 The next item of business is portfolio questions, and the portfolio question time this afternoon is social justice. I remind members that if they wish to request a supplementary, they should press the request-to-speak button during the relevant question or enter the letters RTS in the chat function during the relevant question. Question number one, I call Der Baker. To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is for determination on adult and child disability payments in mid-Scotland and Fife. Official statistics for adult disability payment and child disability payment are routinely published by Social Security Scotland, including information on processing times. Those figures do not include information broken down by geographies below Scotland level, but the figures based on the most recently published statistics for adult disability payment and child disability payment show that the median average processing time in Scotland was 59 working days for adult disability payment in January 2024 and 97 working days for child disability payment in December 2023. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. I was planning to raise the case of a constituent of mine who had to wait over six months for a payment, but this morning we have seen the distressing report that nine children have died while waiting for their child disability payments to be processed, and our thoughts are with the families of each of the children. I know that we all want a social security system that works for those who need support and that treats them with compassion and dignity, and we have to recognise that part of that is addressing long waits and delivering the vital payments with the urgency that is required. Today's press report was heartbreaking. What assurances will the cabinet secretary give that this will not happen again and what action will be taken to ensure that this does not happen again? Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can I first begin by saying if Claire Becker wishes to write to me about the constituency issue that she was planning to raise, I'd been more than happy to pick that up in correspondence. Can I also say, of course, that my thoughts are also with the families of the children that are referenced in the reports in the media this morning? It is something that I take exceptionally seriously, as we all do, as we deliver social security in Scotland. One important aspect, Presiding Officer, to point out, is, of course, for whether it's a child or an adult with a terminal illness, those cases are dealt with exceptionally quickly. We don't publish the times for child disability payment with those with terminal illness because there's such a few number of cases, but I am looking to see what can be done to publish the information to give some reassurance to families in the most difficult of circumstances if their child is terminal ill. When we're looking at the wait times and the processing times for CDP in general, it is important, as I've said in the chamber before, to recognise that this sometimes can take time because, unlike under the DWP system, it is social security Scotland that gathers the information, the supporting information, about a claim rather than that being a responsibility for the families. That can sometimes take time to get that through, but I can give Clare Becker the reassurance that we are making strides in dealing with the processing times. The processing times are improving and we are taking further measures to ensure that those with the longest waits are being looked at and decisions taken within the agency as soon as possible. I will continue to keep, as I'm sure the member and the chamber would expect, a very close eye on what is a very serious issue. I associate my remarks with that of Clare Becker. I welcome the cabinet secretary's comment that she will look into this and will pull back. With the cabinet secretary also recognising that it is not just the waiting time once you make an inquiry, there are quite long delays in regard to people getting through to social security Scotland, either on the telephone or by social media, at what has been done so that people do not have to hang on a telephone for an excess of time to get an answer to the inquiry. I recognise that that was an issue that was causing concern at the amount of time that had been taken perhaps on the telephone waits. I do not have the figures in front of me around those wait times at the moment, but they have improved markedly since the concerns were raised. That is thanks to the work that the agency has done to ensure that people are having their calls answered much more speedily, but I am happy to provide the information on that and the specific numbers on that to Jeremy Balfour in writing, because I hope that he can be reassured, because significant progress has been made on call wait times within the agency. I supplementary willy Rennie. These deaths, not just in child disability payment but the adult disability payment, bring into sharp focus the consequences of long waits. I thank the staff at Social Security Scotland for managing to get the waits down. They are broadly in line with the DWP now, which is more welcome. The minister did not really set out what practical steps she has taken to improve the system to make sure that it does not happen again in the future. Can she give us a bit more colour, a bit more detail, as to exactly what has been done to make sure that we do not have long waits in the future? I can perhaps give a flavour of it, but there are a large number of system changes that have been put in place. If I can give Mr Rennie some examples of that, we have looked to every single step in the process. For example, how can the application forms, which were co-designed with those who have used a DWP system, be changed so that we can perhaps strengthen the suggestions for clients to provide that support and information, not to put the onus on them, but to say if they did that to begin with, that