okay the next item of business is debate on motion 5106 in the name of mark griffin on cost of living supported invite members who wish to participate to press the request to speak buttons or place an r in the chat function an hour as soon as possible and i call on mark griffin to speak to and move the motion for up to six minutes mr griffin thank you president officer on the day inflation has broken a 40-year record we're using our debate time to call on the scottish government to unlock a further 10 million pounds for local cost of living support for low-income families and by clawing back additional payments of the 400 pounds october energy bill discount from those west second homes which the scottish government amendment appears to accept the principle of would close the loophole which allows the those based off to get a double or potentially treble payment from the cost-eleven measures announced by the uk government the cost of our homes the cost of keeping them running safe and warm is at the heart of this crisis it may well be summer but there are already hundreds of thousands of families that are dreading winter desperately wondering how they will survive mortgages up 90 pounds a month when increases the ons confirmed this morning now surpassed those in england and wales water bills up 4.2 and as of monday the energy cap is estimated to go up by 1 000 pounds in just 100 days now we often talk about someone having to choose between eating and eating but actually a polite way of putting it the reality is that thousands will choose between starving or freezing people will die this winter that's a crisis that will only get worse so the government must respond with action and the irony won't be lost on anyone then that those best off those able to afford it are not one but two homes are set to pocket a windfall of almost 10 million pounds between them simply because they have another home that's not their main residence homes are for living in and a cost of living support package should benefit those who need help most that's what we've demanded agreement on today and i believe that we've secured allowing a select few to pocket a 400 pounds bond because they collectively own our rent twenty four thousand second homes one percent of all stock in this country will not deliver the fairness we expect we welcome the fact that rishi sunak and the snp finally listened to labour calls for a windfall tax on oil and gas companies making bumper profits uh well i thank the member for taking this intervention can i ask if labour will also be supporting my amendment for today which would look towards putting place increase in the single discount for council tax from 25 to 35 to help families now mark griffin no we won't be supporting the conservative amendment today because it deletes large swathes of what we are trying to do we're trying to focus them very acutely on the 10 million pounds that is going to second home owners that we feel shouldn't be receiving that and like i say we have welcomed the fact that the chancellor has introduced this payment but in taking so long to accept that it was necessary his support package rewards those with second homes with their very own windfall wasting 10 million pounds of taxpayers cash that was received synax error but the scottish government appears following labour pressure willing to act and local authorities required to be consulted under the amended 2003 local government act will be absolutely desperate for the powers to unlock a further 10 million pounds to help the most vulnerable in their communities and i'm delighted that the government has chosen to change course on this because just two weeks ago the rural economy and tourism cabinet secretary told me we'd have to wait for the rural and islands housing plan and like the social justice sector the additional dwelling supplement was enough to tackle second homes i won't at this moment i've still got a lot of progress to make sorry mr balfour and president officer i hope that when the minister stands up that we can get a cast iron assurance that the government will not hang about on this these powers are already in play councils already remove discounts on second homes and charge a 100 surcharge on homes left empty raising 45 million pounds a year for local house building each year the work has to be done with the money uh with at councils by the autumn we can't accept that's been kicked into the long grass and like the government has with other issues like the transient and visitor levy levy nor can we accept quibbling over issues around a potentially taxi council tax collection on empty homes and we can't play politics with this we need to recover these funds and get them to those who need them most but there's also a wider moral argument for taxing second homes more until today scotland was the outlier across great britain lacking plans for a search on second homes even michael gove is introducing a surcharge on second homes something that seems to have passed by the conservative amendment today but even before the pandemic tens of thousands of scots have been unable to find a place they can afford to call home stuck on waiting lists unable to get their foot on the property ladder struggling to make ends meet to pay private rents they don't have a warm affordable and safe home second homes are those broadly left empty for much of the year furnished a holiday home or crash pad for some there are luxury communities crying out for families homes can't afford with inflation now set to reach double figures by the end of this year and 100 days until the cap has increased the government must use this summer to prove its willingness to act and remove the emotion in my name thank you president thank you very much mr gibbon and as i elected the chamber earlier portfolio questions were really tight for time across the afternoon with a later than usual decision time i'd appreciate if members could stick to the speaking allocations there might be a little bit of time back for interventions but really not an awful lot and i call on the minister tom arthur to speak to a move amendment 5106.2 for up to five minutes mr arthur thank you presiding officer and in moving this amendment let me say that the scottish gold government welcomes this debate and the issue raised by the labour party is an important one i will turn to the government's response to the motion shortly under wider response to the cost of living crisis but before i do let me first set out the government's position on second homes we recognise that good quality affordable housing is essential to support communities to prosper across scotland well second homes bring benefits to those who own them and the tourism businesses they support we know that in some communities second homes can impact on the availability of property to meet local needs it can also just as importantly impact on a community's sustainability that's