 If you will have a quick answer about door Good afternoon Regards. The first item of business this afternoon is portfolio questions and the portfolio on this occasion is social justice. Anyone wishing to ask a supplementary should press the request to speak button during the relevant questions. There's quite a bit of interest in supplementary so the usual appeal for brief questions those don't come in four or five parts and similarly, brief responses from the front bench and I call question number one Jorn Mason. Thank you to ask the Scottish government what its position is ond yr increase in the Scottish child payment, or a council tax freeze will do more to help families in poverty. The Scottish child payment is providing well targeted support to the lowest income families and is estimated to lift 50,000 children out of poverty this year. We have committed to increasing it in line with inflation to £26.70 per week from April with 329,000 children expected to benefit in 24-25. The Government is working with local authorities to help them to deliver the council tax fees and provide much-eared financial relief to over 2 million council tax payers. Both of those measures provided for on the budget are unpararilled in the UK and will provide much-needed help for families. Some people, especially some in the third sector, have argued that a council tax freeze does not help the poorest because they are already not paying council tax, but it does help those who are better off paying more council tax. How would but she would respond to people like that. As the proportion of income those on the lowest incomes will benefit the most from a council tax freeze, that is because council tax represents a larger proportion of their income than those who are better off. This is on top of the council tax reduction scheme, which supports those that cannot be expected to afford council tax. However, the cost crisis has seen bills rise for households across the spectrum, and this freeze will give some certainty to them for next year. In supplementary terms, I hear me bawpha. Mae Gw Operaidd dyn останachi y byddai gyrsgyn orbit,お prif, llawerfus gwith hyd y Llywodraeth S trains, Rhag Tisch, Rhywodraeth Crefennod, positonu yn gyfer gwneud erbyn y archerydd iawn hagienedig, ond him manuscripturau'u grenni? Felly, mae'n tuiddwyr cyhoeddol. Dw i ymdyn nhw'n fwy o gymiteil i sut hyn o caseteid��니ni felodel gwrthon BS a Pass imperfect ffgwrs organise o'uviau Crefennod felly galla llin NSW mwy o byddai'r ddosionach. Felly mae'n edrych yn gweithio iaill ac morcaid o dystiannod o gyfnoddiadu'r Cymru. Ivan McKee The council tax is recognised as a regressive, contrary to the Government-stated progressive outlook. Can I ask what work is being undertaken to evaluate other models of less regressive and more proportionate property or land value taxes, and when the Government expects to complete this work? The council tax represents a larger portion of overall income for lower-income households than for richer households. The council tax phase recognises the regressive impact of council tax, which underlines the importance of reform. We are committed to a fairer, more inclusive and ffiscally sustainable form of local taxation, as we conven the joint working group on Sources of Local Government Funding and Council Tax Reform, which is co-chaired by Scottish ministers and COSLA. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will update its guidance to local authorities on planning rules for short-term lets, in light of the recent ruling from the Court of Session that deemed the City of Edinburgh Council's planning guidance for businesses on short-term lets to be unlawful. In bringing the digital review of the City of Edinburgh Council's local guidance, the petitioners noted that it was not consistent with the Scottish Government's guidance, in issuing its decision, the Court agreed with the Scottish Government's position on the interpretation of the relevant legislation. Therefore, the Scottish Government does not consider it necessary to update its current guidance, set out in planning circular 1 forward slash 2023. I thank the minister for his response, but I'm sure he would acknowledge that there is confusion around the law on planning for short-term lets with different councils taking different approaches. Some councils now require operators of short-term lets, even if they have been operating for some time, to apply for retrospective planning consent before they will grant a short-term let. Other councils take a different approach. Does the minister not think that updated guidance from the Scottish Government would be helpful so that we have a uniformity of approach across the country instead of the confusion that we currently have? One of the most important points is that, when we set out the policy, it was given local authorities the ability to have their own flexibility and that was something in discussing with Solar that they supported. In coming back in terms of Edinburgh Council itself, I'm aware that they are speaking to petitioners at the moment to try and clarify some of the points that were raised through that. I don't know how discussions are on-going in that regard. The minister made it clear that the court ruling applies only to the city of Edinburgh Council's short-term lets policy and that the national legislation underpinning the licence