would certainly help. Additional calls immediately going into those who do apply without supporting information, perhaps making some suggestions about the types of things, for example a prescription list and so on, that could be sent in right at the start to allow that to be in. The greater use of in-house health and social care teams to be able to support faster decision making and a review of staffing levels. Those are some of the examples. They are not the only examples, Presiding Officer, but those are some of the examples. Social Security Scotland will be in Parliament soon with an invite to all MSPs to be able to talk about whether it is particular constituency cases or the work that they have been doing. I am sure that they would absolutely welcome the opportunity to speak through that in further detail with Mr Rennie on, of course, I would be happy to do so as well. Question 2, Oliver Mundell. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment the ministerial task force on population has made of the potential impact of the centralisation of services on the sustainability of rural communities. This Government established a ministerial task force on population in 2019 to oversee the development and delivery of Scotland's first national population strategy in 2021. The task force that Ms Roddick chairs brings together ministers from across Scottish Government, including those responsible for key public services, with a clear focus on delivering joined-up policy solutions for our communities. The addressing depopulation action plan, published in February, further highlights the action that this Government has taken to support communities with a clear focus on the role of infrastructure and key services like education, childcare and health and social care. Oliver Mundell. I thank the minister for that answer, but across some free-sure constituents of mine are finding it harder and harder to access basic services. NHS dentistry is now non-existent in many parts of the constituency. Constituents in Sankirk, Kilhom and Kirkconnell tell me that they cannot see a GP face-to-face. Gretner Community Council say that finding the police in the community and getting them there is now near on impossible as they have disappeared. In Langham, people are working hard to get back basic podiatry and physiotherapy services that were taken away during Covid. Does the minister accept that poor services make it harder for elderly, disabled and disadvantaged people to live in rural communities? I think that there are a number of items that he has raised there, I think that once in terms of, obviously, NHS Dumfries, I think that one of the key things in terms of that. They have increased funding this year of £12.5 million, of increased investment, which takes D&G's overall funding to £364.7 million. I'm happy to take those items that he's raised and I don't know if he's raised them with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport yet, but I'm happy to take that as an action if he wants to write to myself or the Cabinet Secretary for Health on that particular point. I think that the other points that he mentions, of course, there are three or four main points. I think that when you're talking about the actions that are looked at, one of what he says is how do we attract people into the work, so we're talking about an attractive and well-being economy, which I think is really important in my own area. Housing also plays an important part as that, and I'll be undertaking a programme of visits during the summer to visit rural communities, so hopefully we'll be able to be, you know, either through himself, look at visits to Dumfries and Galloway to take up some of the issues that he's raised. Thank you. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the housing minister has had with ministerial colleagues regarding any potential impact on rural community housing of its decision not to allow the use of fossil and biofuel heating systems in new-build construction. Minister Patrick Harvie. I regularly meet with the Minister for Housing to discuss intersecting policy portfolio interests, including the heat and buildings agenda. The new-build heat standard, which was scrutinised by the local government housing and planning committee and approved without opposition, is an essential part of our commitment to reach net zero, and it will have a positive impact on rural housing. This was subject to full consultation in both 2021 and 2022, with both consultations showing strong support. New-build homes are required to be highly energy-efficient, reducing heat demand, but bioenergy systems can be installed to provide emergency heating where required. Elin O'Wizard. I thank the minister for that answer. As the MSP for carrot community in Dyn Valley, where there are many rural off-grid properties relying on oil and solid fuels, as their primary heating source, can I ask the minister for clarification in relation to the new-build heat standard definition regarding emergency heating, where it states, in some cases, and where a need can be justified? Given that wood-burning stoves are at the moment the most reliable and cost-effective backstrap in isolated areas and that they can help to address the significant issue of rural fuel poverty, and can the minister provide assurance that building standards verifiers will interpret the regulations in a way that provides certainty for house builders? First of all, I thank Elin O'Wizard for that question, and I hope that she will join me in reassuring those of our constituents who currently use bioenergy systems in existing buildings that are not affected by the changes in the new-build heat standard. We recognise that heating for energy, if at emergency use, will sometimes be needed even in new-builds, and that may especially be the case in rural and island areas. That is why the standard permits systems for emergency use, and that could include wood-burning stoves. In most cases, we think that portable