 Silow Green The first item of business this afternoon is portfolio questions. The first portfolio is well-being, economy, fair work and energy. Any member wishing to ask a supplementary question, you should press the request of speaker buttons. I can advise the Chamber that we are pressed for time across the afternoon. The usual plea for brevity and questions and responses has an extra significance to i gael eu pethu chi i gyfnodd. Mae gael gwahanol o'r ysgolwladau ynghylch dawnos o popeth gwirioneddol yn ymgylchedd gyda'r cyffredinol sydd yn fwyaf gwaith neu leolio o'i cystafol i gyfnodd o ddagiau nawr? Scotland ysgolwladau ffawr yn mynd i ddechrau gylau mewn ymgylchedd ar 3.1 per cent ar y maes 23 fydan yn yr ysgolwladau. Fy hwnnw i tanfod, hynny dyw ysgolwladau, across all these islands and analysis suggests that most people are now inactive because the long-term sickness is already out of the labour market for another reason. Nonetheless, economic assistding due to ill health is key for the Scottish Government. Our national strategy for economic transformation makes a commitment to address Scotland's labour market challenges in activity to leaders that are todos seers fighting. A recent report from the Resolution Foundation said that a greater proportion of Scottish economiolaidd i gwaith rhywbethol aelodol i gael ei prydau ei fod yw ymdd거든요 a'i gael ei rwyfyr Corell. Pwyllteibyr yng nghyd yn gweithio gyda'r cymorth iawn ach Silk-Crime duellynol gyda'r cyfrifau sydd gennym cyfnodau amgweld a chyreadio, nus teimlo, gyda'r ar deilwyr gyffredinol a ad机uaidd. Fy fyddech chi'n cerdd i gyda'i cyfrifau cyfrifau cymorth iawn, Sut wrth dyfodol yn y乜 i ddiddordeb arwyaf? Felly, mae'n ddechrau arddangos drurdemaeth arno ar y wdd trwy hon, oherwydd rwy oedd y maen nhw ymddiadau yn ei pob i'wch yn ei ddefnyddion. Mae'n ddigonol yn dweud ei ddigonol i'r bobl yn y ddau, roedd ni'n credu i'r ddigonol i ei ddigonol i gael gyda chi ar y ngeithas ar gyfer y ddau. I should point out that Salis and working health services Scotland provide return to work in occupational health services for people who have health conditions or injuries that are impacting on their work, including long Covid, to help them to stay within work. I would hope that all employers, private sector or public sector, are taking advantage of those services to help their employees. However, the members have asked me to look into a specific issue, which I would be willing to do, because I am interested in the point that she makes, and I will certainly do that. Thank you, Presiding Officer. When the recovery committee took some evidence on long Covid from long Covid sufferers, one of the issues that they identified with the difficulty they have in getting back into the workplace because of the time it is taking to get a diagnosis and then a treatment path, and they tied that to the absence of long Covid clinics in Scotland. The First Minister, when he was health secretary, said that he was open to the notion of long Covid clinics here. Can the minister give us any indication if there is going to be any progress from the Government on seeing those vital clinics introduced? Again, the member raises an important issue, and he may wish to ask health ministers about progress in terms of the clinics themselves. Of course, it is up to local health boards to determine how to deliver those services in their localities. As he will be aware, the Scottish Government made available around £10 million for long Covid-related issues, so there is some resource dedicated to that. The member raises a powerful point, and I urge him to raise it with health ministers in terms of the progress with specific long Covid clinics, but it is an important issue. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what impact poor infrastructure has on the ability of Scottish businesses to succeed. Continuing to deliver high-quality public infrastructure is a priority for the Scottish Government, which is why the policy prospectus committed to targeting our capital spend on achieving net zero and maintaining high-quality public infrastructure and services across the country. Our capital budget for 2023-24 is just over £6 billion. The UK Government's planned real-term cuts in our capital funding over the next five years will significantly impact on our capital plans. However, we will work and do what we can to maximise the funding that is available to support employment in Scottish businesses and the economy through Scotland's infrastructure investments. Thank you for that answer. A new poll has revealed that 9 out of 10 people want a fuller partial upgrade of A75 and A77, with 80 per cent of those sighting safety fears as their major concern. Nearly half insist that the lack of investment is not only putting off tourists visiting but people moving to the south-west of Scotland. That comes on the back of an economic investment assessment that highlighted £5 billion worth of positive benefit to the economy if a proper transport infrastructure was in place. Does the SNP accept that the rural businesses and rural communities are being disproportionately let down through the dire management of Scottish infrastructure? The member raises the importance of the A75, which I hope is recognised across the chamber and certainly by the Scottish Government. A75 is not only important to Scotland's economy but also provides a critical link between Northern Ireland and the wider markets in the rest of the UK and Europe by connecting the ports to the wider trunk road network. Of course, the member is aware that he faces the same challenges if heaven forbid his party was ever to be on the benches of the financial storms that the Scottish Government and its budgets have had to cope with over the last decade or so. Ranging from the banking crisis, the Tory party's austerity agenda to the impact of the pandemic and Brexit, the cost of living, the cost of business crisis, the war in Ukraine and so on. Of course, the impact on infrastructure projects and the speed at which they can be delivered and also the budgets that can be made available for