why we have already taken action on second homes since 2013 councils have been able to vary the discount against council tax for second homes and since 2017 they've had the power to remove the discount in all or part of their council area in january 2019 we increased land and buildings transaction tax additional dwelling supplement from three percent to four percent of the total purchase price for any additional home of 40 000 pounds or more this is intended to protect opportunities for first-time buyers in scotland but can act as a disincentive to second home purchases we will consider all options as we take forward our commitment to introduce powers for local authorities to manage the number of second homes in their areas this will recognize they are different challenges faced by urban and rural areas and will explore fiscal and non-fiscal options that will support the housing needs of different communities across scotland turning to the issue raised by the motion today we agree that it is clearly wrong that second homeowners benefit from the 400 pound energy rebate from the uk government that the uk government is making available using the council tax system to recover this 400 pounds has merit but is not straightforward so we will work with kosla and local government to examine all options to recover this money including through a council tax levied on second homes in fact we will explore going beyond just second homes and also consider applying a similar measure to long-term empty homes as well we will explore using the funds raised to support local cost of living responses on a fair and equitable basis across councils and i can confirm that i will be writing to kosla this afternoon certainly neil baby i thank the minister for taking that intervention and are welcome that he's going to explore this with with kosla obviously we're living in a cost-living crisis at the moment there's an emergency we need to ensure some additional support is going to those who need it so can i ask him about the time scales of that engagement because i don't think we've got time to waste in terms of recovering this money can ask him what time skills he's going to be a minister in this case the member of maywest i'm writing to cause of this afternoon on this matter and i want these discussions to begin any honest because i do recognize the issues that the member raises now turning presiding officer because i'm conscious of time to cost of living support this government has shown that we respond quickly and effectively to economic crises ensuring that appropriate support is in place for those on low incomes at the height of the pandemic we move the pace to introduce our 100 pounds covered winter hardship payments for families becoming the first administration in the uk to introduce such vital support through this measure we put over 14 million pounds in the pockets of low-income families in december 2020.
We followed up with our 69 million pounds investment in the 130 pound low-income pandemic payment to support over 530 000 low-income households and receipt of council tax reduction or who were exempt or not liable for council tax by the end of november 2021 presiding officer through the budget for 2022-23 the scottish government has allocated almost three billion pounds to a range of supports that will contribute to mitigating the impact of the increased cost of living on households this includes work to tackle child poverty reduce inequalities and support financial well-being alongside social security payments not available anywhere else in the uk and our resource spending review prioritizes 22.9 billion pounds for social security assistance responding to the crisis we also took the decision to operate eight scottish benefits by six percent and to invest the further 10 million pounds in our fuel and security fund to support households at risk of severely rationing their energy use or self-disconnecting this is significant financial support for those living in scotland which will prove that which will provide protection for those on the lowest incomes but the rest of the uk do not have while we do all that we can we must not forget that it's westminster that holds most of the powers needed to tackle the cost of living crisis both in the immediate and longer term including over energy the minimum wage national insurance and 85 percent of social security spending the scottish government has continually urged the uk government to use all the powers and fiscal headroom at their disposal to address the cost of living crisis as part of that on the 25th may the cabinet secretary for finance wrote to the chancellor setting out policies that would offer a long-term solution to the cost of living crisis by ignoring our calvary comprehensive funding package to fully address the unprecedented cost of living crisis the chancellor's piecemeal approach makes it highly likely that more support will be needed when energy bills again rise significantly in the autumn and concluding presiding officer i would say again that the government welcomes this issue being raised by the motion we will constructively examine all options to recover this money through a council tax levied on second homes and long-term empty properties in order to support local cost of living responses on a fair and equitable basis we will engage with kosla and local government on the most effective ways to do that taking that approach presiding officer fitz with this government's commitment to tackling the cost of living crisis with all the tools that we currently have at our disposal thank you minister i now call on miles briggs effort to speak to move amendment 5106.1 for up to five minutes thank you deputy president officer and can i also start by thanking the labour party for bringing forward today's debate because every msp will be acutely aware of the cost of living pressures facing people across the country at the moment and the need for every level of government to be working to help support individuals and families during this difficult time the economic pressures we are facing are considerable pressures created by global events including rises in fuel prices putin's illegal invasion of ukraine and the country recovering from covert 19 pandemic are causing a strain on all cost of living for families and businesses they are being negatively impacted due to inflation and the rises in everyday prices that's why it is welcome and why i brought forward my amendment um that the uk government has taken a number of key actions that will support the most vulnerable households in our country with 1200 pounds of support payments the new measure is being brought forward by uk ministers to help address the cost of living crisis are welcome and the start of what must be a concerted effort to drive down costs of living pressures the energy bill support scheme will see every household receive 400 pounds off their energy bills with