solutions would be more appropriate in those circumstances to provide emergency heating, for example during power cuts, but the regulations require that heating systems are non-polluting and a provision for emergency use was added, which is not restricted to clean heating in response to rural concerns. However, the drafting of the technical guidance on what constitutes emergency heating can be difficult to reconcile with the nature of wood-burning stoves, which are generally installed for regular, not just emergency use. We have heard the concerns raised over the past week about the use of wood-burning stoves, and we fully take those on board. As I said yesterday, we will consider what further clarity is needed in the guidance to address those concerns, and we will continue to work with concerned parties, developers and local authorities to ensure that any updates to the existing technical guidance address that comprehensively. The recent heating buildings consultation undervalues the significance and the ability of renewable liquid fuels to contribute to address transition and allow off-grid households to decarbonise in a fair, easy and affordable way. Will the minister commit to giving renewable liquid fuels a prominent role in the upcoming heat and buildings legislation and look towards removing renewable liquid fuels such as hydro-treated vegetable oil, and remove those from the polluting heating systems criteria? I obviously do not agree with the characterisation from Mr Breggs on that. The heat and buildings consultation, which of course goes far beyond the issue of new builds and looks at how we decarbonise our existing housing stock, specifically asks what flexibility ought to be included in relation to bio-energy systems. I look forward to hearing the responses to consultations, whether from those who lobby in favour of the industries Mr Breggs is seeking to reflect the interests of or the wide range of other views about how we decarbonise heating, how we do it fast and how we do it fairly for all communities. Can he give more detail on what the exemptions are and puzzled us to how he would vent, for instance, a portable stove? Can he also say how he would apply for them, especially with regards to woodland croft houses—crofts that are created specifically for their renewable heat potential? How do those changes impact on solid fuel stoves used for both cooking and heating, making the best use of the resource and will he publish the island impact assessment with those changes? I have already set out yesterday in response to some more detailed questions on the information that we have published. I have committed, and I have stated again today, that we will look to work with partners to clarify in any aspects of the technical guidance that needs to be clarified in order to answer some of the concerns that have been raised in the last few days. I would reinforce that the measures that we are taking forward are about the use of fixed heating systems primary and secondary in new-build housing and new-build buildings. They do not apply to emergency and backup systems, many of which will be the portable systems that Rhoda Grant describes. In recent years, Shetland has seen the vulnerability of its power network, adverse weather events of wind and snow, left homes without power and heating for days. Does the minister agree that that would be a justified need for the installation of traditional heating in new-builds for backup and emergency use? Does he agree that the messaging around this policy has been confused? I think that the Scottish Government's messaging has been very clear. I am sorry that some people, including a few people in this Parliament, have sought to misrepresent the issue as a complete ban on wood-burning stoves. It is not, it never has been and it will not be a complete ban on wood-burning stoves. Beatrice Wishart is quite right that some of the community she describes illustrates why the provisions in relation to emergency and backup heating systems are important and why, going forward, the heat and buildings bill needs to reflect on those questions about the flexibility for biomass in relation to existing homes. I would also say, however, that Shetland is also a good example of an area of Scotland where rurality and, indeed, some of the issues affecting island communities are not a barrier to deploying clean heating systems, whether at an individual building level or a district heating level. Shetland is a good example of where the decarbonisation of heating can be achieved in a way that meets the needs of remote rural and island communities. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Until I ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the work undertaken by the staff and officials of Social Security Scotland to complete the move to have all payments for disabled children being paid directly by Social Security Scotland and subject to the scrutiny of the Scottish Parliament. I am incredibly proud of the work of Social Security Scotland staff and, indeed, those within the Scottish Government programme and social security directorate for the work that they have undertaken to achieve this key milestone. All payments for children and young people with a disability in Scotland are now paid by Social Security Scotland. By the end of 2023, more than 47,000 awards were safely and securely transferred from the DWP's DLA for children to our child disability payments. £333 million was awarded to support disabled children and young people whose benefits transferred and their families. I would like to thank the cabinet secretary for that response. Can the cabinet secretary assure my constituents and people across Scotland that the child disability payment is designed to avoid the stress and trauma associated with the DWP benefit that it replaces? I think that in response rather than taking my word for it, I would perhaps quote from a recent STV article on the very issue around case transfer where