 10, 18 to 24-year-olds experienced loneliness, which was higher than any other age group surveyed. Young people often just do not know who to turn to. Sadly, a quarter of young people chose not to access support during the lockdown because they felt that they did not deserve it. I will come to that in a second. We have heard that from older people who do not want to burden others, but you would not imagine that young people were inflicted with that at such an early age. I am very grateful to Willie Rennie for taking the intervention, and he is making an excellent point here about the age spread where loneliness will affect people. Does he agree that social media often compounds that sense of loneliness for young people? We may well expect social media to be a way to connect young people in, but many young people feel isolated because of what they see and what they are expected to do in that space. Willie Rennie? The pressure is enormous through social media. We have seen the feeling of inadequacy that you are not quite as good as the other person that you are seeing on social media. It is a factor that will contribute to the loneliness that many young people feel. I think that the member makes a very valid point. What young people need to be enriching their activities and providing through social networking enjoyment and a sense of purpose. Nowadays, however, these opportunities are all too scarce. That is the next bit that I am very excited about. It is a Liberal Democrat policy called the holiday fund fund that should be available all year round for young people to access on a permanent basis to improve the opportunities for young people. I am all in favour of the holiday fund fund that will miraculously change the opportunities for young people who feel lonely in their own homes or in their own communities. I hope that that is something that the minister in a new role might embrace. We also know that students, especially those who start off at university, feel particularly lonely. They have not managed to build up the networks and the connections with other people. Particularly through the pandemic, those who started off were not given the opportunities to go to the student union or enjoy the activities within the university or college environment. That is why I hope that the minister will reach out to her colleagues who are dealing with the portfolio, particularly the finance secretary, to ensure that those successful mental health councillors that are available, particularly for colleges, funding continues. I know that there is still a glimmer of hope that the Government might be able to fund that. It is looking to colleges and universities to fund it just now, but my fear is that, when they are feeling things, they are really tight that some of those councillors might disappear. After having built up that expertise, it would be a shame to lose that expertise, particularly when we are trying to move things forward on mental health and loneliness. On the other end of the spectrum, we have already talked about older people that research conducted by Age UK found that over 200,000 older people in Scotland feel lonely some or all of the time. That can have long-term consequences on health, which has already been referred to, and the standard of living, with a recent study linking loneliness to increased risk of dementia. It is crucial that our elderly people have proper access to consistent care, which is why we should establish national pay bargaining processes to ensure that Scotland has a competitive care sector that can attract our best talent. Some charities have done some excellent work in this area. Age Scotland runs a free helpline that offers advice, assistance or just a chat. So far, it has fielded over 28,000 calls and 9 in 10 of the users reported feeling happier and less alone after using that. So it works, so let's hope that Age Scotland managed to continue that good work. The Government must support the indispensable work such as this by increasing funds available to the third sector, which others have already referred to this afternoon. Care also places a heavy burden on those providing it with 65 per cent of carers in Scotland regularly experiencing loneliness according to the Carers Trust UK. That is because carers can find it increasingly difficult to access support or spend time for themselves with their loved ones. They desperately need more support, which is why my party are campaigning for enhanced carers allowance in Scotland, as well as the UK-wide uplift to finally recognise the value of carers. For anyone who experiences loneliness, it can have a detrimental impact on their mental health, with prolonged periods of loneliness being associated with increased experiences of anxiety and even suicidal thoughts. That is why I am particularly keen on recruiting more mental health staff in communities, hospitals and schools to ensure that services are accessible throughout Scotland. Alongside that, we need a new diagnosis and treatment centres to clear the backlog on the mental health weights. We need to do so much more. I am really hopeful that the minister will embrace this portfolio and achieve so much for those who feel alone in their own homes or in their own communities. I advise members that we have some time in hand. That is why the front benchers have had a bit more latitude in the length of their speeches. I move to the open debate and I call Ruth Maguire to be followed by Annie Wells. Social isolation and loneliness can affect anyone at any time in their lives. I strongly agree with the minister that this is a public health issue, and we have a collective responsibility as a society to address it. I last contributed to a debate on social isolation and loneliness in January 2019. During that debate I reflected that Scotland was leading the way as one of the first countries to publish a national strategy on tackling the issue of social isolation. I also spoke to Age UK's call for policy makers to be clear about the difference between loneliness and social isolation. Loneliness is not the same as social isolation. People can be isolated yet not feel lonely. People can be surrounded by other people yet still feel lonely. The distinction between those two concepts is often overlooked, which makes it difficult to understand what can help people to reduce their feelings of loneliness. Loneliness is a subjective feeling about the gap between a person's desired level of social contact and their actual level of social contact. It refers to the perceived quality of a person's relationships. Loneliness is never desired unless those feelings can take a long time. Social isolation, as the minister mentioned, is an objective measure of the number of contacts that people have. It's about the quantity, not the quality of relationships. People may choose to have a small number of contacts, and if people feel socially isolated that can be overcome relatively quickly by increasing the number of people they are in touch with. Loneliness and social isolation are different but related concepts. Social isolation can lead to loneliness and loneliness can lead to social isolation. They are different but can be experienced at the same time. People may feel different levels of social isolation and loneliness over their lifetime, moving it in and out of such states as their personal circumstances change. They also share factors that increase the likelihood of people experiencing them, such as deteriorating health and sensory and mobility impairments. Quality matters, because bringing people together to increase the number of their social contacts, is not an end in itself. Good quality, rewarding relationships are needed to combat loneliness. A lot has happened since January 2019, and as the Government motion acknowledges, the Covid-19 pandemic meant that more people across society suffered as a result of social isolation and loneliness. As is always the case, the suffering was not spread evenly, with those with arguably the greatest challenges already feeling the greatest impact. The biggest increase in loneliness during the pandemic was seen in older adults, those aged over 60. I am sorry that they are not mentioned in the Government's motion. Their experiences and the impact on their health and quality of life is something that was perhaps most visible to me during the pandemic. There was no greater illustration to me of how harmful social isolation and loneliness is than for those who saw the change in their loved ones and care homes who did not receive visitors. Consecruents described to me in heartbreaking terms how they felt their loved one was fading away without the good quality visits from friends and loved ones that I spoke about earlier. That is something that had a profound impact on me during the pandemic, and I will never forget it. I know that the lessons have been learned from our experiences in that public health emergency, and while older people are no longer specifically in the job title, I am sure that the Equalities Minister will wish to champion the rights of our older citizens with determination and vigor. Just as the pandemic impacted on some disproportionately, the Tory cost of living crisis means that the poorest and most vulnerable in our society are more likely to experience poorer mental and physical wellbeing, lower life satisfaction and feelings of loneliness. Without a doubt, that will have an impact on people's ability to make and maintain connections, to take up opportunities to interact with one another and to stay physically and mentally healthy. Last week, I had the opportunity and the pleasure of meeting with the Poverty Alliance, Scottish Women's Budget Group and some of the women who had contributed to the report on its hard work being poor. That was an important report into the cost of living crisis. All of the women reported making significant changes to their daily lives to try to manage rising costs, including taking on additional hours of work and reducing social activities, so reducing that social contact. Many of the women reported having run out of ways they could adjust their daily life and concerns about managing rising costs. Stella is one of the contributors to the report. She is a black, lone parent mother. She is aged between 35 to 44, living with her children. She has a long-term illness and disability. She accesses universal credit and is in seeking employment due to the cost of living crisis, despite experiencing chronic pain and fatigue, if I may quote her. The cost of living crisis has brought untold pain and suffering on women, especially single parents and children. Because of the way it impacts our lives on a daily basis, not being able to afford the essentials of life can be very stressful and robs women of their dignity and self-worth. The report contains actions for all spheres of government, which deserve serious consideration by those who have power and responsibility over policy and resources. Social isolation and loneliness are public health issues, closely intertwined with issues of poverty and inequality, which have been exacerbated because of the pandemic and will continue to be affected by the on-going Tory cost crisis. We have a collective responsibility as a society to address this. I welcome the work that the Scottish Government is doing so far and encourage them to go further. How much better could Scotland do if we were free from the need to invest in mitigating Tory harms and had all the levers of a normal, independent country? I am grateful to have the opportunity to take part in today's debate concerning the public health problem of loneliness. Demonstrating the scale of this issue, 3.6 million adults live alone within the UK, of which 2 million are aged 75 or older, and moreover 1.9 million older people have indicated that they feel invisible or ignored. Although all too common among our older adult population, loneliness and social isolation do not remain relegated to anyone aged or social group. While the elderly population experienced the greatest increases in loneliness, various other groups were found to have the highest rates of loneliness. As we have heard, the groups that were found, one of them in particular, would be that of 16 to 24-year-olds, people living on low incomes, disabled people and Scots living with a pre-existing mental health condition. Loneliness and social isolation have existed as public health concerns before, during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. The same is applied to the efforts of people and support groups over the same period. Individuals in the pre-COVID and post-COVID eras in communities across Scotland have come together to support others in what ways they could. Within my own region, a charity called new rhythms for Glasgow has provided valuable services that aim to achieve the betterment of people's lives through access to the creative arts. The community-led organisation has done so for more than 20 years in the service of many of the most vulnerable, including children and those with disabilities. However, due to the funding cuts from the Scottish Government, the future of new rhythms remains uncertain. Should the charity disappear as part of its community social fabric, the potential greater social isolation and loneliness would inevitably increase because of the decision to cut the funding. Unfortunately, that is not the only charity. The same can be said about food train Glasgow. This volunteer group provides vital food and meal delivery services to more than 400 over 65-year-old Glaswegians. Those