additional funding being provided to those on benefits people with disabilities and pensioners it's also important to know that raising the national insurance threshold and cutting universal credit type of rate will allow people to keep more of the money they earn as well as actions to cut fuel duty and lower fuel costs as well taken together as a package that is 37 billion pounds of focused spending on the most vulnerable families in scotland and across the uk deputy design officer from next month around 8 million people on the lowest incomes in the country will also receive a cost of living payment of 650 pounds support worth well over 5 billion pounds to give people the support they need during these challenging times and the department for working pensions will make these payments in two lump sums first being in july and the second in autumn with payments from hmrc to those on tax credits following shortly after it's welcome and also worth reflecting that the social security additional payments bill has been tabled today at westminster and is progressing through parliament there deputy design officer we know that pensioners and disabled people are disproportionately impacted by higher energy costs and that's why from this autumn the uk government will deliver additional support to over eight million pensioner households who receive the winter fuel payments an extra one-off pensioner cost of living payment of 300 pounds direct help is being provided to people and we need to make sure that every level of government is doing just that many disabled people for example will also receive a payment of 650 pounds taking the total cost of living payment to over 800 pounds that is real action from the uk government but we on these benches want to see more and if i can get the time back and only some of it i suspect it's very very modern in addition to things that you've mentioned is there anything happening at the uk government level that's going to deal with the regulation of fuel costs and well these discussions are taking place as we speak and i think it's important that they're being developed but we've seen action already with that five percent cut and i think that we all want to see more action and that's something which i'm pleased the chancellor has been leading on and but we on these benches also want to see more action from the scottish government which we're here to debate today that's why i have raised the need and we stood on the manifesto at the council elections to look towards how we can increase the single person discount for council tax from 25 percent to 35 this is a measure which could directly be used by snp ministers now to help every single person in scotland save an average of 134 pounds a year in an average band d property and that is not a bureaucratic process that something this parliament could pass and could deliver the support which is needed so i'm disappointed that the labour party and i take it snp ministers will be also not supporting that support which we've brought you're not going to get anything right no i can't in that case um deputy presiding officer scottish conservatives want to see and do support the measures which have been brought forward by richard soon at the chancellor in the spring statement and for this cost of living statement as well to deliver their support which all of our constituents are looking for to conclude supporting people across scotland and the uk with the cost of living crisis is critical but we also need to focus on building a stronger economy that's why we must see a relentless focus from both of scotland's governments on creating more well-paid jobs cutting taxes for working people driving business investment and innovation and leasing the new skills revolution and leveling up growth across all parts of scotland and the united kingdom can i move the amendment in my name thank you very much mr briggs and i call on willie renee for up to four minutes mr renny i mean there's no doubt that miles briggs presents a very reasonable case but the truth is that his amendment today deletes the central purpose of labour's motion which is to actually pull back from 25 000 properties the owners of 25 000 properties around about 400 pounds each now we never explained why he he never defended his position today um and i think he also didn't defend i think some of the reprehensible behavior of some of his colleagues um particularly at westminster who seek to blame the poor for their budgetary difficulties at times including they should cook better and they should budget better and i think it'd be better i'll take an intervention from miles brexit if he's going to explain i think in terms of where the labour party and the government are we don't have this mechanism so it's quite clear that this can't happen now my amendment brings forward something which can and 134 pounds discount could be delivered so the fact that the government have moved to go and ask kozler to look at this is one thing but it's not delivering help here and now will it rainy and the motion today and the fact that the government's accepting the principle of this does indicate that it is possible to do this and i'm disappointed that miles briggs wasn't even prepared to explore that proposition in his in his speech and the scale of the the problem is significant the ons data today is really quite stark with the the food drink and clothes cost for another typical family is now at 5780 pounds per year up 425 pounds in one year the fuel costs for a typical family up 310 in addition to the conservatives tax hikes which is around about 640 this is a 1300 pound hit before you even get to the energy costs this is an enormous cost and then when you look at the fact that the the increase in vat tax take now means an extra 8.6 billion pounds over the next year into the government's coffers means i think the government can go much further than it's currently gone just now and i would have liked to have heard miles briggs perhaps putting pressure on the uk government to do something along those lines because that would mean another 430 pounds per family now i think we should take some immediate action to cut vat from 20 to 17 and a half percent because that would take some an immediate help to families and i think that's what we should be supporting now we will support labour's motion today we i'm actually really thought of time i would like to but i'm really sure of time but the fact that today's debate is happening it probably signifies a wider problem that we've got in society the fact that 25 000 properties are now classed as second homes i think indicates we need to take wider and firmer action on the increasing numbers of homes that are taken out of circulation for working families in places like mine in north east 5 particularly the east newcaster 5 where people can't afford to live in the communities that are working the prices of properties are sky