Rebecca spoke about the difference that it has made to her. If I can quote, there are a lot of hard things about being in a family affected by disability. That was someone taking away one of those. That has been fantastic and I am incredibly grateful for the values that underpin Social Security Scotland. I hope that that is something that everyone can take heart in because that was something that the Parliament passed as a bill, but I am exceptionally proud as the minister who has been responsible for social security indeed for half of the time that it has been devolved. In saying all of that, as we talked about earlier, it is very important that the Government remains open to continuous improvement, open to areas that can be worked on. As I said in my response to Claire Baker and Willie Rennie earlier on, that is something that will take incredible pride in what has been achieved. Continuous work on improvement will be something that both the agency and the Government will continue. To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of the £24.25 Scottish budget will have on its target for reducing child poverty. Tackling child poverty is a critical mission for this Government in the face of a deeply challenging financial situation. We continue to allocate around £3 billion a year to a range of actions to tackle poverty and mitigate the impacts of the cost crisis on households. Modelling estimates that this Government's policies, including the Scottish child payment, will keep 100,000 children out of relative poverty in £24.25. We remain absolutely committed to meeting our statutory child poverty targets and will continue to do everything within the scope of our powers and our budget to deliver the change needed. The Tackling child poverty delivery plan states that, I quote, homelessness has a devastating impact on families and children, increasing barriers to access and employment and education, disrupting social support networks and negatively affecting mental health and physical health. My question to the cabinet secretary is what discussions did the cabinet secretary have, if any, with the finance secretary in the lead-up to the budget on the impact on child poverty off the cut of £200 million in the affordable housing supply programme? As the member would expect, I had discussions with the finance secretary and other cabinet colleagues about the difficult decisions that this Government had to make when we were looking at the budget. I would say very gently to Mr Rowley. I said on a recent press article, and it was something that I meant, that I do believe that tackling poverty is something that we could work with an incoming UK Labour Government on if they indeed are successful at the next election. It takes two to have that productive relationship, however, and it also takes two Governments to take action. This Government is continuing to take action and will continue to take action to support those who are being harmed by Westminster, but it does take the two Governments. The best thing that Mr Rowley and I could do together, I hope, is to ensure that any incoming Labour Government reversed the cuts to revenue and capital for the Scottish Government. We would not be in the place to take the difficult decisions that we had to take as a Government. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the child poverty action group's recent analysis of official data, showing that 4.3 million children were in relative poverty across the UK up from 3.6 million in 2010-11. That analysis demonstrates the devastating impact of the UK Government's decade of austerity and welfare cuts on families across the UK. While the Scottish Government policies are estimated to keep 100,000 children out of relative poverty in 24-25, we could go so much further if UK Government policies were not actively working against us. I have repeatedly called for the UK Government to reform universal credit, including by introducing an essential guarantee and abolishing the two-child limit, which could lift 40,000 children out of poverty in Scotland. The spring budget was another failed opportunity to make the change that is needed. I agree that child poverty does remain unacceptably high, particularly among disabled children whose families are disproportionately impacted by the cost of living crisis. However, Scotland has reduced child poverty and helped with social security measures like the child disability payment. What steps are the Scottish Government taking to increase the uptake of the child disability payment in my audience in the Welsh health constituency and across Scotland? This year alone, we are investing £1.1 billion more than the UK Government gives us for social security. We are taking that very seriously as an investment in the people of Scotland. We also take very seriously our obligations to ensure that those that are eligible for payments are encouraged and supported to apply for what they are entitled to. We have already received 6,000 child disability payment applications in North and South Lanarkshire with take-up being driven by one example of that through our local delivery team, which is unique to the Scottish system. We will continue to ensure that we encourage those that are eligible to apply to give them that support. I hope that one of the quotes that I used earlier, Presiding Officer, gives the type of encouragement to people to come forward and be encouraged that there is a system without stigma but instead with support for them. I note what the cabinet secretary said in her answer and in previous answers about an incoming Labour Government. She will want to, I am sure, support the transformational policies like the new deal for working people that will put money in people's pockets. Does she recognise, and her own responsibilities here in Scotland, that, prior to recess, the annual release of official statistics showed that child poverty levels have been static at 24 per cent, significantly above the interim target of 18 per