residents would face difficulty in procuring such essentials otherwise, due to the possible funding cuts spearheaded by the Glasgow City Council. More than 2,000 people have signed their petition so far, and I hope that the minister will reflect on that in possible closing remarks. I agree that it was shocking to discover that Glasgow City Council, in undertaking its assessments of the community's fund allocations, never asked the question, what would happen if we took that funding away? Would that cause an existential crisis for those organisations or not? I do agree with the member. I think that the thing for me that came about this as well is that health and social care partnerships in each other local authority have looked at funding in the food chain outwith of Glasgow, so it is concerning for me as well. You have to be asking yourself, why are people in food poverty? It has nothing to do with this Government, it has nothing to do with this Parliament. Is the cost of living crisis low-weight? Is everything that we have no control over so you should be a bit ashamed faced about the manner you are speaking? The member will understand that what I am saying is that those people require someone to take their money and go shopping for them to drop their shopping off. It is not a funding issue for those people, but the volunteers need things like vehicles to get the shopping from one place to the other. Some people only see those people when they train once a week. That is not all they see and there is no-one else who goes into their house just for that cup of tea or put their shopping away, so I will not take that remark when I am speaking about the subject. The continued funding for support and organisations is valuable, not only due to the tangible benefits that they provide, but the additional values residing the ability for people to connect within communities. Future backing of support groups remains paramount and this in turn would align with the aims of the Scottish Government's 2018 strategy on loneliness. And not only did I support that strategy, I also supported the creation of a minister to address social isolation and loneliness. That same year, I published a loneliness action plan, which includes measures aimed at meeting the challenges posed by loneliness across groups, namely those spanning all ages. Proposals within the plan, I believe, retain relevance for today's debate on this issue. The Scottish Government, the Scottish Conservatives Loneliness Action Plan contains measures to address several aspects of this problem. Those include the implementation of a national awareness campaign, improved social prescribing, greater focus on youth loneliness and greater connection between members of communities. Furthermore, as the former Scottish Conservatives spokesperson of mental health, I understand the weight of the situation that confronts us all on loneliness. In recent years, I have gone on to state that loneliness is a serious health problem, which can profoundly affect one's life, particularly around holiday typically spent in the company of others. During a meeting of the Scottish Parliament in 2019, focusing on social isolation and loneliness, I stress the fact that 79 per cent of adults and 40 per cent of youths experience loneliness. That, alongside the work of the Government strategy and GPs, alludes to the importance played by individuals and outside groups, such as charities, that provide their own support. That is of the utmost importance, as loneliness has a detrimental relationship on our aspects of public health, including but not limited to higher blood pressure, dementia and depression. I am delighted to give my support to the Scottish Government's continued efforts to alleviate that far-reaching societal problem. However, more than 3,300 bodies have received such grants, and I very much look forward to supporting their work in the Parliament and the Scottish Government in the years ahead to make sure that we continually support this public health crisis. I am sure that our colleagues from across the chamber will agree with me on that one. I now call Christine Grahame to be followed by Karen Wachan. I want to focus on the experience of older people in the over-60s through to the over-90s. It is tough enough getting older, but the impact of inflation on what for many is a fixed income, the state pension, occasionally assisted by an occupational pension, has meant for many pensioners staying in to save the pennies for food and heating. Yes, the bus pass is an asset for helping with mobility, social contact and general wellbeing, but it cannot make up for poverty-level living exacerbated by inflation, and many, of course, some 40 per cent entitled to the UK pension credit do not claim money kept by the Treasury. Results of an online opinion poll released in December 2022 by YouGov for British Red Cross showed that 81 per cent of Scottish people agreed that the increased cost of living will make more people lonely. 43 per cent said that they would restrict how much they socialise because the cost of living is going up. Then, of course, there is the aftereffect of Covid, when many, including myself as over 75 at the time, were confined indoors with only short spells of exercise. That was tough, and over the years of Covid it got me and many others into a way of life which disconnected you from mixing with folk, a way of life which I think for many of my peers has continued. I am unusual and privileged to be in an occupation which allows me to work long beyond pension age. Even that does not mean that I do not feel lonely at times. Previous speakers have referenced the World Health Organization's research on the health impact of isolation and loneliness in older people, so I will not repeat them. I would add that, with age of course, you are more likely to attend funerals than weddings which can increase feelings of loneliness of isolation. Of course, I welcome the £3.8 million social isolation and loneliness fund and understand the initial applications period has closed with allocations being made in the summer. When I don't know is which groups have applied in the first instance, my concern is that small local groups may not have applied or might not fit the criteria for that particular fund. I'm thinking of the vital role men sheds play in communities in my constituency and how hard they have to fight for funding and their membership is usually retired men. The people's and district men's shed community is located at school brain people's. They've totally refurbished their rooms, they've got work benches, they've got brand new machinery including lathes, the bandsaw, pillar drills and so on. Two of their benches have been built at a height suitable for use by wheelchair users. It's also open to women but they're always struggling for funding. Gareth Shield's men's shed has community run workshops with a social area. There they pursue their hobby share skills, have a cuppa and a chat. They get out of the house for a while and get practical help for their projects and interestingly on their Facebook page they talk about offering appropriately help for isolation and loneliness. There are others. The people's and district's men's shed does much the same stuff and takes men who are quite often shy and will not admit that they are lonely and looking for companionship. It gives them a place to meet. Let me therefore welcome the 75,000 to the Men's Shed Association announced in January but I would it were more. There's opal borders and new service for older people. Opal, older people, active lives, that aims to maintain and improve people's social connections, independence and wellbeing. Group members can decide in the activities they'd like to take part in such as singing and entertainment, talks from speakers, quizzes, walking and so on. There's borders bodies and not just with the elderly which supports people to return to doing things they enjoy before but which either due to the pandemic, ill health or other factors they have stopped doing. Enabling them to reconnect with other people in the community, reducing isolation and building individual and community resilience. During the pandemic they supported local people in Tweeddale to find a buddy who helped them rebuild their confidence about getting out and about again and it is a lot about confidence. Although things have moved on, they are still hearing from people who have become socially isolated for all sorts of reasons and it works with all ages over 16. There's a community centre at Ladywood, it's owned by the community, it's slap bang in the middle of it and there's a huge range of activities from young to old. I've had a go at pensioners table tennis and believe you me it's pretty serious stuff, even brutal or perhaps there's a chance to tackle a politician but it was great for exercise, physical and mental effort and companionship. Those are all grass roots examples and everyone in here can give more but back to my question that I want if I may at some point have an answer to, perhaps not today. How do these local groups and others like them who do so much to combat social isolation and loneliness right at the grass roots level access that Scottish Government 3.8 million funding or indeed other funding sources because they work, they deliver, big organisations have no difficulty accessing funding, heart and chest and stroke foundation, all these people age concerned, they can access funding but it's these little groups that matter and deliver. I'm pleased to have the opportunity to speak in today's debate and I think and I've heard that we do all agree right across the chamber that tackling social isolation and loneliness must be a priority for Government and of Parliament and it is welcome to see increased funding to directly address these matters. I do know that the minister does care a great deal about this. However, as my colleague Paul O'Kane has mentioned, work to tackle social isolation and loneliness must be connected across sectors and must be aimed towards genuine long-term improvement rather than just short-term fixes. I can also mention at this point the member Ruth Maguire. I thought her contribution was around the difference between social isolation and loneliness was a very good contribution and I thank her for that. It is right that we highlight how loneliness in particular can impact anyone and, as we have heard, age Scotland highlighted and the quote is worth repeating, an equivalent of one person in every street in Scotland feels lonely, all or most of the time, with 100,000 older people in Scotland feeling mostly or all of the time lonely, a stark reality for many people. Indeed, we know from research that feelings of loneliness are common among young adults as well as Willie Rennie's contribution told us. That just confirms that loneliness and social isolation are not unique to one age group or one group or one bracket of people. Their feelings felt widely across society and therefore it is right that our approach to tackling this issue is focused as broadly as we can. Although it is important to note that issues that we face in this regard have existed for many years, we know and we have heard that the pandemic has exacerbated the feelings of loneliness and social isolation across our country and it is crucial that, as we are doing today, we recognise this as a public health issue and we approach it in that way. However, I note, with interest, that the Government has not included deprivation in its motion today as one of the key factors contributing to loneliness. The Scottish household survey of 2020 highlights that, while just over a quarter of those in the least deprived areas reported feeling lonely, some or all of the time, the figure reporting such feelings in the most deprived areas was 44. That is quite a stark difference. There is a clear link between loneliness and poverty. I do believe that the minister mentioned that and will consider that. I hope that we will speak to that in our closing remarks. The point is that people in our poorest communities feel that there are far less welcoming places and opportunities to meet new people or places where people can meet up and socialise in those communities. This is just the reality for many people in Scotland. It is a direct result of relentless cuts on our communities from a UK Government that has imposed austerity on towns and villages. However, I think that the Scottish Government has responsibility and the cuts to council budgets year on year and cuts to the hearts of our communities contribute. I would like some honesty around that. Inequalities in Scotland hold back communities and limit potential and isolate individuals. The figures that I have just read out should anger us, but they should not surprise us. That is the result of decisions taken by Governments and we need to be honest if we are going to address them. If we are serious about tackling loneliness and isolation, we need more than £3.8 million. We need a shift of focus and priorities that supports investments in tackling health inequalities and inequality based on deprivation more widely. We need funding for local government that respects the role that they play in service delivery and we need focus on having the strongest public sector possible, one that is supported and complemented by other sectors, not relying on them. As of significant concern, as some members have mentioned in the chamber, the information from the Mental Health Foundation report that just below 40 per cent of Scottish adults would not