 Llyr Gruffydd yn ddwylo'r unig cyfleu ei hwll段, roedd fod o'r sirwc yw ysgoliant o gwnaeth ddweud yn dweud. Nid ydych chi'n gweld ei wneud mor hynny, ac yn ddwylo'r ysgoliant nifer 1, ymdồin coll repository. I would like to ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress on cladding remediation. The safety of residents and home owners is our absolute priority. The 27 buildings that were in the initial pilot programme have all started a single building assessment process. This is a comprehensive and technical assessment of fire risk and required actions. We've now expanded that pilot to 105 buildings and a regional breakdown of that list has been published. I've always been clear that if immediate action is needed to safeguard residents then this government will not hesitate to take action. On the basis of advice from fire safety engineers, we have established a waking watch at two buildings as a precautionary measure to safeguard residents. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Could the cabinet secretary advise what discussions have taken place with developers whose responsibility is to ensure that their buildings are compliant with fire safety regulations? Can the cabinet secretary offer any reassurances to people living in the properties affected, including in my Glasgow Kelvin constituency, who are understandably concerned and frustrated? On a general point, we've been continuing to work with Homes for Scotland and some of the country's largest housing developers to develop an accord to address cladding issues with regards to Lansfield Key in Glasgow, in particular. A number of positive discussions between the Scottish Government and developers have taken place, and I'm pleased to confirm that the developers have agreed to meet the costs of the waking watch currently in place at Lansfield Key. I do appreciate that the residents want to quickly move to a situation where there's no longer a need for a waking watch. Technical experts are working at pace to design a longer term solution at which the developers will then deliver. I've been contacted by constituents who are currently unable to secure a remodage because they live in these properties. Can I ask the cabinet secretary, those individuals are complaining of radio silence from Government on this issue and a lack of urgency in leadership? What advice is being provided to individual households who are trying to remodage who live in these 105 properties? Let me first of all say that communication is important. If Miles Briggs wants to give me more information in writing about the circumstances, I will make sure that there's more regular communication because regular communication is important. Miles Briggs talks specifically about lending. We are pleased to hear that banks are willing to lend on properties with dangerous cladding for the first time since the crisis started. Mortgage lending, as I'm sure Miles Briggs is aware, is a reserved matter. We expect that that will therefore be extended to all nations of the UK. We're working with UK Finance to formalise a process that works for lenders, as well as home owners in Scotland. I'm happy to keep him informed. I would, though, not recognise the characterisation around urgency and leadership. We are providing that in very difficult circumstances and we want to provide assurance to home owners that we are working at pace with developers to get to a situation where the buildings that need to be remediated are done so at speed. The residents at a number of the buildings in Glasgow are seriously worried about the situation and they haven't seen the reports that have been made available to Government yet. Can the cabinet secretary set out when those reports will be available so that the residents can have some safety of understanding of what the problem is? I appreciate the point that Pam Duncan-Glancy means about a worrying time for residents. The Scottish Government wrote to all residents notifying them of the decision on 31 January and the fact that it disseminated that letter to residents on the morning of 1 February. On 6 February, Scottish Government officials together with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the firm providing the waking watch held a briefing session for the residents committee. We've been working with Homes for Scotland and the developers to really take forward some of the wider issues with the development of an accord. I hope that that does provide Pam Duncan-Glancy with a sense of some of the communication that we have had with residents. Obviously, if there's more that we can do, we will. Question 2, Pam Gossel. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle homelessness in light of the reports that the number of people classified as homeless has reached a record high. Cabinet Secretary, Shona Robison. Our ending homelessness together action plan is the right long-term strategy for preventing and tackling homelessness and is strongly supported by the by Scotland's homelessness sector. Aligned with this plan, I've commissioned an expert group to bring forward innovative ways to reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation and a meeting with housing conveners to inform our approach. In the meantime, of course, we continue to lead the way on delivering affordable homes in the UK, having delivered 115,558 affordable homes since 2007 and have started work towards our target of delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032. Pam Gossel. 36 people have needlessly died while in temporary accommodation in six hotels across Glasgow. Campaigners argue that hotels are not equipped to support people in a crisis and so vulnerable individuals are missing out on access to potentially life-saving drug and alcohol treatment and mental health services. However, as expected, the SNP Government has no shame. Will the cabinet secretary commit to a public inquiry and will she declare a housing emergency immediately? As those benches have repeatedly called for? We will continue with our massive investment of £3.5 billion of investment in affordable homes, something that is not replicated anywhere in the islands, because we recognise that affordable housing is a key lever of tackling poverty. Pam Gossel referred to a very difficult situation with very vulnerable residents in hotels in Glasgow. I am sure that she will understand the complexity of some of the issues that are facing the people concerned. Any death in those circumstances is a tragedy. She will also be aware, I hope, of all the work that is going on, to try to make sure that people are supported. Whether it is addiction issues or issues with mental health, those are issues that require to be addressed along with