high and they're off often occupied by second homeowners who only live in the in the properties very periodically so i think this speaks to a wider problem which is why i've been pressing the government for a clearer indication about where they're going to go and tackling the number of second homes we did take some steps on the short term let's but the other half of the equation is we need to take steps on second homes as well so we will support labour's motion today and it will introduce another 10 million pounds into the scottish government finances which we can use to target to those who are most in need so that's why we support it today and i'll conclude on that point very wise mr rennie thank you very much we now move to the open debate and i call alec growly to be called followed by christian graham for up to four minutes thank you president officer and i certainly support the motion that's brought forward today and i'm pleased to support the amendment we need to look at how we can support people and support those that are in the greatest need so as willie rennie talked about targeted support and how do we deliver on targeted support the tories they plan to relax controls on city bosses pay so we can see who they want to target and it is more to the rats while the poor suffer and that cannot be acceptable we need to recognize that for older people people with disabilities they will use a lot more energy so you can imagine the difficulties that they're facing right now and that's one group of people but the fact is that wages have stagnated over a number of years the tories try and say that we need to hold wages down because the inflation but we know that it is energy costs that are spiraling out of control that's leading to the high inflation we have and i fear greater inflation uh going forward so the pressures will be even greater now there are things that the scottish government can do if you look at for example the public sector workers and the wage claims that are coming forward at the present time so the government have offered five percent to nhs workers but for some nhs workers on the lowest pay that will be perhaps a thousand pounds a year for nhs workers on much higher pay that is 5 000 pounds a year so the unions are rightly saying that's not fair in terms of local government the offer on the table the now seems to be two percent so for the chief executive if you've counseled earning 200 000 pounds a year two percent is quite uh quite an offer but it's not the same for low paid workers on fifteen twenty thousand pounds a year so the scottish government i think will have to look again in terms of wages and ensuring that local authorities have the funding to be able to pay the lowest paid workers so that they can actually tackle this this this problem um as i say the tories are quite happy to to try and help the rats but not help the poor but it's also time for all people in this country gordon brown spoke at the weekend and said all people of conscience and good will faith groups charities foundations local councillors mayors and concerned business business leaders all in the country's nation and regions nations and regions to call on the chancellor for a fourth budget to prevent what is likely to be the biggest rise in family poverty that we have seen in our lifetime so i would hope that this this parliament could unite behind such a call because yes there's more scottish government can do yes there's things that we all need to do to try and help but the reality is that the chancellor needs to bring forward a budget that will actually tackle these problems and tackle them head-on this parliament could begin by uniting in a call on the government to restore the 20-pound universal credit uplift and take steps to help those families right now as we came towards this crisis the tories actually cut money from some of the poorest people in the country and people that were in work remember tax credits were there to help people who were low paid so we can unite in this parliament and ask them to restore that by next winter it's likely that over five million children across the uk will be living in poverty in one of the wealthiest countries in the world because we have a government that is refusing to act so i would appeal let's join together let's work together the amendment shows that the government's willing to do that let's work together and call on the uk government to take the steps that it needs to take to address this crisis now i now call on christine graham to be followed by paul sweeney i will be enforcing the four-minute um deadlines from now on mrs graham crumbs i'm frightened now uh deputy resign officer can i thank the labour party for bringing this motion and i absolutely support the clawing back of the 400 pound payment being credited to people with second homes indeed third and fourth homes and until longer term unoccupied homes incidentally i think richard sunek has at least four homes i'm not sure if number 11 down the street's one and maybe as part a neighbor next door they're not they're not getting it you seem to know more than me there's obvious that this was rushed though so the conservatives could be seen to be doing something so as you can understand i support your motion and i'm glad you also support the snp amendment which i think adds value and detail to the substantive motion but i say to people that even if you only receive that 400 pound credit once let alone multiple times and frankly you can manage without then you can always donate a like some to a food bank because you can't get around it any other way that said this is a sticking plaster and there's all inflationary circumstances the economically vulnerable the single parents the lowing people low incomes pensioners and the disabled always suffer the worse is to come the days are mild heating is off or on low though some housebound will have to have the heating on whatever it's like outside domestic energy costs are set to rise to around three thousand pound a year and food inflation has not yet peaked there is of course no cap on home heating oil much used in areas such as midlothian south tweedle and lauderdale because it's unregulated of course the war in ukraine is having an impact on the uk economy but why is it that we have one of the highest inflation rates in the g7 with the exception of russia that's because the destructive impact of brexit can no longer be camouflaged by covet these are not my words the centre for european reform analysis shows that brexit has cost the uk billions of pounds in lost trade lost investment lost taxes money this country could really do with at a time of rising debt and falling living standards this is all relevant to the crisis that people find themselves in according to london school of economic brexit alone has caused a six percent spike in uk food prices these are independent sources as for covered the national institute