report feelings of loneliness. That was mentioned by another member. Those figures are heartbreaking, because loneliness is a significant challenge facing many Scots and we should not forget that some people will not raise that issue. The importance of a preventative approach cannot be underestimated. Services must be connected. The public and the voluntary sector must work hand in hand and we must invest in local communities and ensure that local provision exists to ensure social activities and reduce those feelings of loneliness and anyone who needs mental health support. I would like to pay tribute to organisations that, day-to-day, with very precarious funding, do a lot to support their communities. I think that the minister is aware that we need to address the sustainability of some of the very small groups that the member at the back mentioned. Loneliness and social isolation are serious challenges facing our population, and they can have devastating impacts on individuals, their families and their communities. The funding that is announced for tackling social isolation and loneliness is absolutely welcome, but we know that, particularly in our most deprived communities, those feelings are as widely held because of a serious lack of investment and services due to cuts to councils and the lack of joint opportunities. We need to have an up approach across sectors to focus on service delivery as well as the monitoring of progress as we try to increase funding or develop policy change. It is welcome that we have had a chance to debate the topic today. I hope that the minister will look at the points that I have raised and other members have raised across the chamber. It is so important that we stop widespread social isolation and loneliness and tackle the root causes in our communities today. I now call Jackie Dunbar to be followed by Maggie Chapman. First of all, I will take the opportunity to wish the minister every success in her new role. It is the first opportunity that I have had to do so. Social isolation and loneliness can impact everyone of every age at any time. It is therefore vital that the Scottish Government is taking action to properly tackle isolation and loneliness, which is, of course, as already said, a public health issue. In the first 100 days of this Parliament, the Scottish Government invested £1 million for immediate work by organisations tackling loneliness, including helplines, beefrending and practical support. The funding will help to provide warm spaces, hot meals, group activities and fuel payments to folk most at risk of isolation, including older folk, young parents, carers and disabled people. The funding is a lifeline for a range of organisations that are helping to keep people connected during this challenging time. Organisations to receive grant funds include Age Scotland, which will continue to deliver their Keeping the Doors Open grants programme, and Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland, which are recruiting our do-and-punjabi-speaking volunteers to make kindness calls. It also includes Aberdeen Lincoln Lives, which operates across my constituency in Aberdeen Donside. Aberdeen Lincoln Lives is a beefrending service aimed at adults who find themselves requiring some extra friendship and support, which is provided through either weekly home visits or telephone calls. It matches volunteers with those folks who refer to them, and all volunteers are carefully selected, trained and vetted. They do really important work, and I look forward to visiting in the near future. I would, of course, put out a welcome to invite the minister to come along too, but I do realise that she will have an extremely busy diary. That fund is just one of the many crucial steps that the Scottish Government has taken to tackle social isolation and loneliness as part of its plan, a Connected Scotland. Support for community groups bringing folk and communities together to tackle isolation was launched in March. The £3.8 million social isolation and loneliness fund is part of a new plan, recovering our connections. That aims to reduce inequality by bringing folk from communities across Scotland together, and it will provide vital longer-term support for organisations and projects working on the ground to bring folk together and bring connections in communities throughout the country. Everyone can play a part in tackling those challenges, and the Scottish Government's new plan reaffirms its commitment to building a Connected Scotland for everyone, which I welcome. We know that social isolation and loneliness can affect anyone at any age or stage of life, but during the pandemic it became obvious that not everyone is affected equally. The pandemic meant that more folk across society suffered as a result of social isolation and loneliness, but it particularly impacted on disabled people, younger people and those who live alone. The biggest increase in loneliness during the pandemic was seen in older folks aged six, eight or over, while groups identified as experiencing the highest rates of loneliness were actually in 16 to 24-year-olds, disabled people and those on lower incomes and those with a pre-existing mental health condition. Regular polling data on the societal harms of the pandemic tells us that, during 2020-21, around half the people surveyed reported feeling lonely at least some of the time in the previous week, and around one in seven people reported being lonely most, almost all or all of the time. That is supported by the findings of the Scottish household survey 2020, which was published in January 2022. It found that 35 per cent of adults reported feeling lonely at least some of the time in the previous week, and 44 per cent rarely are never met others socially. It is clear that the pandemic exacerbated isolation, and again this highlights why the work that the Scottish Government has taken forward is just so important. While the key levers required to tackle the root causes of poverty and associated poor mental health are still held by the UK Government, the Scottish Government is doing everything it can with its limited powers to support people right now. As Carol Mockham said in her debate, there is a clear link with isolation and poverty. That is why I am pleased that the Scottish child payment has been further expanded to eligible six to 15-year-olds and increased in value to £25 per child per week. Around 387,000 berns are now forecast to be eligible in 2023-24. Based on modelling from March 2022, it is estimated to lift 50,000 berns out of poverty and reduce relative child poverty by five percentage points in 2023-24. The Scottish Government is offering free school lunches during term time to all pupils in primaries 1 to 5 and in special schools. As part of the most generous free school meal offer in the UK, this is saving families on average £400 per child per year. Scotland already has the most generous childcare offer anywhere in the UK, but it is only with independence that we can really make sure that this work reaches its full potential. In closing, I welcome the work that the Scottish Government is doing. I again take this opportunity to thank all organisations working to tackle isolation across Donside and across Scotland. The statistics matter, of course they do, because they talk about people, but it is so important to look below the numbers to understand what loneliness means to those who feel it. Many of them are ashamed that they feel this way. They do not want to talk to family or friends about it. Many would never admit to feeling lonely and they hide their feelings from others, including loved ones. There is clearly still stigma attached to feelings of loneliness and isolation. We have heard already this afternoon that loneliness has a significant negative impact on people's physical and mental health. There are clear links between loneliness and anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts and feelings. Several colleagues this afternoon have talked about specific groups of our society that may be particularly at risk of loneliness. Older people, students, disabled people, people of colour, immigrants, refugees and so on. Research by the Mental Health Foundation last year highlighted people with existing mental health conditions, those who are digitally excluded, unemployed people and people who identify as LGBT, QIA plus, as particularly at risk of experiencing loneliness and social isolation. Of course we have heard much about how the pandemic and the cost crisis have affected and will continue to affect people's abilities to be and feel connected, to be part of something bigger than themselves. Knowing all of this means that we can focus our activities on seeking to help, seeking to change the structures in society that have led us to this situation. But it is this feeling connected, being part of something bigger than ourselves. Surely one of the things that makes us most human, that ability and desire to connect, that is what really matters, to be part of community, to enjoy and delight in what we as social beings can experience by interacting with others. That is why I, like others, have expressed my gratitude for all those community groups and organisations that seek to support so many in exactly this human endeavour, connecting, befriending, building social solidarity and community. We have heard about some organisations already this afternoon doing exactly that, offering friendship, the chance for a cuppa over knitting or woodwork or gardening, and I would like to mention just a couple of groups in the north-east that do this incredibly important work. Community Companions co-ordinated by Dundee Volunteer and Voluntary Action supports adults across Dundee who are either experiencing or have the potential to experience social isolation. Community Companions are matched to people taking into account personalities, hobbies and interests, and general living experiences. Befriending might be a shopping trip, a chat in a cafe, or just a walk around the local park. Human contact and connection doing normal everyday things. Further north, the Grampian Regional Equalities Council specifically supports immigrants, including refugees and asylum seekers in Aberdeen and further afield, with language cafes. Learning English is an important part of these cafes. Indeed, being able to communicate with others is fundamental to being able to interact with and take part in society. But these cafes are so much more than just language classes. They are often the key, sometimes the only catalyst in building the relationships with others on a cross-cultural basis that can help prevent social isolation and loneliness. It has been made very clear to us in the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee over the last couple of weeks just how important these connections and relationships are, especially for refugees and asylum seekers. There are so many other groups that I could mention, and so many more beyond that. Each and every single one of those requires resources and facilities to do what they do to support those community connections, those human connections. I welcome the minister's enthusiasm for and commitment to supporting these groups and organisations in the variety of ways that she has already mentioned. Of course, as others have mentioned, many are already struggling, so the minister will be busy, I am sure. But in so many ways, these groups and the excellent work they do are fighting against a wider systemic issue, trying to usher back the tide of the inevitable. The minister, in her opening remarks, talked about the importance of prevention in how we tackle public health issues. I agree. I think we need to look deeper when we consider what are the structural causes of loneliness and social isolation that has such a detrimental effect on so many people's lives. Because loneliness and social isolation are not accidents, they are, I think, the inevitable consequences of the system that we all inhabit, the system that seeks to atomise, to divide, to marginalise, to identify difference and make that a problem. Human connections enjoying each other's company, finding solidarity in shared endeavours, are not easily monetised. They do not lend themselves to commodification or profit. And yet this is what we are told over and over again what matters. Small wonder then that those most at risk of loneliness are often those pushed furthest out of our society. The structural reality of our society means that the things that are valued most highly will be closely linked to the things that also cause loneliness and social isolation. So I do welcome the minister's commitment to focus on prevention and support the things that build social solidarity. But we have to see this as part of that much bigger challenge to create a society where everyone, regardless of background, age, identity or origin, matters. Where everyone has what they need to thrive. And where everyone is valued not because what they as individuals can offer to the economy but because they are human. I now call Bob Doris to be followed by Emma Harper. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I want to speak about how relatively small amounts of funding at the most local of levels can make a massive impact in addressing loneliness and social isolation within society. In doing so, I acknowledge that there may be varied reasons why someone finds themselves feeling isolated or alone. And how is there clearly risk factors which may make it more likely for a person to feel they do not have the relationships. We all require to feel resilient, happy, content and loved. We should remember that loneliness and social isolation can impact on us all. Relationship breakdown, children leaving the family home, bereavement, advancing years, disabilities, lone parents, low income, migrant and marginalised communities. A whole range of vulnerabilities and much much more can lead to someone, anyone, Presiding Officer, feeling alone and isolated. Our approach to tackling such issues must be facilitated by government at all levels. Our approach to tackling loneliness and social isolation should be community-shaped and should be community-led. That is the very nature of how we tackle loneliness and social isolation. I want to give some local examples this afternoon. The first example was in Mary Hill in the work of some local churches. It includes the Macleodic Conception Church, my own local church. Each weekday volunteers offer a warm welcome to a different location each day for anyone, irrespective of their faith. All faiths in none can pop in, have some food, a cuppa and that warm welcome. The Macleodic Conception Church, Mary Hill Ruchhill Church at the Macintosh Halls, the Finlay Church, St Gregory's Church and Acre Tennis Hall have all opened their doors to offer that warm welcome. I very sincere thanks to everyone who makes this possible. Paul Sweeney. I thank the member for giving ways and making a very important point about the role that churches have in providing my sense of community and a focus for communities. This year my concern at the potential closures of churches across Glasgow could potentially affect the capacity to provide such services in the future. Bob Doris. I thank Mr Sweeney for that intervention. I am aware of plans not least of all by the Church of Scotland, but not exclusively from the Church of Scotland in relation to proposals. It is something that I have a degree of concern with Mr Sweeney and something that I am keen to explore further. I have seen first hand the differences such volunteering can make. The same churches together run a Monday morning breakfast club. It is in Gregory's Church Hall and I am an occasional volunteer at that breakfast club. Very occasional but I do go along now and again. I think that I get as much from that volunteering as anyone who actually attends the breakfast club. I want to think that I want to create who coordinates these activities. She recently provided me with a list of comments from those who have attended the breakfast club. I would like to share some of them with the chamber. I am 7-7-11 on my own and it is great to come to meet all these lovely people. The food is good, very welcoming, no judging of people. It is a social thing, we meet people. I warm breakfast and building new friendships. I am a personal favourite, Presiding Officer. Nice sausage rolls. I like that one. Some comments did relate to income and to financial need, but many did not. That is important. That is crucial. Long after we all stopped talking about the cost of living crisis, we must continue to support communities to come together. Loneliness and social isolation will still exist. The funding for those projects has come from the GCVS Glasgow 20 mental health and wellbeing fund. It provided just shy of £10,000. I understand that the initial bid for grant was unsuccessful, but the Scottish Government made more money available because it was so oversubscribed and it got the value of the work that was undertaken through that fund. I want to make the Scottish Parliament aware of a wonderful local organisation called the Milton Rattlers. It was set up in 2019 with over 30 members with ages ranging from 76 to 90 years old. If I remember correctly, the group was established by the now chairperson named Hunter, and some of his friends got their name following a conversation with Lord Porof as Jackie McLaren. The Rattlers is a reference to all the pills the Rattlers take due to the variety of medical conditions to their name, the Milton Rattlers. From within a community flat in Milton and a relaxing informal setting, the Rattlers offer a Monday morning tea and blather, a Wednesday afternoon cup of tea and a hema bingo, and a Friday morning breakfast club. I visited the breakfast club a few months ago and can well see why the Milton Rattlers were awarded the evening times Glasgow 20 Champions award in December last year. The Rattlers operate with limited funding. They got some Covid-19 recovery funds in 2021, and last year they secured £2,250 through the council's area partnership and £750 from Allied Vehicles Charitable Trust. Again, really small amounts of cash making a really significant difference. I mentioned two relatively small projects. I was going to mention the third one, the Good Morning Service, a much larger project offering a friend on a phone across North Glasgow, across the whole city for older people who feel socially isolated. I'll say no more about that just now because I don't want to miss out on other parts of my speech, because I think that I have time, Presiding Officer, important. Let me just give one comment from the Good Morning Service, but a lady Margaret is 82 and one of her clients, when she said of that service, I can share a problem, ask advice and they will help if they can. If I worry about something I don't feel too well, I have someone who will listen and that makes a big difference. I wish it more time to say more about that project, but I could have mentioned many more projects across Mary Helen Springburn, but I picked, well, three now, who secured funds from different funding streams and that's why I picked them, different funding streams. The motion mentions that the very welcome 3.8 million pound social isolation and loneliness fund. Hugely welcome, but I understand 23 times oversubscribed. I found out that our side representations from our organisation, unfortunately, was not successful. We have to be open and honest with this, so that a good organisation will get funds. Those funds are limited, but much excellent work out with that 3.8 million pounds exist, such as the three organisations that I have mentioned. We have a wider social policy responsibility that doesn't just sit within one funding stream. I would like to ask the minister if she will ensure that we can embed strategies to tackle social isolation and loneliness across all policy areas and across all service delivery areas. It needs to be mainstreamed and it needs to be community-led. We need to ensure that small local groups get focused support to flourish from local churches to the mountain rattlers that impact they can make. It needs to be recognised and it needs to be supported. I welcome this debate. I welcome the large funds, but the very small funds at the hardware community sometimes make the biggest difference. I now call Emma Harper to be followed by Jeremy Balfour. Ms Harper. The opportunity to speak in this debate and thank all organisations that have provided briefings and who work each day to address social isolation and loneliness. I too welcome the minister to her role. I am sure that she will be braw. There is an increase in recognition of social isolation and loneliness as a major public health issue, and many have discussed this already across-chamber this afternoon. We know that it can have a significant impact on a person's physical and mental wellbeing. That is why the £3.8 million social isolation and loneliness fund aims to reduce inequality by bringing people from communities across Scotland together. However, as the minister has described, we are in the midst of a cost crisis, a cost of living crisis, made worse by the Tory Government's economic mismanagement and Brexit. I am going to make a further point about that. It is no coincidence that the IMF predicts that the UK is set to be the worst performing economy in the G20. The disastrous UK Government's September mini-budget created unnecessary additional financial hardship for households and businesses all across the country. Brexit is forecast to deal a 4 per cent hit to the UK GDP with UK imports and exports expected to be 15 per cent lower than if the UK had remained in the EU with continued access to the single market and customs union. People across Scotland are paying a steep price for this economic incompetence, the forced austerity and Brexit. The current high level of inflation is at 10.4 per cent and it is hurting the most vulnerable people and heaping more pressure onto our public services. The UK is expected to suffer the biggest fall in living standards since records began in the 50s with real household disposable income expected to fall by 5.7 per cent over 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024. The resolution foundation found that 15 years of stagnated wages have left the UK workers 11,000 pounds worse off per year. You might be asking, what has this got to do with isolation and loneliness? Well, this evidence is clear. The Tory cost of living crisis means that the poorest and most vulnerable in our society are more likely to experience poorer mental and physical wellbeing, lower life satisfaction and feelings of loneliness. Without a doubt, this will have an impact on people's ability to make and maintain connections, to take up opportunities to interact with one another and to stay physically and mentally healthy. Paul O'Kane mentioned the Red Cross research earlier and results of an online opinion poll released in December 2022 for the British Red Cross showed that 81 per cent of Scottish people agreed that the increased cost of living will make more people lonely. 43 per cent said that they would restrict how much they socialise because the cost of living is going up. More than a quarter of adults in Scotland have access to the NHS due to the impact of the cost of living crisis on bringing people together and building connections. Hang on a sec. The cost of living crisis on their mental and physical health according to the new research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Social isolation and loneliness are public health issues that have been exacerbated because of the pandemic and will continue to affect people in an on-going way. Obviously, the cost crisis is paramount that needs to be dealt with. Support for community groups bringing people and communities together to tackle isolation was launched in March and the £3 million social isolation and loneliness fund is part of the recovery of our connections that aims to reduce inequality by bringing people from communities across Scotland together. It will provide vital long-term support for organisations and projects working on the ground to bring people together and build connections in communities throughout the country. There are a number of organisations working across Fries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders that meet those aims. Change mental health, formerly support in mind, they have bases in Stranraer, Dumfries and Castle Douglas and I have visited two of the areas already with former MSP Jim Hulme, who is the changed president. We were able to witness the incredible work that the staff and the volunteers do bringing people together for various activities that tackle isolation. Eildon housing in Hoik, they have a social registered landlord and they help looking at social isolation to do specific work to tackle this issue. Another fantastic organisation is Dumfries and Galloway LGBT Plus on Newell Terrace in the Toon of Dumfries and Stranraer. The team led by Ian Campbell worked together with the LGBT Plus people of all ages to provide support, to bring people together to tackle loneliness but also promote LGBT Plus acceptance and specifically to reduce and tackle stigma across Dumfries and Galloway. It is a rural area and it is a challenge for people at times to address their social needs and their isolation that happens. They have drop-in sessions, they attend the agricultural shows, they deliver training and education and they have a great online presence. I have met the team on a number of occasions and I have heard how many LGBT Plus people, particularly in rural D&G, rarely get the chance to interact with each other due to the rurality and the challenges around acceptance. Their work is vital. I invite the minister to come and meet with the team when her diary allows. In closing, I welcome the work that has been taken forward by the Scottish Government. I applaud the fantastic organisations across Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders to tackle isolation and I welcome a positive outcome for the recovery of our connections, the recovery of our connections plan. Finally, Presiding Officer, we cannot keep mitigating, mitigating, mitigating Tory policies without full fiscal ability. We can do so much better as a normal independent country. Thank you. Thank you, Ms Harper. I now call Jeremy Balfour to be followed by Marri McNeir. Mr Balfour. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. To be human is to need community. To be human is to need to interact with others. We all want to see good communities. We all want to see a positive change in people's life. Actually, most people want to help those around them. We saw that best during the pandemic when there was a mass mobilisation of people who wanted to help in their communities. If we can harness this feeling, this instinct to help those around us, we can see and make real change. The question is how do we promote this? How do we as lawmakers help people in community? And I believe the answer is relative, simple. We need to encourage and support institutions that have acted as community touchpoints for the past 100 years. Golf clubs, rotaries, bowling clubs, synagogue, churches, mosques and many others. Those civic institutions have been places that foster community in a way that we in this chamber could never do by passing any law. People who belong to any of these clubs are significantly less likely to report feeling lonely or socially isolated. If we can support those types of institutions and encourage membership, I believe that we can make real strides towards a more connected and less lonely country. As with most modern problems in life, disabled people are more acutely affected by social isolation and loneliness. This is due to a number of factors, but one invaluable resource that helps combat is day centres. Day centres provide an excellent space for disabled people to receive care, socialisation and develop relationships with their peers. They are not just a luxury, but an essential part of life, both for the attendees but for the carers who support these centres. Unfortunately, there seems to be plans to close a number of these centres due to budget cuts here in this city. A lot have not reopened post-COVID due to, again, lack of funding and a push by the council. I would like to warn in the strongest possible terms against this move. It will not only be catastrophic for the health and wellbeing of disabled people here in Lloviens and across Scotland, but it will work counter to the efforts that are discussed in the chamber today on loneliness and social isolation. Please do not allow disabled people to be left behind once again. I know enable our producing a report tomorrow around loneliness. Let's see what they have to say before we take big decisions by local authorities. Another obstacle facing disabled people in efforts to combat loneliness is that it seems to be becoming increasingly difficult for them to travel. It's understandable and expected for those with a disability to have more difficulty getting out and about. By my favour, it seems to be getting more and more difficult by the day, certainly here in my region of Lloviens. Pro-public transport links in the more rural areas of Lloviens and the lack of suitable taxes mean that going out to socialise is next to impossible unless you have a good friend or family member who can help you out. I'll rewind slightly when you're talking about the day centre issue in Edinburgh, which I'll not jump into my muddy son, Mr Balfour, because I'm not an Edinburgh MSP, but a few years ago in Glasgow the Labour Party sought to and did close a number of disabled and learning disabled day centres within the city. The debate at that time was between day centres specifically for those with disabilities and the mainstreaming of provision. I'm just wondering what the thoughts are on the Edinburgh. I'm genuinely interested to know where that discussion is at. Jeremy Balfour, and I can give you the time back. Thank you. I understand there's a report coming out at the end of this month that will give a greater clarity in regard to that. I personally don't think that it has to be either or, but I do think that we all like coming here for lots of different reasons, but we socialise amongst ourselves. I think that if we take away day centres and other activities like that, you will end up with disabled people being at home, maybe getting the right care, but being very isolated and very lonely. As I was saying, in the light of Edinburgh, when we close off large areas to our cars, we essentially close off to disabled people as there's no space near shops, restaurants for accessible cars to park or taxis to drop off. Even if you can get into a town centre, you have to condemn whether the mess of our roads and pavements are in. As the minister is well aware from mobility tests that is 20 yards for that, but yet often here in Edinburgh there are disabilities to work much further than that to get to the jobs and to get to socialisation areas. I hope that the council will rethink this anti-disabled policy. You almost need to pick off road tyres on your wheelchair to navigate the pavements that are so poorly regularly assembled here in Edinburgh. If you enable to be able to interact, they will enjoy community like other people. We must understand that accessibility means more than just lifts, wide doors and buildings, but it means that they can get around the city with ease and do what the rest of us take for normal. If we want people to connect, we have to ensure that they have access to the infrastructure that we need for community. Finally, Presiding Officer, I want to recognise that we must ensure that people have opportunities to go out and meet with friends. The pandemic gave us Zoom culture, where we seem to default to online meetings and events. We also see this rising in the workplace as well as people working from home. Of course, this has a number of benefits. However, it does drastically decrease the amount of time that people can socialise and develop relationship with their peers. It is therefore important that if organisations have a work-at-home model, they provide time and space for workers to come together and develop those relationships. Presiding Officer, I could go on, but I am pleased that this chamber has discussed an important topic. I would like to place on my record my commitment to work on a cross-party basis to work with the new minister to address those problems for the benefit of everyone here in Scotland. I am pleased to speak in this debate about the very important issue of social isolation and loneliness. In doing so, I will welcome the strategy that has been set out by the Scottish Government and highlight the excellent support that is given by a range of groups in my constituency. This debate is important not just because of the actions within recovering our connection but because of the actions within recovering our connection. It is also important to raise awareness about loneliness and get the message out there that there is support and help available, that it impacts across our communities and that there is no stigma or shame in talking about it. A recent survey by the Mental Health Foundation revealed that more than one third of Scots said they would never admit to feeling lonely and more than half of adults feelings of loneliness. We need to ensure that people know they can talk about this and they won't be left without help. We know that social isolation and loneliness is bad for our physical and mental health. Unfortunately, the public health measures needed in response to Covid-19 made matters even worse. It is no surprise that at this time those aged over 60 saw the biggest increase of loneliness. Those who experienced the highest rates of loneliness were 16 to 24-year-olds, disabled people, those on lower incomes and those with a pre-existing mental health condition. It was a really difficult time for those who had been advised to shield during the pandemic due to their health condition. It meant they didn't meet their neighbours, socialise wider or even see their families. The work done at this time by our councils, health and social care partnerships, the third sector, many charities and our local communities was a lifeline. It is clear to me that this collective endeavour and commitment to each other was one of the few things to come out from the pandemic. We must learn lessons from it and let it shape the way forward. That is why I welcome this strategy because it puts front and centre that dealing with socialisation and loneliness needs a response from everyone if it is to succeed. The Scottish household survey that was published in January 2022 found that 35 per cent of adults reported feeling lonely at least some of the time in the last week and 44 per cent rarely are never met others socially. I know that without the compassion of our local communities in Clifbank and Mogai it would have been even worse. The position is clear. The community groups in my area literally save lives and they are a real lifeline to many. As the MSP for Clifbank and Mogai I cannot thank them enough. To name just a few the Mogai Older People's Welfare the Oculpatrick food parcels the Men's Sheds in both Clifbank and Bearsden and Mogai the Oculpatrick Chatti Cathy what a great name the Golden Friendship Club Clifbank Group Holidays the Big Disability Group Inspire 2 the Damier Barclay Church Community Pantry and Drop-In Café and the Faith Leaf Food Share they are there all the time giving support and powering volunteering helping to overcome anxiety and competence issues providing local employment and being that lifeline Unfortunately just as we were emerging from Covid-19 we have seen the Westminster cost of living crisis take hold the scale of this is illustrated by the IMF predicting the UK is set to be the worst performing economy in the G20 the Tory owned Liz Trust budget created unnecessary additional financial hardship for households and businesses all across the country this incompetence is so bad that the UK is expected to suffer the biggest fallen living standards since record began it is well documented that this will impact a people's ability to make and maintain connections to take up opportunities to interact with one another and stay physically and mentally healthy a recent poll organised by the British Red Cross showed that 81% of Scottish people agreed that the increased cost of living will make more people lonely 43% said that they would restrict how much they socialise because the cost of living is going up and that is why we must continue with progressive policies here in Scotland that support our citizens response to the cost of living crisis Thanks so much for taking the intervention and I hope the member will know and recognise that I very much support a lot of what the member is saying about local community groups organisations and of course in relation to the cost of living crisis but I was wondering if she could just show some support for the local government in Scotland and would you agree that to connect all of that we need to have a really strong well funded local government Absolutely I will deal with that through the new deal for local government to look at that as a local government committee We will definitely ignore the political parties that suggest that we make something of a nothing country Instead we will be there to help families keep afloat and continue with policies like the Scottish child payment three prescriptions more generous childcare no tuition fees free school lunchease a social security system more generous for those need writing the wrong of Westminster to carers and local council tax bills free bus travel scrapping off peak train travel and more help for veterans so let us get behind recovering our connections the impact of Covid-19 and the Westminster cost of living crisis make the challenge ever so harder but with endeavour we have seen from our communities being adopted across the piece being replicated we will get there Thank you Clare Baker to be followed by Stuart McMillan around six minutes I am pleased to make a contribution to this afternoon's debate at an age of social media the process of defining oneself as extrovert or introvert has become a requirement with lots of content which celebrates introverted people or maybe that's just what gets promoted to me however this doesn't recognise the impact of loneliness and social isolation or even the most solitary people the need for social interaction connection with your community and neighbourhood is important for mental wellbeing and community cohesion and our typical idea of a person who experiences loneliness is often challenged by the evidence mental health foundation Scotland identify people most at risk of severe or lasting loneliness this includes people aged 16 to 24 people experiencing life changing periods such as being widowed and people who can be marginalised including those from ethnic minority or LGBTQ plus communities while this evidence was established prior to the pandemic the impact of the pandemic is significant and there is evidence of an increase in anxiety and lasting loneliness in Scotland since 2018 we have had a strategy for tackling loneliness and social isolation but in that time little progress has been made with the pandemic undoubtedly setting back progress in this area the coronavirus crisis there was a lot of talk of building back better and we can point to examples of an increase in community cohesion perhaps an increased awareness of loneliness during the pandemic but this was short lived as many converted back to their life as it was before and a University of Stirling study during the pandemic found that 56% of people said social distancing made them more lonely the British Red Cross Covid impact report found that 41% of UK adults felt lonelier than before the pandemic and 37% were concerned that their loneliness would only get worse the campaign to end loneliness explored the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions on the experiences of loneliness across the UK and found that the pandemic exacerbated loneliness among groups already known to be at risk particularly young people however the organisation did also express hope that the renewed focus on loneliness and response to the pandemic would lead to a structural shift and support available for people experience in social isolation and loneliness and I recognise that so far I've focused on loneliness and Ruth McGurth's comments on the differences between loneliness and social isolation