these very expensive infrastructure projects. A little bit of realism would benefit the member who is approaching those subjects. However, the bottom line is that we are agreeing that the A75 requires work and is a very important trunk road. I welcome the new tourism minister to his place, but infrastructure in the context of tight labour markets has consequences. I speak to businesses who can identify potential workers, but they cannot travel to where they live to where they need to work. Has the Scottish Government undertaken a critical analysis of key missing transport links in infrastructure that are inhibiting the current labour markets? Of course, the Scottish Government has transport plans and policies to take into account the need for people to travel to work and the importance of routes around Scotland to allow that to happen. It is an important point that the member raises, because labour shortages just now and skill shortages are very important. They are undermining some of our sectors and the economy who are actually getting demand for their products and services, but they cannot meet that demand because they cannot find the labour or the appropriate skills. In some ways, that is a sign of success in some sectors, because they are doing so well, but to capitalise on that success, we need to make sure that people are available for those particular industries and sectors. It is an important point that has to be taken into account by the Scottish Government in terms of transport plans and wider economic policies. Once again, Brexit is the issue that is most often cited to myself in terms of one of the key causes of why many sectors are facing labour shortages and the hurdles that people overseas have to jump over to come and work in Scotland even though they have an employer willing to employ them. That is a range of issues that have to be addressed there. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government about levelling up funding for Scotland's island. The Scottish Government engages with the UK Government on a regular basis on the implications of its levelling up policy for Scotland, especially with regard to its impact on devolution. However, the levelling up fund is a UK Government scheme that circumvents the Scottish Government, therefore Scottish ministers have no say in how it is allocated or what projects are supported. Shetland is the only island to have received an award thus far in the Highlands and Islands, demonstrating how poorly this fund has provided support for Scotland's islands, rural and remote places. I thank you for that answer. I think that the people of Fair Isle, for whom levelling up support has been allocated for a new ferry, would perhaps disagree with what the minister has just said. They are very much looking forward to having their inter-island ageing ferry replaced. Short tunnels to the North Isles could be a better long-term solution, so I wonder if the minister would seek a meeting with his relevant UK counterpart to discuss levelling up funding with the view for short tunnels between Shetland's islands communities. The member will be aware where my colleague Neil Gray will be intending to have no doubt much correspondence and meetings with the UK Government over the future of the levelling up funds. I would just pick up on one point that the member made. My comments were not whatsoever in relation to the down-claim merits of the Fair Isle awards. I am simply making a point that, out of all the islands and islands of a £4.8 billion project and the most recent round of funding, that was the only award. My constituency does not deserve any levelling up funding, even though, if you look at the economic social stats, it should qualify for that kind of funding, and many parts of the Highlands would have done so under the European funding, which the levelling up funding was partly to replicate. However, the Highlands and Islands were deemed low priority under the UK Government's criteria, whereas we were in Europe, where we were deemed high priority. However, the final point that I just made to the member is that this is a fund that is largely delivered, if not wholly, through local government in Scotland, and she may wish to speak to our local authority about their discussions with the UK Government over the future rounds of the levelling up fund. However, I will certainly pass on her point to my colleague Neil Gray to ensure that that is incorporated. Despite previously benefiting enormously from EU funding, does the minister share my view that the Western Isles received nothing in either round of the levelling up fund? My view is that the apparent determination of the UK Government to ignore the devolution settlement is unhelpful, and that structural funds should be devolved to the Scottish Government as a priority. Again, the member makes a good point. Originally, the Scottish Government were led to believe that there would be a consequential of £400 million for the Scottish Government to allocate in tandem with Scottish priorities. At the last moment, the UK Government changed their mind and decided to allocate the whole of the fund across the UK, according to their own criteria, with the Scottish Government, or devolved administrations, having no meaningful say in the process whatsoever. The idea that the Western Isles should not qualify for this funding over £4.8 billion worth of funding— £4.8 billion worth of funding. When I expect later today that the chamber will be debating the fragility of the Western Isles economy, that fragility is recognised by the Scottish Government, it was recognised by the European Union, but it has not been recognised by the UK Government. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its vision for solar energy. The Scottish Government published a draft vision for the future of solar energy in Scotland as part of our draft energy strategy and just transition plan. The consultation on this plan has now closed and we are reviewing the many responses and evidence received and we expect to publish the final solar vision by the end of 2023. I thank the minister for her answer. The minister will be aware of the repeated calls that have been made for the setting of a stretching but achievable target for solar power. Of course, that is seen as a sine qua non to unlocking the huge potential of solar power in Scotland to secure the just transition that we all wish to see. I ask the minister if she is sympathetic to those calls for the setting of a stretching but achievable target. I thank Annabelle Ewing for that question. I absolutely hear those calls. Solar, as I said, was a key part of the energy strategy and just transition draft plan. Through this consultation, we invite stakeholders to provide their views on setting a solar deployment ambition and to submit evidence to support this. As I said, the consultation is now closed and we are reviewing the responses. We are going to provide an updated position on that by the end of 2023 on where we see that ambition and the associated targets will be set out. To date, there are 400 megawatts being generated through solar PV systems with 375 megawatts in the pipeline, but I agree that we can do much more. We share the minister's ambition for solar, but it is important that our energy mix and targets are based on evidence and data. At what temperature does the Government's modelling show a reduction in solar panel output begin? As temperatures increase as a result of climate change, what source will provide continuous constant power to competency? As Liam Kerr will know, an energy mix is really, really important. That is why we have met it so much in Scotland. Wind and solar are actually compatible. When the wind is blowing, it tends to be that the sun is not shining. We will know that from living in the north-east in particular. You will see some developments actually happening. For example, I was speaking to the Scottish Power, who own Whitely. They are combining solar panels with their wind farm capabilities as well, because in recognition of that fact, so he is right. We need to look at energy mix in the round, but I think that wind and solar are absolutely eminently compatible. Given the huge opportunities that there are for solar in both our urban and rural communities, will the minister consider looking at at least a four gigawatt target given the evidence that we got at the cross-party group on energy efficiency and renewables last night, which is really positive? We need that support for existing in new homes, buildings and solar farms, given the biodiversity and rural impacts that they could have across the country. I absolutely recognise the level of ambition that there is in the solar sector. Solar Energy Scotland has requested that the Scottish Government set a target of four gigawatts, with an upper ambition of six gigawatts. Of course, we are absolutely looking at that, but Scottish Renewables has also called for a target of one gigabot in public sector buildings. We have got the potential, particularly when we look at our public buildings, to be put in solar and a lot of them. A lot of local authorities are making that decision right now. My own local authority in Aberdeenshire is providing solar panels for those who live in the local authority houses. There is a potential working in partnership across local Government and Scottish Government, with our partners in the sector. To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to tourism and other businesses within island communities to mitigate the impact of any connectivity issues affecting them. We understand the critical interdependence between ferries, tourism sector and businesses across our islands. Any scheme for additional support along the lines suggested by the member for businesses, of course, needs to be carefully considered, and we require stark choices to be made about funding priorities set against efforts to provide resilience in the network. However, the Scottish Government has already given a commitment to look into this further. The Scottish Government has had plenty of time to look into this because the very fiasco that our islands face now is not a recent event. It has been happening for some years already. It is hotels, restaurants, shops, cafes, caravan sites and psycho-hio businesses. You name it, even our amazing breweries. They are all suffering. They are losing money and they are losing customers right now. I would like to ask the minister what analysis the Scottish Government has already done on the economic cost that this ferry crisis is costing our island communities, and why will it commit to the immediate launch of a compensation fund so that businesses can get back on their feet right now? Of course, Parliament will have an opportunity to debate this later today, and we do not underestimate, in any shape or form, the impact of the ferry disruptions on the economies of our islands, particularly, as the member says, in terms of tourism and local businesses. That is why the focus up to now has been on ensuring that we can build a resilient ferries network to ensure that we can get to the root of the issue facing islands and sort it. However, as I also said, the Government is currently exploring other options to see if we can support where appropriate. The First Minister, of course, commented on that last week in the chamber. In the meantime, there are many other ways in which the Scottish Government is supporting the islands. 