trying to get people into settled accommodation. Through our housing first programme, that is a programme that is working to support people with wrap around support. We will continue to work with Glasgow and any other authority to make sure that we can support people in the way that they require. To ask the Scottish Government how many payments of the Scottish child payment have been made in the Glasgow Annie's land constituency since it was introduced. Official statistics for Scottish child payment are routinely published by Social Security Scotland, including application and payment data. Although those include information by local authority area, they do not currently include information by parliamentary constituency. The latest statistics published earlier this week show a total of £331,180 payments were made to clients living in the Glasgow city local authority between February 2021 and the end of December 2022. Scottish child payment, of course, is putting money into the pockets of low-income families at a crucial time and more families than ever are eligible for support. Bill Kidd. I thank you very much for that response. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has said that the full roll-out of the Scottish child payment is a watershed moment for tackling poverty in Scotland and that the rest of the UK should take note. Can the cabinet secretary provide further detail about the impact the SCP has projected to have on poverty levels in Scotland and what more could be achieved if the UK Government stepped up and matched this ambition? Cabinet secretary, we published analysis in March 2022 that suggests that Scottish child payment could reduce relative child poverty by an estimated 5 percentage points in 2023-24, lifting 50,000 children out of relative poverty in Scotland. The UK Government, of course, could use its powers to tackle child poverty and the cost of living crisis, introducing a £25 per week uplift for our universal credit and means-tested legacy benefits and ending the benefit cap and two-child limit just to name a few. Reversing key UK Government welfare reforms that have occurred since 2015 could bring an estimated 70,000 people out of poverty in Scotland, including 30,000 children. That is something that we would all want them to do. Question 4, Ross Greer. Thank you. To ask the Scottish Government how the Clyde Metro project will improve rail services on the existing Mulgylline. Minister Jenny Gilruth. Whilst it is currently early in the process to advise exactly how Clyde Metro will impact on rail services in the Mulgylline, what I can say is that the metro will complement and integrate with the region's existing rail and bus networks. The system may include wholly new track, the reuse of former rail routes or the conversion of existing lines. That will lead to more reliable public transport, increase travel choices to key employment opportunities, education and healthcare destinations and help to address inequalities. It will be truly transformational for Glasgow and the surrounding communities. Thank you. I thank the minister for that answer and I share her enthusiasm for the transformational Clyde Metro project. Despite recent improvements, the Mulgylline continues to be one of the worst performing in Scotland, with regular delays, cancellations and issues with capacity, all tied to the limitations of it being a single track line. Will the minister agree with me that the only way to resolve those issues and achieve the Clyde Metro's ambition for frequent services on the Mulgylline is to re-duol the line and to build the long-looted Allander station? For trains terminating at Mulgylline, ScotRail has advised that performance is comparable to that of the suburban west service group and indeed ScotRail as a whole. However, if there are issues with specific services, as the member has alluded to, I am more than happy to raise those matters with ScotRail. I know that they were in Parliament only yesterday for a drop-in session with MSPs. With respect to the metro, it will be for the design development process to look at what impact, if any, that will have on rail. I am sure that it will have extended impact in relation to the delivery of services locally. However, I would also note that work by the local council Easton-Bartonshire in its local transport strategy back in 2019 concluded that both a standalone rail station at Allander and in combination with double tracking, as the member has alluded to, offered poor value for money. Instead, the council preferred a bus-based option to improve access to existing rail services. However, if the council has changed its view in the interim, I am happy to ask my officials in Transport Scotland to re-engage with them on this matter. Ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the new medical centre for Lochgelli. The Scottish Government's capital investment group, CIG, considered the outline business case for the Lochgelli health centre project at its meeting in June 2022. In response to the feedback provided, the NHS5 project team is currently updating the business case. We do not have a date for when the updated business case will be resubmitted to the Scottish Government for approval. I thank the minister for her answer and she will know in preparation for this question session that, on 28 October 2021, the cabinet secretary for health gave me, and I quote, an absolute confirmation that, when the business case for the new Lochgelli medical centre was in place, the funding would be found. I would ask the minister today, first, if she will make that confirmation as well. She will provide that assurance to my constituents. Secondly, if she will advise my constituents in Lochgelli when they may expect finally to get their new medical centre. I am happy to provide that assurance. I recognise that the current health centre and much of the NHS estate needs replacement. That is why the Scottish Government is committed to investing £10 billion in health infrastructure over the next 10 years. That will include funding for a replacement health centre in Lochgelli. We remain absolutely committed to that project. Our planning assumption is that the phasing of the funding is likely to be in the second half of the decade and NHS5 will align the update of the business case to that expected timeline. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the £200 million Aberdein to central belt rail enhancement project, which aims to reduce travel times between Aberdein and the central belt by 20 minutes by 2026. The ministerial commitment to spend £200 million on enhancing the Aberdein to central belt rail corridor was made alongside, but not as part of the Aberdein city reading deal for delivery within the same 10-year timescale. Some concerns were expressed at a relatively late stage by the network rail operations team last year. Those concerns, which have since been resolved, have led to a delay in network rail formally signing off the option selection process. Nonetheless, good progress is now being made and the project remains on track. 