were interesting and I've been interested in the minister's response to that in her closing remarks and the publication of Recovering Our Connections is welcome but there is a delayed implementation plan and it is one that is facing greater challenges than before. The impact of social isolation due to the pandemic, particularly for children and young people whose formative years were impacted and for people whose life changed significantly perhaps due to ill health or bereavement a result of the pandemic now have to be addressed for some groups including young people there's a stigma attached to loneliness which can be a barrier to accessing support it is important that the Government is clear about how it is measuring the impact of policy initiatives and what work it is doing to evaluate the baseline figures the 2020 household survey is the basis for this but it is important to keep data relevant and I do recognise that the plan concludes with the indication that there could be new or revised indicators which could be added because it can be a difficult thing to determine how we're making progress but it is important when we're putting investment in the sector that we're starting to see results and while the social isolation and loneliness fund is welcome although I think the minister said there had been 1,300 applications that is quite a lot of applications for the money that's on the table this fund alone cannot provide or support all the services and support networks which are needed I do welcome that this fund is offering a three-year funding model sustainability of funding for the vaude sector has become even more fragile in recent years prior to being elected I was a policy manager for SCVO campaigning for multi-year funding settlements for the vaude sector and while recognising the innovation and responsiveness that comes from project funding I was also arguing for the importance of core funding which provides stability for an organisation it is disappointing that so little progress has been made after some fall starts we are back with SCVO calling for fair funding for the vaude sector which is long-term sustainable and accessible and while the government have now said that multi-year funding should be the default we do need to see progress and evidence of this so loneliness and social isolation can have a significant impact on people's health not just their mental wellbeing but there's evidence increasingly that it also impacts on physical health according to the national institute on aging the health risks of prolonged isolation are equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day social isolation and loneliness have been even estimated to shorten a person's lifespan by as many as 15 years people who are socially isolated or lonely are more likely to be admitted to nursing homes and the emergency room loneliness can increase the risk of stroke, heart disease, mental health disorders and premature mortality all by more than 25% this is a serious public health message I'll close by highlighting a few organisations working in my region to tackle social isolation and loneliness I recently visited Glenrothes Men's Shed and the Wee Country Men's Sheds they have had a high profile in this debate this afternoon I think it shows how much MSPs value them and while they each raise funds for their shed the uncertainty over the future funds for the central body is disappointing while men's sheds offer skills and practical training they also provide friendship, comradeship support for mental health and purpose in people's lives often at a point of change in their lives when they may be more vulnerable to social isolation and on Friday I visited Cycling Without Age and Fourth Valley Sensory Centre both in Falkirk but they do provide opportunities for activities and groups to tackle social isolation in my region both are addressing social isolation and loneliness by providing opportunities to socialise and participate in society the trishaw rides providing access to the outdoors which can be denied to people due to age and or disability and Fourth Valley Sensory Centre recently worked with King Tuts to make music venues more accessible those initiatives are focused on addressing inequality as well as social isolation and I very much welcome the work that they do across my region Thank you Ms Baker I now call Stuart McMillan who is the final speaker in the open debate Thank you very much As the Scottish Government's motion states and I quote social isolation and loneliness can affect anyone at any age or stage of life it also quotes facing adversity and preventative action is vital to ensure that the negative mental health consequences are addressed and that's why today I'm going to focus my comments on the experience of one of my constituents who is campaigning for change and believes alone His name is Ben Cain a young person from Gurwick in my constituency who during his third year of high school was bereaved after his sibling passed away We talk about bereavement as a majority experience but I'm sure that if everyone in the chamber today was asked to picture the bereaved person who would typically picture someone who is older rarely do we think of children as being bereaved The reasons for this are obvious but according to a recent study of the Centre for Justice and the University of Sarklyde more than half of Scottish children have experienced bereavement of a close family member by the age of eight Being bereaved is difficult at any age but for children and young people who are at a key stage in their development it can be particularly hard to navigate growing up while grieving Ben motivated by his own experiences and with the support of local organisations such as Children and Family Therapies and the Argywin Hospice has now set up a counselling support group in this school for pupils affected by bereavement This is the first group of its kind locally and Ben is campaigning to see this initiative rolled out across Inverclyde and across Scotland as a whole Recently I wrote to the new minister for children and young people about Ben's campaign which has led to him receiving several accolades including the UK Rotary young citizen of the year after he met me to ask me for my support I'll be honest to say that while the response I received heaped lots of praise upon Ben for his commitment to this cause it lacked any detail about what the Scottish Government is doing to support children and young people affected by bereavement I accept that the Scottish Government is considering how best to implement the seven recommendations from the national childhood bereavement project report on growing up grieving which was commissioned by the Scottish Government and published in September 2022 but what Ben is already doing at Clydeview Academy in Gwyrwch and in conjunction with other services can actually help to feed into that work For example, recommendation 4 from the report states that every school in Scotland must have a four point approach to bereavement The report elaborates by saying that and I quote currently the procedures are set at the discretion of each individual school and that means that some pupils are well prepared to respond to the needs of our people experiencing bereavement while others are not creating a disparity in support across the country This is exactly why Ben wants to see the support group he initiated rolled out across the country to provide a safe space for pupils to come together to listen to and support one another and help them on their journey with grief No one should be alone and feel isolated This growing up grieving report talks up the approach of peer-to-peer support saying and I quote people with lived experiences of childhood bereavement told the project stories of how they struggled to find other people their age who could understand what they were going through Will the member give way? Sure I thank the member for giving way that I should put the record that I chair the cross-party group of palliative care in this Parliament One of the things that is involving palliative care is the new palliative care end-of-life strategy to have a bereavement element and that report you suggest Mr McMillan is very powerful but strategies and reports and local authority in schools there should be a correctivity between strategies so would you agree with me that it would be good to have that new fresh national bereavement strategy to include the types of things that you are saying to the Parliament today for the sake of Ben and others like them? Stuart McMillan, I can give you the time back I do agree with Bob Doris on that particular suggestion because I think fundamentally as Ben Cain has put to me certainly on the occasion I met him but certainly I have met him a couple of times so that no matter what aspects are there we need to have that understanding of what young people are going through and certainly we continually in this chamber talk about lived experiences and engaging with younger people so I absolutely agree with your comments Mr Doris The project engaged with groups that operate in a similar way to Ben's and learned that building a shared community they have individually helped to break down the taboo of being a young greaver and stopped others from suffering alone There are testimonies to the power of peer-to-peer support showing that the importance of children and young people being able to navigate their life after bereavement with others on a similar journey As adults we can also influence how children and young people grieve and openly talk about subjects like death The project spoke with adults who shared candidly that they avoided talking about death with their children and young people in their lives to protect them from the harsh realities of a world in which the people they love are not alive anymore That is entirely understandable but although these adults acted with the best of intentions the project heard first hand experiences from children and young people about how this avoidance tactic contributed to their inability to process grief at a later stage in their life It is important that adults do talk to children and young people about death Crucially, we do not soften our language so much that it affects a child's understanding of the reality of death By being honest and open we are helping to reduce the loneliness and isolation that can follow a bereavement Instead, we can help to empower future generations to grieve in a much healthier and understanding way During the minister's opening speech the minister stated that it is all about the communities and how we maintain them Not by standing the positive work that has already been delivered by the Scottish Government I urge the Scottish Government to provide its response to the recommendations of the national childhood bereavement co-ordinator final report Schools offering learning and teaching on bereavement as per the Scottish Government reply is one thing For enough, Ben Cain would not have felt the need to establish his own counselling support group for people affected by bereavement Tackling isolation in the loneliness must also consider Scotland's young people dealing with bereavement Thank you Thank you very much, Mr McMillan We now move to the closing speeches and I call for Paul Sweeney around seven minutes, Mr Sweeney Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer It has been a very enlightening at times moving debate this afternoon about an issue that everyone really in Scotland this year especially lucky will have to contend with at some point or other and I think what's came out is that there's no neat solution to any of this it's a multi-fascist approach it's a systemic approach and it's one that has to be woven through every aspect of public policy and actually how we construct and build the fabric of our communities I think that's very much at the core of what we discussed today so many amazing examples of great work going on but also challenges about what we need to do better about and I think that's been so worthwhile about listening to this afternoon's debate and I think the example just cited by the member for Enver Clyde of Ben Cain 16-year-old who felt the need to step up and build greater capacity where he saw there was a need based on his own tragic experience is particularly inspiring and I think it's something we all have to reflect on we can assume that young people are resilient and can just get on with things but many of us will encounter that problem I was feeling really lonely yesterday because it was the in fact it was Sunday because it was the 10th anniversary of one of my best friends being killed in Afghanistan he died at the age of 25 and going to a funeral when it should have been his wedding and reflecting on 10 years of what he could have been doing with his life was really sad you know you can't help but feel a sense of loneliness and a sort of longing to see someone you really miss I think everyone will probably encounter that whether it's a relative or a close friend so how do you help build resilience there I think a lot of it is just about developing networks, friendships finding the means of doing that and I think that's what lots of members have spoken about today in Sunday to take my mind off it and also to try and raise some funds for a useful cause did the Kilt Walk started it, I kind of consoled into it it ended up doing my own so even though I was with hundreds of other people thousands of other people it was quite lonely to start with seeing lots of people having friendly