of economic and social research the oldest non-partisan economic research institute in the uk has criticized richie sunic after he failed to take out insurance against rate rises and quantitative easing reserves that cost 900 billion that's nine hundred thousand million or two thousand pounds per person this is economic chaos and mismanagement add to that at least 11 billion wasted in useless ppe which requires to be incinerated and the propagancy and incompetence of the uk government running the economy is there for all of us to see but the people who suffer are not the bankers they're not the people who made a lot of money will continue to take money during inflation it's the people who are vulnerable so i call on the chancellor to slash the 20 vat on fuel which already has duty levied on it so you get attacks and attacks that would reduce transport costs for commercial for the public sector and for research essential personal travel to reinstate the uplift on universal credit of 20 pounds per week i call on the uk government to proactively pursue the uptake of benefits for example 40 of those entitled to pension credit do not claim they should be pushing that those people claim it perhaps the treasury just wants to keep that money but i know that's not enough here we have stretched mitigation to its limits we must detach ourselves from this failing uk government and with independence set our course for our just society thank you thank you ms graham i now call on paul we need to be followed by alexander stewart again for up to four minutes mr speaker thank you deputy presiding officer and i'm delighted to be able to contribute to this debate today and to support the motion and then my friend mark griffin the cost of living crisis is the biggest challenge facing families across scotland and the wider united kingdom inflationary pressures stagnating wages and geopolitical upheaval have resulted in a perfect storm food prices are up energy prices are up and fuel prices are up and in the past year the cost of an average family's food shopping has increased by almost 400 pounds energy prices per household have jumped by over 700 pounds and looks set to increase by the same again in october and fuel prices have increased by almost one pound a liter meaning that the average family car now costs 100 pounds to fill up and of course our housing costs are amongst the highest in europe with that rent seeking behavior sapping a real productive potential across the economy and whilst this is all happening wages have stagnated for over a decade even those offered wage rises this year are not likely to be offered a raise high enough to keep up with rising inflation we should be in no doubt that this combination of price increases and compressed wages are really biting hard citizens advice scotland estimate that one in every five people in scotland now run out of money before payday the stress and fear that causes every month to families is frightening the poverty and inequality commission estimate that one in four children live in poverty in scotland one in five working age people in scotland live in poverty and 61 of working age adults living in poverty are living in a household where someone is in employment are we really going to just accept that this is the norm or are we going to pretend that this isn't going to get significantly worse by the end of the year deputy presiding officer it is essential that we understand the underlying factors driving this inflation brexit labor market shortages and the post-pandemic clamour are undoubtedly playing their part but there is also an egregious economic power grab at play here too ippr scotland and commonwealth published research this week highlighting that net profits for companies are up by a staggering 33 percent compared with before the pandemic and 90 percent of that are profits made by just 25 companies at a time where workers have been told by the tories and some in the snp that their demands for better wages are increasing and exacerbating inflationary pressures we should instead understand that excess profits are a much greater driver and we should be considering measures to ensure that profit restraint and its redistribution to ensure greater income equality through taxing investments at the same rates we do income as an un underutilized and under appreciated tool at our disposal the demands for pay restraint come at a time when railway workers are taking strike action for better pay terms and conditions and i want to put on record my solidarity unequivocally and completely because workers have been ripped off for too long blamed for the failings of success of governments to address the structural fragilities at the heart of our economy they have decided to stand up and be counted by using their power to collectively bargain so i pay tribute to the rmt for their work and rather than criticizing unions for democratically representing the views and wishes of their members we should be encouraging other sectors to unionize and collectively bargain for better working conditions because if workers aren't able to use their collective power to bargain they are left begging the owners of capital we need to tackle this crisis with a clear understanding of the underlying structural problem and frankly neither government is doing much in that regard contrary to what the bank of england's governor tells us you need to include mr sweeney the way we need to get out this mess is to put more money into people's pockets and to see more profit restraint from businesses not the other way around thank you deputy presiding officer i'm pleased to be speaking in favor of the amendment today and the motion in the name of miles briggs over the last two years the pandemic required financial interventions that were previously unheard of unprecedented times required and resulted in unprecedented measures in total the uk government spent 410 billion to mitigate the efforts and effects of the pandemic and scotland's government received an extra 14.7 billion pound inconsequentials while scotland is finally on on road to recovery from the pandemic itself we are still facing difficult and uncertain times jeffrey presiding officer as such i welcome the package of measures that have been put in place to tackle the cost of living crisis following two years of covert spending it can be hard to put into context just how extensive these measures have now become however a package to support totaling over 37 billion is significant by any measure deputy presiding officer whilst in the motion today labor have chosen to focus on a specific aspect of the financial support that the truth is that the package to support one comes at from all directions the cost of living payments to increase the minimum wage the fuel duty cuts and of course the energy bill support scheme whilst the scheme will deliver financial support to every household in great britain the