cent, which the Scottish Government is now almost certain to miss? Does she accept that she is going to miss those legally set targets? If so, when is she going to come to this chamber and outline her concerns around that? I do not accept the premise of that argument, Presiding Officer. As I said in my original remarks to Stephanie Callaghan, we are absolutely determined to meet our anti-poverty targets. We will make it a lot easier, as I have said and will continue to say in this chamber. If there was not one Government trying to lift people out of poverty in another Government, whether it is Labour or Tory, pushing them into poverty, that would help the people a hell of a lot more. I would like to squeeze in question 7 and 8, but I will need co-operation. I need short succinct questions and short succinct answers, with that question number 7. Colin Smyth. To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking to give greater representation to older people. We continue to work with our trusted partners and know their people's strategic action forum on a range of priorities for advancing age equality. Ms Warwick chaired the last meeting on 27 February. A fairer Scotland for older people framework for action was developed to challenge the inequalities that older people face as they age. The framework outlines the range of activities that we are undertaking to support older people to improve their lives, tackle age and equality, and to celebrate older people in Scotland. Through our equalities and human rights fund, we are investing more than £2.2 million in support of older people's organisations and age equality projects that deliver positive outcomes for older people. Colin Smyth. A recent survey by independent age showed that almost three quarters of those over 65 in Scotland think that issues they face are badly understood. Age Scotland's recent big survey revealed that just 3 per cent of respondents felt that it was easy for older people to have their voices heard by decision makers. Given that, both surveys showed overwhelming support for an older person's commissioner for Scotland. Why does the minister think that those older people are wrong? Why does he think that the work that he has described is not in the view of older people working for them? A pleasure of meeting independent age a number of months ago and talking about some of those issues and, again, impacting the housing. In particular, I mentioned it in a bit about the equality and human rights fund. More than £2.2 million of that fund goes towards providing support for national organisations. That obviously contributes to the age Scotland national helpline. Through that work, the day identified £1.5 million for including benefits for older people who call their helpline. We are continuing to invest £3.8 million in funding to support another 53 organisations. The point that he mentioned in regards to the older people commissioner, I am aware of the work that he is doing on that point. Obviously, we will consider the evidence that is gathered by the consultation and respond to its findings on that. Our main priority is to support older people facing hardship through this cross-deleving crisis. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures showing, there has been a decrease in the number of new homes started in 2023 compared with 2022. The Scottish Government has led the UK in housing, delivering more than 128,000 affordable homes since 2007, more than 90,000 of which were for social rent. In 2022-23, there was a disappointing decrease in starts, which was reflected right across the UK. The impact of inflation, supply chain issues and labour shortages linked to Brexit combined to create an extremely challenging environment. We remain committed to close partnership working to mitigate those challenges. In the same year, Scotland's completion rates for new builds increased to 43 homes per 10,000 people, England's rate was 38 per 10,000, and Wales was 18 homes per 10,000. Reported figures show that new builds in Aberdeen fell from 1,182 in 2022 to 553 in 2023. The council says that due to work needed to address RAC in Balnegask, other housing projects will be delayed. Will the Scottish Government reverse its opposition to helping Aberdeen Council to address RAC so that those other housing projects can go ahead? Just on that point, I have met Aberdeen council since the RAC was discussed. I met them prior to that as well. We have had numerous meetings before that. You will be aware that we are obviously having an options appraisal at the moment, and we will continue to discuss and develop with them. We have also been very flexible in terms of funding that is received for Ukraine housing and working with them in terms of that to look at the units that are required. Members, just let the minister respond. As I said, we continue to work with Aberdeen on that particular point in terms of the new build. It is really important that we set up an investment task force in the housing, which looks to try to get more funding into the system, which would include more funding for Aberdeen. I am happy to discuss the issue further with the member. A very brief supplementary question, Mr Mason. The minister mentioned the housing investment task force in his last answer. Can he tell us any more about it? The medium-term outlook for capital remains challenging with an expected 8.7 per cent real-time cuts to the UK capital funding between 2023-24 and 20-27-28. Given that, I was delighted to convene and share the first meeting of the housing investment task force earlier this month, just two weeks ago. Over the next coming months, members will address longer-term investment barriers and help to attract additional private sector funding for all 10 years of housing in Scotland. Thank you minister. That concludes portfolio questions. There will be a very short pause before we move on to the next line of business to allow front-bench teams to change positions should they so wish.