26 million pounds sport the national islands plan, including £4.1 million this year. Rural rates relief, £50 million through the islands growth deals, our rural delivery plan that we are committed to, and also through R100, we install 60 new subsea fibre cables leading to 15 islands, which is also crucial for tourism businesses and other businesses. We are doing a lot to help the islands economies, but we recognise, of course, that there are particular pressures just now. To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring that rural communities, including Dumfries and Galloway, benefit from current and future renewable energy projects. Our community benefits are a well-established integral part of renewable energy developments in Scotland, enabling all communities to benefit from our vast natural energy resources. CARES, our community and renewable energy scheme, provides grants and loans that help communities to benefit from the transition to net zero. CARES also provides impartial support and advice about community benefits and shared ownership schemes. We have commissioned independent research that will help us to ensure that our policies, advice and funding continue to deliver benefits to communities across Scotland, and that research is due to report this summer. Thank the minister for that response. Many areas across Scotland benefit from renewable energy projects, and some of those projects can lead to regeneration of derelict areas, as well as bringing training opportunities and highly skilled, highly paid jobs to the area for local people. There is a potential for an offshore development near Loose Bay, called SW1, in the saw with earth. However, one of the challenges is attracting investment in the project. It is engaging people regarding the potential benefits that could come to Strenard and Wigtonshire. Can the minister indicate whether the Scottish Government is doing any work to inform communities about how they could benefit from such energy projects? I thank Emma Harper for that question. The Scottish Government works closely with partners, including local energy Scotland, to increase communities' awareness and understanding of the opportunities that are presented by renewable energy projects, including the potential for shared ownership and community benefits. Our long-standing community and renewable energy scheme provides impartial support, advice and funding to communities to make the most of the opportunities, and to realise some of the ambition that the communities might have themselves. Our good practice principles clearly set out the need for developers to engage with local communities early and extensively on renewable energy proposals. I have been having really positive conversations with various developers on how they can improve their engagement and to be inventive on the type of community benefits that they offer, which will have a real positive impact on people's lives. Emma Harper will know that the increasing gallery to date has benefited from around £4.6 million in community benefits. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding whether it will provide an update on the uptake in the Western Isles of R100 Scottish broadband voucher scheme vouchers worth up to £5,000 for properties for which there is no roll-out of superfast broadband plan. The R100 plan involves rolling out superfast broadband to as many properties in the Western Isles as possible. Currently, superfast broadband coverage on the Western Isles now stands 80.5 per cent up from just 1.3 per cent in 2014. This is in large part due to public funded investment through the digital Scotland superfast broadband programme. The R100 Scottish broadband voucher scheme is demand led and as yet no vouchers have been claimed in the Western Isles. However, the R100 team is in advanced talks with commercial operators with a view to them becoming registered suppliers for the Western Isles. I thank the minister for his reply. A number of my constituents have recently expressed concern that some of the companies listed on the R100 website as being active in the Western Isles and so able to utilise R100 vouchers are declining to undertake this work when approached by interested residents. What more could be done to ensure that it is made clearer which companies will do the work in the islands to ensure that people use the voucher that they are entitled to? I think that Alasdair Allan is quite correct that the situation clearly needs to improve and improve quickly. I can assure him that there are advanced talks under way with a number of suppliers with a view to them becoming registered on R100 schemes. I am confident that those talks will ultimately yield a positive outcome for the Western Isles. I want to assure him that I am going to keep a very close eye on that. I am happy to discuss with him at any point the specific obstacles that his constituents are facing in terms of taking advantage of the vouchers. We are exploring, as a Government, many other options as well, because as we all know, technology is moving on quickly and I am very keen, as a relatively new minister for this portfolio, to understand very, very quickly how we can take advantage of these new technologies for island communities in Scotland. That concludes portfolio questions on wellbeing, economy, fair work and energy. There will be a brief pause before we move on to the next portfolio to allow the front benches to change. The next portfolio is finance and parliamentary business. As ever, if a member wishes to ask a supplementary, I invite them to press the request-to-speak button during the relevant question. There is quite a lot of interest in this portfolio, so again, I appeal for succinct questions and the deed responses. I call question number one, Faisal Jowdry. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the 2023-24 budget on the ability of local authorities to keep support and leisure facilities open to the public. The Scottish Government places great importance on sport and leisure facilities and believes everyone should access to those services. We have increased the resources available to local government in 2023-24 by more than £793 million, a real-terms increase of £376 million or 3 per cent compared to the 2022-23 budget figures, but that does not take away from the challenges faced by all public services in the light of years of austerity, the cost of living crisis and sky-high energy prices. However, it is for local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities. Reduction in local government budgets has forced pools and leisure centres to pass on the cost of running them to the clubs and customers that use them. We cannot allow swimming pools to become affordable and let involvement of enthusiasm in Scotland's highest participation sports decline. The UK