fact is deputy presiding officer that three quarters of the total financial support will go to the most vulnerable in our communities and that is to be welcomed as my party's shadow for older people i welcome the fact that pensioners in receipt of pension credits will be over 1600 pound better off a result of some of this support while the support is welcome the onus lies now with the scottish government to do more in this area these include arranging and ensuring that the burden of tax is matching that uh within the uk and that when it comes to income tax cuts increasing the single person tax cut discount to 35 is something we've called for and continue to do so i'm afraid my time is limited it also includes helping local authorities to be flexible to respond to the needs of individual households in each areas of the country while councils are best placed to respond to the local needs in this way their job has been made significantly harder jeopardy presiding overs by the legacy of cuts that they've faced over the last decade though it is not to suggest that this government should look towards labour's solutions presiding officer to support the scottish public through the christ is given but the tax support that labour is is looking at the support that labour and the snp would raise from this is half the energy profit levy that is expected to deliver presiding over over the last two years we have seen unprecedented package of financial support delivered by governments the worldwide and the world over and a huge amount of funding has been affected we saw with the initiatives of the furlough scheme that protected over 1 million scots jobs during the pandemic we are seeing it again with the energy bill support scheme i have spoken before in this chamber about the broad financial soldiers of the united kingdom and this is uh an opportunity to once again ensure that that is the case so in conclusion deputy presiding officer only by working together with the uk government and delivering on the potential that the broad shoulders provide can the scottish government deliver and and recover from covert that the public and the scottish public expect i support the amendment in the name of miles briggs because that today shows the amount of time the amount of effort and the amount of resource that's been putting in to try and tackle this issue which will continue to be an issue for us going forward but we are moving forward and we are tackling in the best we can thank you deputy designing officer thank you mr stewart um the next three speakers all join us online starting with paul mclennan to be followed by arianne burgess up to four minutes and i will hold you to that in the same way as i'm holding members in the chamber mr mclennan thank you deputy officer can i thank the labour party for paying forward debate this afternoon the cost loving crisis is impacting and all of her constituencies in all parts scotland can i support the amendment that the scottish government has proposed to athenian hope that the labour party can support this i would agree that the uk government's 400 pound energy rebate has not been thought through and will apply to second homes the motion from the labour party has merit scottish government as being indicated by the minister has already been working on the issue of second homes and have already changed legislation to ensure that council type discounts are in the hands of local authorities scottish government will be working with newly formed causal leadership to examine all options to recover this money through a council tax levied on second homes and are considering as minister said expanding the measure to long-term empty homes i'm glad that the minister has written to cause that today and i'm sure cause they'll come back very quickly i think because i will welcome this consensus approach and to ensure that it's sustainable and unfair in this short speech i want to look at the current situation and what we need to do to support the most vulnerable in society this morning east london food bank reported a year and year increase of 86 on food bank usage and reported its busiest ever month the cost of living is increasing all over the world due to inflationary pressures fuel costs food costs and of course the war in ukraine however make no mistake this has been exacerbated by the symbolic management of the economy by the uk tory party inflation this morning reached a 40-year high in 9.7 and remember growth rate is projected to be the lowest in the g20 apart from russia the institute for fiscal studies estimates that inflation is hitting the produced households harder as they spend more of their money on gas and electricity and i would echo what other speakers are saying you can at least do more and costs of energy and on brexit the resolution foundation in the report last week said leaving the uk has reduced how competitive britain's economy is and which in turn is reducing productivity and workers real wages the report which was incapable of collaboration with the london school of economics said that the impact of brexit has been clear with a depreciate depreciation driven inflation spike increasing the cost of living for households and seeing in business and investment falling brexit is a word that you'll never hear from the tory branches we've heard nothing about it this afternoon no acknowledgement at all of its impact in scotland and the poorest in society the research estimated that labour productivity has been reduced by 1.3 which is contributing to weaker wage growth which real pay is set to fall about 500 pounds per worker each year on average and it would have been otherwise citizens advised scotland found that one in three scots found energy bills and affordable and shamefully almost half a million people in scotland have had to choose between heating and eating present officer in conclusion the uk government must go further in providing targeted direct support for those most in need of course doubling the discount household energy bills to 400 pounds is welcome but it still doesn't do enough to make the impacts of price increases for those least will to pay the scottish government is investing almost 770 million pounds this year in cost of living support including a range of family benefits not available to anybody else in the uk mitigating the bedroom tax and benefit cap and increasing scottish benefits by six percent 1.8 billion pounds has been committed to the down payment over the next year's next four years combined with the three best upgrades and best start foods finally it's the westminster it holds most of the powers needed to tackle the cost of land crisis both in the media and the longer term labour's over energy the minimum age national insurance and 85 of social security powers scottish government is supporting the most vulnerable in a society in many ways with the powers of independence we could do much more thank you