scheme remains robust and applicable across Scotland with a considerable degree of local discretion. Just as I mentioned in my previous answer, I can confirm that the ruling applies only to a local planning policy of city of Edinburgh Council that relates to the council's interpretation and implementation of legislation for designated short-term let control areas. The ruling does not impact in any way on either planning or short-term licensing legislation, nor indeed was the court asked to consider any matters relating to legislation as part of the judicial review. Our view is that licensing and planning of short-term let accommodation can be operated effectively by authorities so as to respect the rights of hosts and guests. To ask the Scottish Government what social security support is available to people in Motherwell and Wishaw constituency who are experiencing poverty, including fuel poverty. The Scottish Government's priority is to do everything we can to help those who are affected by the cost of living crisis, which is why, since 2022-23, we have continued to allocate around £3 billion a year to support policies that tackle poverty and protect people as far as possible. That includes our investment of over £22 million this winter through our winter heating payment to support around 400,000 households in the lowest incomes to heat their homes. We have also invested over £7 million this year, making over 30,000 payments of child winter heating payment to children, young people in their families in Scotland who may have higher fuel needs due to their disability or health condition. There is no equivalent support available elsewhere in the UK. We continue to raise our investment, increasing all social security benefits in 24-25 by 6.7 per cent in recognition of the challenges being faced across Scotland. Thank the minister for her answer. Energy companies are resuming the installation of pre-payment metres under warrant following updated advice from Ofgem. I have contacted Ofgem and major energy suppliers to say that this is a last resort. However, my constituents in Motherwell and Wishaw at the sharp end of this unfair practice by the energy suppliers tell a very different story. As energy policy remains reserved to Westminster, what engagement has the Scottish Government had with the UK Government regarding the unfair position faced by people who are forced to take pre-payment metres? I very much share the member's concerns regarding the reintroduction of forced pre-payment meter installations of Ofgem's code of practice requiring suppliers to meet a number of conditions before taking such action is an important step. However, too many households remain at risk from this practice, especially with energy costs remaining so high. We believe that energy suppliers must exhaust all options, including meaningful support to sterling households to manage debt before imposing pre-payment metres. The minister for energy and the environment has raised the matter previously with the minister for affordability and skills and will continue to pursue that in meetings with the UK Government and Ofgem in the coming weeks. To ask the Scottish Government how it holds Social Security Scotland to account to ensure that it is fulfilling its responsibility to help claimants who request support to provide supporting information, including obtaining it on their behalf. Social Security Scotland's framework document provides accountability and governance to ensure that Social Security Scotland meets its statutory obligations. The framework requires delivery and keeping with our core values of dignity, fairness and respect, encouraging people to access the benefits that they are entitled to, and assisting them through their application process are rights enshrined in the social security charter. Assisting people to gather supporting information for disability assistance is a fundamental part of delivering those obligations. Reviewing performance on that is a frequent priority in my discussions with the chief executive of Social Security Scotland. I thank the cabinet secretary for the answer. The cabinet secretary recently informed me that Social Security Scotland are committed to ensuring people applying for disability assistance are helped to provide supporting information, which can include obtaining it on their behalf. My constituent advised that, as his claim was considered, he was not contacted once or nor where the clinicals he provided to verify the claims. Can the cabinet secretary advise what data is kept on the number of applicants who may need additional assistance with applications and how often it reviews this? I am afraid that the information that the member has given, or indeed our previous correspondence, has not directed me to a particular constituent and an issue on this. If he has the permission of the constituent to do so, I would be happy to receive that information and work with the agency to look into it. Clearly, one of the integral parts of the work on adult disability payment is to assist those to gather supporting information, which is a very important part of the work. If the member wishes to do so, I know that we have corresponded on this matter previously, but I am not aware that he has raised a particular case where there has been an issue. I would be pleased along with the agency to look into that and get back to the member