Government recently announced a £63 million fund specifically to support swimming pools in England. Does the minister recognise the value of swimming pools and can they tell us what burnate consequences are to be made available to local authorities from this? Local sport leisure facilities, including swimming pools, are vital in supporting the physical and mental health of the nation. We have repeatedly called on the UK Government to use all of the powers at its disposal to tackle the cost of living crisis and provide appropriate energy bill reliefs to leisure facilities, particularly to indoor water and ice facilities, where energy is absolutely crippling. Following the announcement of the UK Government of the Financial Package to Support Swim Pools in England, we are considering what support, including ensuring the longer-term sustainability and energy efficiency of those facilities, can be provided to the sport and leisure sector in Scotland. Many local authorities, many leisure facilities have taken action in order to reduce the energy cost, but that is really challenging. We call on the UK Government to step up and support leisure facilities, particularly indoor water and ice facilities. This morning, the Petitions Committee heard evidence about swimming pools closing right across Scotland. Vibrant packed community hubs such as Buxburn and Aberdeen shut because the SNP administration slashed the sports budget. As we heard, there is money from the UK Government to fund swimming pools. Today, will you tell us when that money will be allocated because some of that needs to be used to get Buxburn Swim Pools back open again? The member is again trying to make the Scottish Government take decisions for local authorities. Local authorities are elected on their own democratic area— Minister, did you resume your seat? Mr Lumsden, I invited you to ask a supplementary question. I did not invite you to then provide the answer. Let the minister be heard. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Local authorities have their own democratic mandate in order to determine how they dispose of the funding that comes to them. Obviously, any money that comes to the Scottish Government in relation to panic consequentials will be dispersed in the usual way as part of the budgeting process. That is absolutely appropriate. I have already said that we are considering whether there is further financial support that the Scottish Government wants to take in terms of supporting those facilities. Swim pools and ice are two particular areas where the energy costs are absolutely crippling. The UK Government has the powers and can take action to support those facilities now. To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any modelling on the potential behavioural impact of the Scottish Green Party's proposal to introduce a new increased tax rate for those earning between £75,000 and £125,000. The Scottish Government is aware of the risks and benefits arising from behavioural responses to policy proposals and actively works with stakeholders such as the HMRC to monitor and continually improve the evidence-based to help inform policy development. As a standard practice, any plan changes to Scottish income tax will be announced during the regular annual budget process. Our approach to taxation will continue to be guided by the strategic objectives and principles that set out the framework for tax that underpins our fair and proportionate approach. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Under the SNP, Scotland is already the highest-tax part of the UK. Hundreds of thousands of Scottish workers pay more tax for doing the same job as people south of the border. That impacts teachers, police officers and NHS staff. If the SNP plans to increase taxes even more, especially if they listen to the extreme green party, it could drive people away. Does the cabinet secretary agree that it would be reckless to increase tax so high that it ends up raising less money to support public services? First, based on the latest forecast published by the Scottish Fiscal Commission, we calculate that 52 per cent of taxpayers in Scotland will pay less income tax than they would in the rest of the UK. Of course, the SFC is an independent organisation, but in terms of the money that is raised, we estimate that the income tax policy changes announced for 2023-24 alone will add £519 million to the Scottish budget. That is additional money to spend on public services, some of which we heard calls for earlier on. Of course, it supports individuals, households and the economy. If the Tories are saying that they want lower personal taxation, that they want lower business taxation but that they want higher spending on public services, they are suggesting a financial model that exists nowhere in the world. I think that they need to come clean and tell us what their position is if it is lower tax and higher spending. How does that work? A number of supplementaries will need to be brief as will the responses. First, Ross Greer. The first time the Greens and SNP worked together to make progressive changes to income tax in 2018, the Tories claimed then that it would result in a flight of high-income taxpayers south of the border. Is there any evidence that that actually happened? How much money has been raised for our central public services as a result of those progressive tax changes? In December 2021, we published a policy evaluation of the income tax reforms that were implemented in 2018-19, which showed limited evidence of Scottish taxpayers lowering their taxable income in response to increasing tax rates. Our analysis also suggests that the policy raised between £230 million and £245 million that year compared to implementing rates and bans applicable elsewhere in the UK. In December 2023, the Scottish Fiscal Commission estimated that our income tax policy will raise £1 billion of additional revenue in 2023-24 compared to had we matched the UK Government. Of course, that is the money put at risk by the Tory policy. Finally, Scotland continues to see consistent positive net