conversations I was just stomping down with my headphones on but I actually found a friend from primary school who hadn't seen in years and ended up striking up a great conversation so it turned out from being starting as a very lonely experience ending up being a really nice experience with me thinking quite a few people I knew along the way so it just shows you the opportunity to interact it's as simple as that, we don't need to over complicate these things you know what it started is maybe quite a reflective experience ended up being a good laugh in the end so there's no substitute for just having those opportunities and I think that's what lots of members hinted at today and I think the minister made an important point about bringing this close as possible to communities giving communities the capacity to build these networks the minister mentioned and I welcome her to her place incidentally in the front bench and I hope she will do this country great service in her role but I think when we talk about shared ownership I think we mean it quite literally in so many aspects of our public life power and control and agency has been centralised and taken away from communities over the years and it's something we need to have a serious check on many members talked about council funding dependency on that central funding being cut year on year but let's give that power back to communities to decide the destiny and to decide the means in which they should design their local communities to suit their own needs I think that was very much a common theme that came out and this is critical, it's high-stake stuff many members talked about the life limiting impacts of loneliness and social exclusion indeed it was mentioned that mortality in some cases by my friend Scotland that 15 years can be the gap in excess mortality as a result of loneliness and social isolation it's a shocking, I mean it's a life sentence and that's probably the average life sentence for more time in Scotland so we are seeing people losing huge parts of their life as a result of this so it's critical that we address it as a public health issue I actually reflected on a programme I was at an event on Saturday at the National Theatre of Scotland set up an event in Springburn County Kil vitell and the fat on the other programmes it ran a school of rap for 5 elderly women in the north of Glasgow to teach them how to rap they had a screening as a TV show that she had, that she'd told the BBC and I thought it was a bit of a bit of a gnaff when it first went in I actually turned it to her it was really good I'm happy to give away Dysgolol. Rydw i'n gweld i'n gweld i chi'n golygu i chi gynllengin o gael iawn? Rydw i'n gweld i chi'n gweld i chi'n gweld i chi'n gweld i chi gael iawn ar hyn o roi'n gwybod i chi fynd i chi'n gweld i chi gael iawn. Mae——aidd pwyl gwaith, maen nhw? Mae hyn yn fawr, wrthnydd i, yn gweld i chi gael iawn. Ond, rwy'n fawr arno. Fi'n gweld i chi rôl ychydig i fy nedu. applied to me. The one thing that really struck me now actually was Troo me was to found something in my eye at that point was just theStart the women talking about the challenges they had faced in their lives. How someone you can pass on the street with a chat at the coffee morning or something like that, and never think twice about the profoundness of their life experience. Just listening to more about what they had to say about the amazing things they've had to overcome. Things that would have broken other people and these really resilient working class women in North לחlasgow have managed to yn osbwysig oswtfaeth. Fydau nid i'w ddechrau'n golygu o'i gwaith ymddangodol ag yr arfn! Dwi'n ei ddim yn ymwneud yn ddain. Oni fydd gwrs o'u amser i d rappu, dwi'n ddim i ddim yn ymwneud oswtfaeth o'u amser i ddim yn ymwneud, dwi'n ddim yn gwybod bwysig mwy o'r rhai trefleddau, dweud yn gweithwyr y blaenau ymrwyntion yn gyfatigio, dweud yn gweithwyr yefnol i ddechrau'n gwybod bwysig o'u rhai trefleddau. rydyn ni'n feddwl y gallwn sgwrch a chymigau marketingwyd ac mae'n cais ei ddigit ar y cwm checks cyomethau choses. Pmyg leapidau oneth ei f Orderie i'w ddefnyddio'i hynny i ei ddefnyddio'u pryd Tails i'r dim gan gyflwyn Councillors, ond apod bellwch, ac mae heddiw i ddif 거기ol gwag beat future o唯id y properlydau oherwydd rydym ni yn llog beth oedd coulddw Flynedfyn gael lleol. St Zhong, ten y dyth間idraeth, ni'n anythingen ac mae hyn a bod yn ein pryd golfau erwar nhw'n methu yn briwyddiad. Mae oedd gennymu gweithio i gymhiliadau ond ond i'mach iddo i mwy o'n ffocl. Felly, oes gyda'r gwleiliadau ar hyn i'ch gilydd rai gwybod i fynd i gweithio i ymgyrch i gael darllen, a chyfnodd i'r gwahs wheniol, highfodd i'ch gwybod i'ch eu cynhyrchu a gwybod i'ch gwybod i'ch gwybod i'ch gwybod i'ch gwybod i gwybod i'ch gwybod i'ch gwybod i— f toast a wedi gweldwch incredibleid ein drwch yn iawn, ac yn adegwydwch cywmeth dyma direingiadg ti, ond Dawn 갑b gwac yn y awrledig a'i ts19 yn ôl iawn, nid rydaw cael eu guapt bathrooms fel mae ar declen fyrdd iawn han二 dim,yn o gwmpado gynnig kwaellen a hawddwch yn y awrledigressing sydd eu rhaid o yr harn dim cydwdd, roi yn hyu-he berthyn ni'n gael cynnyddio eincrwyl landsca ac mae yn griningl ni'n awrled Навllrine sydd eYespeithio sydd hefyd yn cael ei bod, neu'n edrych yn bai chi am lŷm cyff будуig cost avoidance. If we provide these services, it saves us all money in the long run, whether it's in the national health service or elsewhere, where people present often in far worse circumstances, yet too often our decision making is driven by reactionary accountancy at the end of a financial year, where these sorts of activities are seen as a bit naff, soft, can be expended to fund more critical things as is seen in services. The irony is, of course, we just load more and more pressure on acute services. A good example would be, as the member from Glasgow, Mary Helen Springburn mentioned, palliative care. We cannot fully staff palliative care beds in Glasgow right now, yet this is critical at the end of life. We need to provide people with an opportunity to die in dignity but also to support their relatives in that critical moment at the end of life. Something they just don't want to talk about, but it's something that's absolutely crucial. We need to provide people with the means to get themselves back on their feet after giving their all to care for their relatives. We're too often just assuming people break, pull themselves together and go on with it, and we need to do so much more to support them. I could go on for hours recapping on everybody's comments today, and I haven't mentioned any key points, so I do apologise, but it's been a really moving and informative debate. I thank everyone who's contributed, and I'm happy to say that Labour will support both the Government of Motion and the amendment from the other party. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Like I said, it's been a helpful debate today, and it really has presented the opportunity to discuss the impact that this has had on different groups across our whole society. It's been really powerful to hear the different messages coming from different colleagues. Specifically, for many of us, it is the impact on young people during the pandemic and elderly citizens. The statistics that we've heard today shock you to the core. The idea that loneliness can increase your risk of death by 26 per cent is a massive thing. We should all take into account what it is—I welcome the minister saying this—a public health crisis around loneliness, and something that we need to work to address. Here in Edinburgh, when I was first elected, I was quite shocked to learn that Edinburgh's class is one of the loneliest places in the UK to live. Changing Britain research found that 33 per cent of my fellow Edinburgh citizens don't feel they're involved in our community and don't feel part of it. Interestingly, here in the Holyrood community, people who look at us as we come into this building, 87 per cent of people say that they do not feel part of our community and are socially isolated. Around this building, we've got a problem, and it's something that I think and have been trying to work to address since I was elected. There are so many good examples, and we've heard each member highlight their local charities and organisations who are trying to turn this around. I think that the minister will have a lot of visits by the sounds of things coming out of this, but two specific organisations that I went to highlight were Vintage Vibes, which provide a service, and they got me involved in writing Christmas cards. I was quite shocked to think that, living in Scotland today, some people will not receive any Christmas cards whatsoever, so they try to correct that by asking, otherwise, strangers to write to individuals. Last year, after the pandemic, they also managed to start doing a Christmas dinner event as well to bring people together. There's lots of good work going on, but often that comes down to where those are going to be hosted and how they're going to be taken forward. The Eric Liddle Centre in south of the city is a real community hub, and that's one of the things we have heard in this debate, is how do we take the capacity forward. They have over 500 unpaid carers supported there. 2,000 people are using that community hub each month. 117 volunteers are helping to deliver these services. They are a wonderful community facility, but we need more of that and we need more capacity being built. That brings me to one of my pet projects, which members who have ever served with me on any of the committees will know I never stopped pushing, and that is the school estate. For some reason, we still see a situation when the school bell goes, and that's it. For many groups who want to move into this space to really help to support people, we need to look at specifically how our school estate can be utilised. In many rural communities, that might be the only potential facility that could be used. As we see strategies developed and funding coming forward for that, that's something that I hope ministers will specifically look at, because we have heard complaints around council cuts during this debate. One of the key things sometimes is that it is the extra time for janitors to be able to keep schools open, which are often the first cuts that are made. That's something that we need to consider as well. Jeremy Balfour did outline very specifically about fostering community, and I think not only to day centres but also church halls are key to that. Christine Grahame mentioned feeling disconnected. I've met many constituents since the pandemic who have told me just a similar story, and how sometimes they have not gone back to their lives, even though they feel confident enough to do that, and who in the past would have attended libraries and different groups being held who haven't reconnected with their old lives. I think that there was something in that we need to look at. There's clearly something very good going on in the north of Glasgow with all the rattling and wrapping that seems to be going on in that part of the city. I think that there's something in where we need to develop for older citizens an opportunity to reconnect with the groups that they've maybe stopped attending or don't necessarily have reconnected to their old lives. Across society, there's many other areas that I think we need to focus on. It was mentioned college and university support workers being one of key groups. I've always said to the Scottish Government and wanted to see the Scottish Government press ahead with GP link workers, and I really welcome the recruitment that has gone on around that. I've met many of them here in the capital, in the most deprived communities here in Edinburgh, but one of the things that struck me is the work that they've had to undertake is to build capacity again. So they've had to go out and establish walking groups, they've had to start book clubs, they've had to look at gardening and growing clubs and groups, and that sometimes takes away from a lot of their work. Now, I think, again, where they do that, how they have funding for that is something at this debate needs to also really consider as well, because small grants are often key to achieving that. In 2018, ahead of the Government strategy, Scottish Conservatives published our strategy to help tackle loneliness, and I congratulate Annie Wells for her consistent work on this and campaigning and publication of that loneliness action plan, but it's clear that small resource, small grants is still a problem and something that we need to see addressed, and I know that Christine Grahame and Bob Dorris touched upon that. I raised the issue with the minister with regard to the £10 million commitment that the Scottish Government has. I hope that it's not gone down to £6 million, and I hope that, out of this debate, the Government will take that away and look again, because I think for the third sector and local organisations, I know anyway, haven't even applied or looked to this £3.8 million. So, whether or not coming out of this debate, we can generally look at small grants, which can be part of this. I also think that the UK Government have a role to play in this, with UK levelling up funding potentially being part of this discussion as well. However, let's try to take forward that funding opportunity, because I think that it's really important, especially when you look at pressures on delivering many of these local services as well. Is there any time to... Is there a little bit of