and correspond it. The support that Social Security Scotland provides to claimants has helped them to build their remarkably high satisfaction ratings, which stand in stark contrast to the reputation of the United Kingdom Government's department of work and pensions. Has the cabinet secretary had any recent discussion with Social Security Scotland as to how it can maintain or even improve claimants' experiences? I have been very pleased to have regular discussions with the agency's executive team on how we can build on the high satisfaction ratings. For example, around nine in 10 survey respondents said that they were treated with kindness and with dignity, fairness and respect. That is in stark contrast to the reports from the DWP's previous system, particularly on personal independence payment. It is still clear that there is work to do to ensure that we are delivering that service for everyone. I am more than happy to always work with members to see what more can be done to improve that. To ask the Scottish Government what support it is offering to local authorities to help people stuck in temporary accommodation. We have committed to reducing the use of temporary accommodation and in response to the recommendations of the temporary accommodation task and finish group, we are investing at least £60 million to the £752 million affordable housing supply programme in 2023-24 to support a national acquisition plan. We are working with partners to develop a new programme for social landlords to maximise the use of existing housing stock alongside targeted partnership plans with the local authorities facing the greatest pressures. Additional funding of £2 million in 2023-24 has been targeted at local authorities with the largest percentage increases in temporary accommodation. What the minister failed to mention is that there are more than 15,000 households stuck in temporary accommodation. The 2020-24 Scottish homelessness monitor predicts that homelessness is expected to increase by 33 per cent by 2026, but what I find shocking is that this SNP Government has chosen to cut the housing budget and to starve councils of funding that are necessary to tackle those issues. Therefore, I ask the Scottish Government if it plans to declare a housing emergency to ensure that the Scottish homelessness monitor's predictions do not come to fruition. I thank the member for her question at a few points, I think that it is important. There is a 10 per cent capital cut from her Government, but I hope that she would take back in terms of that. I am glad that she has mentioned the homelessness monitor because one of the key things that the homelessness monitor actually represents is that the biggest increase is due to the LHA being frozen over a number of years. The report says the exact same thing. It also mentions that benefit rates have been the biggest factor. If she is really serious about that, go back to your chancellor about the budget that is coming in March and discuss those issues. We also spend nearly £100 million a year on discussion housing payments to support that. If we had a decent level of local housing allowance, we would not need to do that. There are three main points that she needs to take back in that regard. I am glad that she mentioned that, because it said that the biggest impact is poverty of which her Government is adding to much more. The new chair, please, minister. Thank you. Question number six, Katie Clark. Ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that it meets its affordable homes target by 2032. Minister. To September 2023, 15,765 homes have been delivered towards 110,000 target, of which 77 per cent are for social rent. A UK budget has meant a 10 per cent real terms for our UK capital funding between 2324 and 2728. Inflationary pressures, Brexit impacts and wider market conditions have triggered rising construction costs in workforce challenges. We remain focused on our target of delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032. To support that, we will also bring forward a review scheduled for 2627 to 2024 with a focus on deliverability. We are also exhilarating more with the financial community to boost private sector investment. Katie Clark. Nearly £200 million is to be cut from the affordable home supply programme. The number of social homes which began construction was down 41 per cent in 2023. An average of 7,700 new social homes need to be built every year to meet the target. So how does the minister believe that that can be achieved if funding is to be cut? Minister. I have referred the member to the previous question just in about the 10 per cent cut in real terms in that. I think that that is an issue. To mention that, we have to deal with that. I think that some of the issues and there was evidence given to the finance committee from the IFS about the cuts in the Scottish Government budget, the cuts in the Welsh Government budget to basically pay for tax cuts. It is a decision that has been made in terms of how we can maximise the deliverability of their programmes on their own. I think that there is also a challenge to Katie Clark and her party if they are successful in the election. I think that one of the key things that they need to look at is about the capital cut and reversing that. I also think that the LHRH is important. If that does happen and there is Labour Government