inward migration from the rest of the UK on the latest available figures. That was around 10,000 people, which, of course, we welcome. Can the DfFM tell us how much tax revenue would have been lost from the budgets that pay for the NHS schools and all the other public services if the Scottish Government had copied the UK Government as the Tories demanded and cut tax for the wealthiest? As I said earlier, the modelling done by the independent Scottish Fiscal Commission found that, had we done as the Tories asked and matched the UK policy in 2023-24, let me repeat, Scotland would be £1 billion worse off. That is £1 billion stripped from the NHS, from schools, from social services, from councils, including covering things such as swimming pools. To provide a tax cut to the better off, that is what the Tories wanted us to do. Thankfully, we did not do that. We were told just a year ago that the resource spending review is absolutely critical to the questions of our public finances. Yesterday, Shona Robison came to the finance committee and told us that the plans for reducing the size of the public sector to pre-Covid levels had been scrapped. Can she tell Parliament today that the resource spending review has been scrapped in its entirety? Does it form any part of Government policy any more? On 23 June last year, Shona Robison said that it will bring to life its policy agenda. Is it like being killed off entirely? No, it will not be, but, like any other Government, we have to take account of key elements that change. For example, the negative tax reconciliation that we now know we have to deal with next year, caused by, of course, the forecast due to Covid-19 at that time. We also have to deal with the inflation-led paydeals. We did not know that inflation was going to be at the height that it is, and that, of course, the driven paydeals go well beyond what was budgeted for. Of course, we have to deal with all the other inflation repressures that are on the budget, and then we have to make room, of course, for spending on social security and health. Of course, the RSR remains important, but what I set out in the medium-term financial strategy was a plan to deal with all of those challenges. What we need to hear from Labour is whether they will back us on those plans. To ask the Scottish Government what funding has been allocated in the Scottish budget 2023-24 to tackle child poverty. The Scottish budget includes £405 million for our game-changing Scottish child payment, and £83.7 million for discretionary housing payments to mitigate the UK Government's policies, including the benefit cap. We continue to invest around £1 billion in the provision of funded early learning and childcare, and we will make £108 million available for employability support, enabling increasing services for parents who are both out of work and in low-income employment. Our latest tackling child poverty progress report, which was published this week, estimates that £3 billion was invested across a range of programmes that are targeted at low-income households with £1.25 billion directly benefiting children. Last week, a report by N Child Poverty titled Local Indicators of Child Poverty after housing costs 2122 highlighted that the unacceptable levels of child poverty that remain across the UK are likely to worsen due to the devastating impact of the Tory-driven cost of living crisis. Although investment in its fixed budget by the Scottish Government and initiatives such as the Scottish child payment alongside the newly-established cash-first approach to tackling food insecurity is welcome, what fiscal levers would the Scottish Government require to enable it to truly alleviate the pressing issue of child poverty? Stephanie Callaghan is quite right to point to the Tory-driven cost of living crisis that underpins the challenge that many families are facing with their household budgets at this time. Analysis published on Tuesday with our child poverty progress report estimates that 90,000 fewer children will live in relative and absolute poverty this year as a result of Scottish Government policies, with poverty levels 9 per cent lower than they would otherwise have been. We are determined to do everything that we can to provide help to those who need it. Within the scope of our limited powers and fixed budget, as I have just outlined, that includes mitigating UK Government actions, but we want to do more than mitigate. It is only with the full powers that this country needs, with the Government having all the levers over economic, social security and employment, including the minimum wage to tackle poverty and inequalities that we can truly do that. I know that the Tories do not like to hear about poverty, but those are the facts. Scottish councils have been informed at short notice via COSLA that the same level of funding provided for tackling holiday hunger programmes will not be offered this summer by this SNP Government. That simply confirms that they are willing to stretch local government budgets further and further. Can the cabinet secretary commit to matching last year's funding and sharing tackling child poverty and hunger programmes that local councils across Scotland had already planned can go ahead? As briefly as possible, cabinet secretary. As the member knows, because the cabinet secretary for social justice told the chamber yesterday that our funding package to local authorities includes targeted support for eligible families during the school holidays throughout the school year and we have provided local authorities with £21.75 million to support free school meals for eligible families during the school holidays during this academic year. That, of course, is available to families who are eligible for free school meals on the basis of low income, regardless of the age of their children. Councils have the flexibility to put in place any approaches that meet local needs and circumstances. To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to propose a parliamentary debate on sewage. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Any proposals for government business in Parliament are agreed by the Scottish Cabinet, subject to consideration by the Parliamentary Bureau and, in turn, approved by the Parliament. I am very grateful for that reply, but I am not sure that that was an answer. There was a lack of urgency in the minister's response and that lack of urgency characterises their whole approach to this issue. It is an urgent issue, it is urgent to our constituents. Every day, thousands upon thousands of gallons of sewage are purposefully dumped in our rivers and our waterways, yet it has been 18 months since we had a meaningful Government statement on this matter. The only debate held in parliamentary time was in a business debate in my name, and I think that it is about time that the Scottish Government got to grips with the importance that this means for our constituents. Will he think again and schedule a debate on sewage? Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am aware of Mr Cole-Hamill's feelings on this matter, and I continue to try to be helpful with him and suggest that he possibly take this up with the Minister of Government, Minister Mary McCallan. Normally, I would say to take it off your business manager, but I know in your case that that might be quite difficult. Of course, the member has mentioned and is aware that the topic was debated in October 2022, and the former Minister for the Environment and Land Reform gave a ministerial statement in December 2021. To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to address the negative revenue reconciliation of £687 million for 2024-25 that is currently forecast by the Scottish Fiscal Commission. The forecast negative reconciliation of £687 million is driven by a large income tax reconciliation of £712 million offset by other social security and devolved tax block grant adjustments. To be clear, the large variance to initial forecast is a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic impacting forecast income tax receipts and associated block grant adjustments in 2021-22. As the reconciliation crystallises in 2024-25, that contributes to an extremely challenging funding outlook next year. Of course, I do not have the adequate tools under the current fiscal framework to manage that impact because it exceeds our borrowing limits by almost £400 million. I set out in the medium-term financial strategy on planning on the basis of maximising resource borrowing to address that negative reconciliation. The upcoming fiscal framework review must address that limited fiscal flexibility and provide the tools that are needed to manage that volatility. I am going to need shorter responses supplementary. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution yesterday admitted that there is a result of this negative reconciliation combined with the projected increases in Scottish Government expenditure, particularly in relation to social security, that the outlook for the Scottish budget is particularly challenged. She also admitted that that would require the Scottish Government to make very difficult decisions. When I asked her about that, she said that there are 500 different projects that the Scottish Government is reviewing. Given the seriousness of the budget situation and the need for urgent action, can I ask the cabinet secretary when she will be able to provide Parliament with the information that the finance committee is requesting in order to pursue its budget scrutiny? The position for 2024-25 is not helped by real terms cut to both revenue and capital funding from the UK Government. That would help if Liz Smith has any influence in that regard. In terms of the review and targeting that I set out in some detail yesterday, we are working through a whole programme of looking at every area of Government in terms of all the programmes, in terms of how far they go in meeting the core missions that were set out by the First Minister a few weeks ago. That process will then lead in very directly to the budget process for 2024-25. We will set all of that out and we will engage with the finance committee in the normal manner and provide the finance committee with as much detail as it becomes available. However, Liz Smith will understand that that process will take some time to come to its conclusion. I agree that this negative reconciliation is yet another clear example of why it is so important that the revised fiscal framework provides the Scottish Government with the budget leavers commensurate to addressing the volatility that the Scottish budget is exposed to. Our current borrowing powers are limited in scope and, of course, being eroded over time by inflation. As a result, we must manage that large reconciliation in a single financial year at a time when our resource borrowing is capped at £300 million. Therefore, the upcoming fiscal framework review must rectify that and ensure that the Scottish Parliament has sufficient leavers to deal with challenges such as those. To ask the Scottish Government how the planning system can help to create a strong, prosperous and vibrant retail sector, including through business support. The planning system is a vital role to play in supporting the retail sector. The national planning framework 4 encourages proposals that improve and enhance the vibrancy of city, town and local centres. That includes a town centre first approach to encourage retail in sustainable locations. We have also introduced changes to permitted development rights and the use classes order to provide more flexibility for different uses, including retail in city and town centres. Alongside that, we are working with partners to take forward actions in the town centre action plan and our retail strategy for Scotland. The structure and nature of Scottish retail has changed over the decades. The prominence of physical retail stores in our towns and shopping centres gradually declining and the rise of social venues such as cafes and eateries. I recently visited Kingsgate shopping centre in Dunfermline, where the management highlighted the significant financial cost imposed by Fife Council on those who