time, Mr... Bob Dorris? Just very briefly, you mentioned small grants and funding opportunities. In this chamber, during other debates we've spoken about social prescribing, and I'm just wondering if there's an opportunity for those boarding clubs and those other clubs out there that link workers and GPs could be using small grants that they have to sidepost towards some of those organisations within all our communities that do such a good job. I absolutely agree, and I think one of the key aspects of this is actually, although we don't need to look towards this, is the preventative spend part of this for our health service as well. For GPs who often will tell me that they often see many people coming consistently about loneliness issues, that if there's an opportunity to fund services and get people reconnected again, it makes a huge difference for our public services as well to make sure that people actually are fulfilling their lives. As Stuart McMillan made, I think the most important speech today for me, and I think that that is one of the aspects of what I hope the minister will meet with others who have been working on this, because bereavement counselling and support groups are invaluable. I congratulate Ben on the work and campaigning that he's done. I've long advocated bereavement being included in the school curriculum, but for support groups to be established in schools is an easy win, and something which I think when you look at the work going on in schools, I hope that some in the Scottish Government across portfolio, and I'm sure that some in the minister will find she is working on a lot. There's a real opportunity to make a difference here, and I hope that's taken forward. There's also an opportunity for young carers who have similar asks and support needs, and some good work has gone on that recently, but I hope that's something we take forward. Social media was mentioned, I think, by the minister at the very beginning, and it's something I've long been concerned around. I organised a summit with Twitter and Facebook when I was first elected. The conclusion that we drew was that young people need to switch off social media and get away from it. Many politicians would probably agree as well. One of the key messages that we have to do is look at where people really are investing too much of their lives in social media and get back to just resilience building, which sadly is not this generation of today, something that we have seen. I also think in terms of older citizens. One of the biggest mistakes that I think was made was around RVS and changes around meals on wheels, from a daily hot meal service to once a week of frozen meals being delivered. It wasn't often the frozen meals that people wanted. It was that personal connection with another human coming into their home once a day. I hope that's maybe something we could look at again. That was expensive to deliver, but it's important that we do. Finally, to conclude, I think that there's a lot of good opportunities coming out of this debate. We'll be supporting all the amendments today, and I hope that this is the start of maybe a conversation of how we really do tackle loneliness across our country. Thank you very much, Mr Briggs. I now call Emma Roddick to wind up the debate, Minister, around 10 minutes please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. First of all, can I express my thanks as well to everyone who has attended the debate today for their insightful and interesting contributions? I think that we've struck a good balance between the challenging issues that we're here to discuss and also sharing good news and best practice. I suspect that some organisations mentioned today might be looking at the official report for some help with their future funding applications. As two colleagues wondered aloud in their contributions, I can confirm that I am indeed being kept very busy, but they'll also be aware that I'm no stranger to travelling, so I'll be delighted to see first-hand the difference that our support is making at a local level, whether that's in Aberdeen, Dumfries, vintage vibes or Glasgow, especially if I can get one of those sausage rolls. It is clear that everyone in this chamber is familiar with social isolation or loneliness, whether that be through personal experience or because it has touched the lives of family, neighbours or constituents. Social isolation and loneliness are not new problems, but they are problems that can be difficult to own up to and difficult to overcome. Many of today's contributions mentioned excellent examples of work going on and the length and breadth of Scotland. I've enjoyed hearing about the net and matter in Paul O'Kane's region and how much the informal chats that this facilitated really meant to the people who make use of the service. I appreciated Stuart McMillan's contribution backed by Miles Briggs on bereaved children and young people. While this is a topic that the Minister for Children and Young People is leading on, I think he'll be aware what a personal matter this is to me, growing up grieving myself after losing my dad and mama ages four and twenty-three, so he won't be surprised that I am aware of the issues he raises and very glad to hear of the work that is being done in Inverclyde. I know what an isolating experience being bereaved as a child can be and I would love to hear more about it from him or perhaps Ben at a later time. I was also glad to hear Emma Harper talk about the work of Change Mental Health, an organisation that I'm very familiar with. Loneliness and social isolation are so tied in with mental health and wellbeing and I think we've seen that come through quite clearly in the debate today. Miles Briggs was right to talk about social media and I do agree that while digital exclusion is something that we need to tackle and overcome, some people maybe go too far the other way and spend a lot of time on social media which just reinforces that feeling of loneliness. I want to pick up on comments from Bob Dorris and others who rightly pointed out that funding at a very local level is what we need here if it's going to be effective in communities and I can tell them that we are prioritising community organisations so that the majority of the social isolation and loneliness fund will be paid to smaller community organisations working at a local level. Being a Highlands and Islands MSP, I recognise the difficulties pointed out by Paul O'Kane and Emma Harper and those smaller community organisations may of course include local men's sheds like the ones that Christine Graham rightly lauded earlier. I absolutely value the work that befrenders like those Jackie Dunbar mentioned at Aberdeen linking lives and other organisations do in communities and I know what a difference a friendly chat can make. I was listening to her contribution and it just made me remember how chatty some patients were during my time at the ambulance service and like the experience of third sector volunteers and workers described by Annie Wells it was it was very obvious that I was the only conversation they'd had for days and possibly weeks and I'd asked if they were able to get out to the roadside to the ambulance and they'd gush this long response and tell me all about the birds in the garden and what had been on the radio that morning and they were just desperate to chat but whether they would have called a befrenders service if I've given them the number is a different story I think maybe they feel the shame that Maggie Chapman talked about or they don't want their family to worry or they maybe don't even want to admit to themselves that they are lonely so it's so important that we continue to talk about social isolation and loneliness to tackle stigma and enable people to open up to one another and reach out for help when they need it. The application process for our new three-year social isolation and loneliness fund closed at the end of last week and the applications are currently being assessed. Funding for successful projects will begin later this summer and I'm very much looking forward to seeing that work going forward in tandem with our new delivery plan and the impact that this will create. Before I finish I do want to talk for a minute about poverty because Ruth Maguire was right to focus on the stress of poverty and the lack of opportunity for people who are spending so much of their time just trying to navigate impossible personal budgeting. Carol Mocken talked about deprivation being missing from the motion today. All I can say is I'm sorry she didn't write the Labour amendment because I would have been very happy to accept that change and I hope she knows that it's missing from a motion but it's not missing from our action. We know that poverty is a key driver of poor mental health and that those already struggling with poor mental health and money worries are likely to be amongst the hardest hit by the current cost of living crisis. That is linked to social isolation. As I mentioned earlier people are forced to choose between social activities and paying their bills. Well that's not really a choice at all and there's a real danger that we will see the problems associated with isolation and loneliness increasing further as a result. Tackling poverty and protecting people from harm is one of three critical and interdependent missions for this Government alongside our focus on the economy and strengthening public services. We recognise the pressure on household budgets which is why last year and this we have allocated almost £3 billion to support policies which tackle poverty and protect people as far as possible during the on-going cost of living crisis. As well as the game-changing Scottish child payment we support families in a variety of ways including free childcare, free bus travel for under 22s, offering free school meals to all pupils and primaries one to five and in special schools and we have tripled our fuel and security fund to £30 million in the year ahead. We recognise the incredible contribution that Scotland's unpaid carers make to our communities as well as the pressures that many carers are under. Our national carers strategy sets out a cross-government approach to carers issues including social isolation and loneliness. There is a whole chapter dedicated to carers social and financial inclusion, encompassing social security, financial support services, employment and actions to help mitigate the impact of the cost of living crisis. We will continue to use all the powers and resources available to us to provide immediate support to families and tackle the underlying causes of poverty. I thank the minister for giving me a very important point about poverty and social exclusion isolation. Does she agree with me that the community housing association movement in particular in Scotland shows great strength at building community wealth, holding assets, locally giving local control and creating that rich tapestry of activity that can engage the community in an otherwise barren landscape? Absolutely. I was just about to mention Emma Harper who talked about the work that is going on in her region with housing associations and how they are taking on that extra role and responsibility in building communities as well as homes. Emma Harper, Christine Grahame, Ruth Maguire and others were right to point out that it is only with the full economic and fiscal powers of an independent nation that ministers can use all the levers that other Governments have to tackle inequalities. We are giving careful consideration to what further measures we can introduce to reduce poverty as far as possible within our powers, and the First Minister is convening an anti-poverty summit tomorrow, which will help to guide future action. Last month, I contributed to the debate on a wellbeing economy, reminding colleagues that a successful country means so much more than having high GDP. A wellbeing economy means delivering conditions for people to thrive and delivering fairly so that everyone benefits. Personal wellbeing, including indicators around loneliness and social support, is a key part of that. Another important consideration for a wellbeing economy is that of place. There is also a noticeable effect of place on experiences of social isolation and loneliness. The extent to which people interact is heavily determined by their lived environment. Do we all live in neighbourhoods where it is easy to bump into folk for a chat? No. The results of the most recent Scottish household survey were published last week, and some of them clearly indicate room for improvement. For example, only 62 per cent of people agree that there are places to socialise and meet new people in their neighbourhood. We have to do what we can to improve that situation. However, 88 per cent agreed that people in their neighbourhood are kind to each other, and 89 per cent agreed that if they were alone and needed help, they could rely on someone to help them. As Marie McNair pointed out, we saw a glimpse of that community spirit in action throughout the pandemic. If we are to really tackle social isolation and loneliness, we need to retain that now and in the future. Only by everyone taking a share of the responsibility, individuals, communities, public and private sectors, local and national government, will we really be able to make an impact and create lasting change for the people of Scotland. I am committed to playing my part in taking forward this important work and I am heartened to see that others across the chamber feel the same way. Thank you.