thank you very much mr mcclendon i may call on arianne burgess to be followed by ruth mcguire again up to four minutes mrs burgess wedding officer and i too would like to thank mark griffin for bringing this important issue to the foreground it's incumbent on the scottish government to do everything it can to mitigate the harsh impact of the cost of living crisis this is undeniable and i doubt as we've heard today that anyone will disagree the cost of living crisis is plunging countless households into fuel and food poverty and is making the comings and goings of everyday life extremely challenging for people across scotland projections emanating from the bank of england do not offer reassurance on the contrary its government governor now expects an astounding peak in the rate of inflation at 11 which is a worrying figure to put it mildly scrutiny of energy and finance policy is essential now but such scrutiny must be focused on where decisions are made on energy and finance policy it's surprising that the measures taken by a tory government led by ultra wealthy and law-breaking individuals is disproportionately benefiting the rich in times of crisis but let's contrast uk government actions with our own government's actions because this government is not exempt from scrutiny and should not shy away from sound proposals for improvement the scottish government is rightly extending itself to support individuals and families in this unprecedented challenging time under the defective devolution settlement this must be done within the bounds of severe resource constraints but this is necessary to limit the damage inflicted by the uk government's inaction and ineptitude for example as the minister stated earlier the scottish government is investing 770 million pounds in cost of living measures including operating eight scottish social security payments by six percent to support people facing rising costs thanks to the progressive alliance between the greens and smp in government almost 1.8 billion is being committed to the scottish child payment over the next four years the 20 pound per child per week doubled in april and this will increase further by 20 pounds 25 pounds by the end of the year when it will also be extended to under-16s on the other hand the uk government is providing a grand package of 37 billion pounds including the energy bills support scheme but the devils in the detail all households will receive this 400 pounds including second homes and households on high and super high incomes the tory government have made the completely inadequate suggestion that those who don't need the 400 simply donate it to a charity of their choice this is not good enough the wealthy and ultra wealthy do not enjoy their status because of their voluntary care and generosity but the scottish government must consider all of its options to mitigate the regressive impact of uk government policy this is nothing new in principle the motion in question today is a welcome one but we need to be careful when the opposition in this chamber demands a top-down intervention effectively prescribing to local authorities how they should govern their finances it's essential that any proposed measures directly affecting local government are designed in the first instance in consultation with kosla and with other relevant stakeholders i support in principle the empowerment of local authorities enabling them to design and implement targeted fiscal policies such as increased council tax aimed at second homes but more generally i want to use this opportunity to say that these reactive proposals from labor do not solve the problem depending on the appetite for this by kosla and among stakeholders i agree that local authorities need to be empowered in this way indefinitely thank you thank you ms burgess and we now move to ruth maguire the final speaker in the open debate for up to four minutes ms mcguire welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate and i support the proposals set out by labour as amended by the scottish government i think that the addition of empty homes and the importance of equitable distribution um adds value to their motion although the cost of living crisis brings bad news for almost everyone is those on low to middle incomes for who it potentially poses an unmanageable challenge and it is predicted to get worse inflation is now at a 40-year high with the office for national statistics blaming higher food prices particularly for everyday staples such as bread cereal and meat for the increase and while higher earners may be able to absorb this cost years of austerity and low income growth under tory governments left those on the lowest earnings with little to no room to maneuver resolution foundation reported that for those of the lowest earnings disposable incomes increased by 3 456 pounds between year 2000 and 2020 before the richest their income grew by 12 393 pounds supermarket asda has commented today that some shoppers are setting 30 limit 30 pound limits at checkouts and petrol pumps customers putting less in their baskets and switching to budget ranges presiding officer while the doubling of the energy discount to 400 pounds is not unwelcome it falls short of mitigating price increases for those least able to afford their energy bills and while second home will receive double payments others are not eligible for any payments i've been contacted by constituents who live in a park home estate and due to having no direct utility account they'll not receive any help with their energy bills this is a concern which has not been addressed and yet the uk chancellor has chosen to spend only half 30 billion that he has at his disposal over the last two years the scottish budget has fallen by 5.2 with another 1 sustained until 2026.
despite this the scottish government have made an investment of 770 million in cost of living support we saw the scottish child payment doubled in april which will again rise by the end of the year together with the three best start grants and best start food will provide scottish families with more than ten thousand pounds by the time their first child turns six excuse me girl poverty action group has reported this combined value of scottish government policies along with lower child care costs reduces the net cost of bringing up a child by up to 31 for low-income families providing some much-needed relief what's more to help address the current cost of living pressures and to also recognize the needs of families pre-school age smp-run north ayrshire council have agreed to increase the scheduled summer child bridging payment of 130 pounds 230 pounds this is an additional one-off payment of 100 pounds for families within my constituency and throughout north ayrshire who already receive low-income free school meals and the child bridging payment presiding officer there's no respite from the relentless rise in prices some are facing