elected later on, we can hopefully discuss that and bring that forward. Those are the main things that are impacting on our deliverability. A couple of supplementaries for Kenneth Gibson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can the minister confirm that the last Labour administration built only six council houses in Scotland between 2003 and 2007? The SNP Government, despite Tory austerity and Sir Keir Starmer's refusal to turn on the taps if he becomes Prime Minister, is still building 1,157 this year nearly 200 times more than Labour built over four years. Yes, indeed. A total of six council houses were built in the last four years of the Labour-led Government in Scotland. A stark contrast to the last four years of the Government was when 7,564 new council houses were built. That is 1,260 times higher than under the last four years of the Labour-led Government. I am proud that, from April 2007 to the end of September 23, we have worked with the sector to deliver 126,396 affordable homes, over 89,000 of which were for social rent, including 23,625,000 council homes. It comes back to the point that Mr Gibson mentioned during the Keir Starmer saying about refusal to turn on the taps. There is a real challenge for Labour on this, if they are elected, and I will come back to that point later on in the year. Scotland's affordable homes targets at risk becoming an impossible dream, not my words, but the words of the chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations across Scotland. The Scottish Government set a target of 10 per cent of all the affordable homes to be in rural and island communities. Last year, though, we saw a record low in approvals and completions. Does the minister accept that the target is unlikely to be met? In my first question to Katie Clark, I mentioned in a bit of review, we are scheduling for 26, 27 to 20, 24, with a focus on deliverability. I mentioned in about some of the issues that have an impact on inflationary pressures, talked about Brexit impacts, and wider market conditions have not helped that. Obviously, the 10 per cent cut mentioned in capital terms in that respect. He mentioned rural homes as well. Obviously, part of the discussions of rural developers that I have been having has been the cost of construction, which has impacted on that. Again, that comes back to where interest rates are, construction inflation over that period of time. Again, I continue to meet local authorities in those areas to bring forward houses in rural areas as well. Question 7, Liz Smith. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of new homes started in rural areas. I have been engaging closely with the range of partners, including local authorities, housing providers and business, including a recent round table event, to support the delivery of more affordable homes across rural Scotland. That work is underpinned by a recently published rural and island house and action plan. We will invest over £556 million in affordable homes across Scotland in next financial year, including the demand-led rural and island house and fund in rural affordable homes for key workers fund. We have also provided funding for community housing trust and the Scottish Community Housing House's trust to support communities to deliver more affordable homes in rural and island communities. Thank you. That is helpful, minister, but can I double-check that out of the 110,000 affordable homes that are planned by 2032, 10 per cent is the figure that is supposed to be built in the rural and island communities? Can I just check that figure, please, because there seemed a bit confusion about it? Obviously, the latest housing statistics from the last quarter in 2023 showed that the number of new homes started had decreased by 24 per cent. Can you tell us how that is going to impact on your ambitions to ensure that the rural areas are well served, given that they are so critical to the sustainability of our rural communities? I thank the member for her question. I think that there was a previous debate obviously to refer to where we talked about around about 10 per cent of any minimum target. Again, we will work with local authorities in that regard, so 10 per cent is a minimum that we are aiming for. If we can obviously deliver more than that, we will deliver more than that, so 10 per cent is a minimum target. I mentioned about the round table that we were having in relation to that. That was with major employers talking about the opportunities about the key workers fund, for example, and I talked about the previous answer when working with the community's housing trust and deliverability of that. I think that there are other opportunities that we are looking at as well. We should be aware of some of the developments in the renewable sector, an individual inverness and so on. We spoke to developers up there along with the local community and the local authority in relation to the opportunities around that, not just around a bit inverness but in areas surrounding that. There are six or seven renewable hubs that we are looking to see how we can deliver that in terms of that. Those are mostly in rural areas as well, so there is an opportunity to develop more housing in these working with, the sector working with developers and so on. I am happy to discuss that later on. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Many young people want the chance to live in the rural and island areas where they have grown up and where they have family ties. Even a small number of new properties can have a significant benefit, such as the development in my constituency by the Hathland Housing Association of four new homes and walls. The outcome of methodology to determine where new houses are built can sometimes differ, though, from the needs expressed by communities. What action can the Scottish Government take on that point? I thank Beatrice Wishart for that. She will know that I visited Hathland a number of months ago and spoke to Hathland about that. She will know that there was infrastructure funding provided as well about the site up there. A particular challenge sometimes is about the topography of the area. She knows that we are working very closely with Hathland and the council in that regard. No, Hathland has had its specific challenges around the renewable sector and other sectors where it has grown, which has put real pressure on any area. It will continue to work very closely with Hathland, and we will have follow-up meetings with it in that regard. One of the key things that is coming back is meeting the local authorities to discuss their individual challenges. I will continue to discuss their particular issues with Hathland. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the lives of disabled people. The Scottish Government is working hard to improve the lives of disabled people. The independent living fund that supports disabled people will reopen to new applicants after receiving a £9 million investment as part of the 2024-25 Scottish budget. That will support around 1,000 new applicants. Later this year, we will implement an immediate priorities plan developed in co-production with disabled people's organisations that will deliver a range of actions to support disabled people. In addition, £5 million from our equality and human rights funds supports disabled people's organisations to tackle inequality and discrimination, furthering equality and advancing the realisation of human rights in Scotland. The Scottish National Party Government claims that Social Security Scotland is founded on dignity, fairness and respect. However, Scots with disabilities are being let down by the system. Specifically, the latest Social Security Scotland statistics show that more than a third of adult disability payment applications have been denied, while the average processing times for the child disability payment is around five months. What action is being taken to ensure that everyone in need of disability benefits receive them in a timely manner? The Scottish Government recognises that some people have waited too long to have their applications decided through Social Security Scotland, but work is on-going to address this and has been improving the situation at pace. I absolutely stand by Social Security Scotland being embedded in dignity, fairness and respect, and that is borne out with the customer client reviews that we have received from Social Security Scotland telling us that the process is far beyond those that the DWP down south receive for similar benefits. I urge the member to ensure that the communications going out to constituents who should feel able to come forward to Social Security Scotland for support and know that they are going to be welcomed and supported to do so is the message that people hear. Can the minister outline how the reopening of the independent living fund will align with the work of Social Security Scotland to support the wellbeing of disabled people? The Scottish Government recognises the pressures on household budgets, including those of disabled people who are disproportionately impacted and being stretched due to the on-going cost of living crisis. That is why, since 2022-23, we continue to allocate around £3 billion a year to social security policies that tackle poverty and protect people as far as possible. The independent living fund provides additional funding to disabled people alongside Social Security and Social Care funding to obtain support to help them to live more independently. The reopening of the fund realise our commitment to further support disabled people who need it most and the £9 million extra investment will provide up to 1,000 new recipients the ability to exercise greater choice and control over the care and support that they receive so that they can be better supported both in their homes and in their communities. The Homes for Scotland existing housing needs report this week showed that 85,000 households are living in properties that do not have adaptations or the sport required for the disabled people who live in them. The 27 per cent cut to the housing budget is not going to help in terms of driving forward the progress that we see on age and adaptations. Can the minister, with the responsibility for equality, tell the chamber what assessment was made of the impact that that will have on disabled people across Scotland? We are all too aware that older and disabled people may struggle to find housing that meets their needs, and we are taking steps to mitigate that. We are increasing the supply of accessible and adapted housing. That concludes portfolio questions on social justice. There will be a brief pause to allow front benches to change before we move on to the next item of business.