wish to reflect those changes by changing their business category from one retail to category three in hospitality. Can the minister outline what more the Scottish Government can do to lessen those costs for businesses and how the planning system can greater reflect those changes of nature in retail? One of the challenges that we hear from business and planning authorities across Scotland is ensuring that they have the resource to deal with planning applications speedily. Part of ensuring that resource is about making sure that it is properly funded. We recently increased the fees that planning authorities can charge and that has allowed planning authorities up and down the country to potentially retain or employ new staff. I think that there is a balance here, but I think that the thing that business often says most important is that they get a speedy resolution to planning applications. To ask the Scottish Government what discussion the finance secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding any impact on its fiscal policy platform will have on businesses, including tourism and hospitality. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and I regularly discussed fiscal policy with our ministerial colleagues. That includes the impacts on a range of sectors, including tourism and hospitality. We are committed to supporting sustainable and inclusive economic growth and we will focus on economic policies and actions with the greatest potential to grow and strengthen Scotland's economy. I thank the minister for that response. The Scottish Tourism sector has faced a catalogue of poorly thought-through policies that threaten to seriously undermine the success of tourism and hospitality businesses. The short-term let scheme, the tourist tax and the utter failure of our infrastructure such as ferries and the A9 are SNP thorns in the side of Scottish tourism. At a time when the sector has asked for time to recover, why has the SNP ignored them and pushed ahead with the string of burdensome priorities causing the stress and worry to businesses throughout Scotland? We engage very closely with representatives of the tourism sector across a range of issues, including through our work on the new deal for business. We have delivered across a range of infrastructure projects over our time and government, whether that be the completion of the M74, the completion of the M8, the completion of the M80, the Aberdeen western peripheral road, the Queensford crossing and a range of other activities that would benefit to the tourism sector and other businesses across Scotland. Indeed, as we take forward our proposals for a visitor levy, we will continue to engage very closely with business. Last week we debated tourism and it was very clear then that energy costs inflation and Brexit labour shortages require action by the London Government. Has the minister had any engagement with them, either for the UK to take action or to give Scotland those powers? I agree that the Scottish Government has much greater freedom to support the tourism sector, which is vital to the Scottish economy with the full powers of independence. The tourism sector is in need of more support but we are constrained by the limited fiscal levers that we currently control. That is why we continually urge the UK Government to go further with its reserve tax powers, specifically by highlighting that a reduced rate of VAT is a consistent ask from stakeholders. We will continue to urge the UK Government to do more to support Scottish businesses. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent Accounts Commission report, Local Government in Scotland overview 2023. The Scottish Government welcomes the findings of the Local Government in Scotland overview 2023 report. The report rightly points to the pressures on the public finances, but also confirms that, despite over a decade of UK Government austerity, local authority revenue funding has increased by 2.6 per cent in real terms between 2013-14 and 2023-24. I thank the minister for that response, but the minister cannot ignore or wish away the evidence contained in this report in adult social care, signs that the sector is in crisis with growing backlogs, declining satisfaction and no clear picture of demand or unmet need, in housing, growing rent areas, mounting void, poorer maintenance performance, homelessness spiralling once again, culture and leisure, high risk of closures, children's services. The poverty-related attainment gap remains larger than pre-pandemic levels. The list goes on. Does the minister agree that the Government must stop managing decline, stop inflicting cuts onto the poorest communities and must start by introducing attacks on wealth? I thank the member for his question. I think that we look forward to hearing the member's contributions to the budget, to any proposals. I know that the cabinet secretary will be happy to listen to and engage if Labour has serious proposals. It will be a first, because I have been in this Parliament for 16 years, and I think that there has been one serious proposal that would have given extra money to local government. That came from Alex Rowley from the Labour Party, and I do not think that the Labour group supported it. This party could not support it at that time. We do not, for a second, underestimate the challenges that local government and other public services are facing due to the— Minister, could I ask both front benches to stop heckling the minister, while he is providing the answer? If you could be concluding. I am not sure what the sedentary point was. I think that the member makes a good point, which is that we need to address these challenges, which is why we are working with COSLA on a new deal for local government. It is a co-produced piece of work that I hope all of us in this Parliament will sign up to recognise the democratic mandate that local government has. It is time to allow local government to have its space as one of the spheres of government in Scotland. The Government is determined to do that, and I hope that the Opposition will step up too.