16 years of the SNP and power and the people of the north-east are still having to put up with a second-class rail service. The new trains for the north-east are 40-year-old diesel 125 cast-offs, no chance of electrification to Aberdein, no chance of dualling at USAM and I would suggest no chance of reducing journey times to the central belt by 20 minutes by 2026, something that the local chamber of commerce has said is vital to economic growth in the area. So would the minister agree with me that rail services to Aberdein and the north-east are being neglected by this SNP Government? No, I would not agree with Mr Lumsons' characterisation of investment from this Government in relation to the north-east. I remind the member that the Scottish Government is investing £379 million in the Aberdein city reading deal compared to just £125 million from the UK Government. Aberdein and the north-east have benefited from significant rail enhancements in recent years. That includes £330 million of investment to support the redoubling of the line-to-Inverury, allowing a half-hourly service to Aberdein and an hourly cross-rail service to Montrose. The opening of the new contours station between Inverury and Dys stations in October of 2020, featuring the largest electric vehicle charging facility in the north-east and backed by £15 million of investment from this Government, and Aberdein stations refurbishment, which has been supported by more than £8 million of Scottish Government support. I think that it is worth reflecting that Network Rail, as I mentioned last year, raised some concerns. That set progress back. Nonetheless, good progress is now being made, and I am sure that Mr Lumsons will welcome that progress. I was going to say that let's examine the facts about the investment that the Scottish Government has made, but Jenny Gilruth has just listed everything that I was going to say. Contours station, during the Aberdein-to-Inverness line-in time, completing the AWPR. Meanwhile, a Tory UK Government pulls the plug on £1 billion of carbon capture investment for Peterhead in 2015, and only contributes £125 million to the city region deal, as opposed to the Scottish Government, which contributes £300 million. Do you have a question? My question is, would the minister like to take this opportunity to further describe how the UK Tory Government should be stepping up for the people of the north-east rather than letting them down? The minister must, of course, answer the question in relation to matters for which the Scottish Government has general responsibility, and I would ask the minister to do so briefly. I think that Ms Martin has succinctly outlined the record investment coming from this Government to rail services in the north-east of Scotland, and to her constituency. Additionally, of course, since ScotRail came into public ownership, we have made significant investment of more than £11 billion on rail infrastructure, including refurbishment of Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Haymarket stations, and £1 billion in the last 10 years to electrify more than 400 kilometres of track. To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to roll out mobility as a service across Scotland. Mobility as a service provides people with better travel information, ticket booking and payment services so that they can decide how to undertake their journey. The Scottish Government made a programme for government commitment back in 2018 to establish a £2 million fund to support innovation digital data-driven solutions to test mass in Scotland. Five projects were awarded funding, covering the Highlands and Islands, Tayside and the south-east of Scotland, and will complete later this year. Graham Simpson. I thank the minister for that answer, and I welcome the pilot projects, but what we don't want to see is for them to suddenly stop. Can the minister assure us that funding will continue and will we see the results of those pilots published? I thank Mr Simpson for his question. I very much recognise the value of the Scottish Government's investment in mobility as a service indeed last month. I was in Inverness seeing for myself how that investment is being used to support the development of the GoHi app last Thursday. I was in Dundee visiting Dundee and Angus College to see the approach that it has used in the local area, joining up transport providers for college students, NHS workers and even for use in Lochlodden national park. Having invested that £2 million from the Scottish Government, Transport Scotland is now required to evaluate the outputs from the investment fund project to assess the viability of the concept across Scotland. That evaluation will look at a number of different factors, but the projects are yet to complete, so I do not want to arrive at a view before those projects have completed. However, I recognise Mr Simpson's interest in the subject. It is a really important piece of work in relation to joining up transport across Scotland, and hopefully we will be able to learn lessons from those investments from the Scottish Government. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making towards fulfilling its commitment to introduce a national system of rank controls by the end of 2025. Long-term rent control measures will be included in the forthcoming housing bill, which is expected to be introduced as soon as possible after the 2023 summer recess. That will enable the Scottish Government to meet our commitment to deliver rent control by 2025. I am grateful for that answer. I appreciate that there is litigation in relation to the rent cap and eviction ban, but as the minister knows, the cost of living crisis continues, so can he reassure tenants that the Government remains committed to providing protection against unfair rent increases and to introducing the national system of rent controls? Yes, I can. The member is correct that we cannot comment on current legal proceedings. However, the Scottish Government has led on housing over the long term, whether that is through the abolition of the right to buy investment in social housing. Most recently, the emergency rent freeze in the face of the cost of living crisis and our long-term commitment to a national system of rent controls. I know that many Labour colleagues share great enthusiasm for seeing us continuing that work.