the terrifying reality of not being able to afford the basics and increasing numbers facing stark choices it is westminster who hold the most powers needed to tackle the cost of living crisis this time they flexed their fiscal powers and realized lower income households do not have the flexibility available to them that higher income households use to manage price increase thank you thank you very much mr mcguire we now move to the uh closing speeches and i call first jeremy balfour for up to five minutes mr baltimore thank you deputy president we are experiencing some of the most extraordinary global events in my lifetime the war in ukraine broken supply chains and rising energy places all while the world is struggling to get off its knees post pandemic across the world people are looking at their bank balance worrying but is worth less than it was the day before and is incumbent upon governments to support those who serve any means that is available to them that includes both direct support to those who are in need but most also to ensure that they get a handle on inflation so as to slow the depreciation of people's hard-earned savings deputy president officer scotland is fortunate to have a government in westminster but is committed to providing this support throughout the pandemic the uk government provided an unprecedented level of support to the people of scotland spending over 400 billion in total the furlough scheme unwritten are underwritten by the broad soldiers of its checker allowed millions of families to remain safe at home without having to worry about the risk of health for paycheck the fast and efficient low light of united vaccines team allowed our economy to remain resilient we managed to get shorts and arms faster than any other european country leading to our economy bouncing back to above three pandemic levels presiding office of the uk government not only has a track record for backing up this commitment to supporting the people of scotland but as both my colleagues on this benches are pointed out it continues to back up as providers aid to those who are in need in this difficult time there are a number of measures that have been implemented at this time the 400 pound energy grant promises to make a real difference to those who struggle with global rise in energy prices the cut in fuel duty by five pounds per liter lowers the proportion of commuting a committed wage that had to be spent on travel again putting money directly in my pockets of hardworking scottish people it represents an amazing five billion pounds in savings for two meters the universal credit taper has been adjusted to make sure that people who are receiving support can take him take home more of the hard-earned pay without the fee of losing the benefits a hundred and fifty pound cost of living payment for disabled people will help to cover the extra costs that following those who are disabled and assuming that some of the most vulnerable people in scotland don't suffer excessively because of an accident of birth or later in life pensioners who are on the seat of a winter fuel payment will receive an extra 300 pounds to help with the cost of utilities deputy presiding officer i hope that you can see a theme here the uk government has time after time is supporting the people of scotland especially those who are most in need and finally presiding officer on that theme i want to put on record my full support from the amendment in the name of my colleague miles briggs i wonder whoever is summing up a for the labour party we can answer two questions that we haven't been able to take in interventions firstly how much will it cost to recoup the 10 million pounds in administration costs and secondly how quickly and with what scheme will they do to be able to get that money back we've heard from the minister that he's written to kozler i suspect the reason he's listening to kozler is that he knows it's not possible to get the money back and if that's not the case perhaps reverse coming up looking through that i'm afraid my time is always gone we on these branches fundamentally believe that people know better what to do with their money than the government does raising the single person's discount on counter attacks to 35 percent will provide a huge boost to those who live alone and again will keep hard-earned wages in the pockets of these who need them this is a measure that we in this parliament can and should implement now with the powers that we have and if we were serious i'm sorry my time's almost gone and if we were serious if snp and labor were serious in regard to a commitment they would be supporting our amendment this evening and we will be doing something before the end of this parliament goes in to recess the uk government is taking this commitment seriously sadly others aren't and i hope that we do support the conservative amendment because it will do something practically that will actually affect people today rather than just giving words of warmth which would do nothing to help people's actual circumstances thank you thank you very much mr balfour i now call on the minister ben mcpherson and for up to four minutes minister thank you sign officer and like many others i really welcome this debate and to be honest with the exception of the last contribution i think this afternoon has shown the scottish parliament at its best msps working together to help those we serve as much as we can at a time of real need and i particularly welcome that those of us on the left and in the centre of the political spectrum are constructively collaborating to make a meaningful difference and to build a more just society and this is something to be welcomed going forward as well and that's why we also welcome and support the proposal from labour but we'll be doing more by also considering how to effectively ensure that long-term empty homes which are a blight in many communities also do not benefit from the 400 pounds energy rebate and we will also do so in conjunction with local authorities through kosla there will be a range of detailed considerations to work through and we want to do that in a constructive way with local government to find the most effective method of ensuring that the 400 pounds energy rebate for second homes and empty homes can be used to tackle the cost of living crisis in in local communities so we will work with um kosa to examine all options to recover this money through a council tax levied on second and empty homes we will also work with them to ensure that this is done in a fair and equitable way and considering the the demographics in scotland and as it is possible that any action to provide powers to councils to address this through council tax will require legislation and again we look forward to working with labour party and others and having their full support for any necessary legislation required in terms of um second homes we are aware of the impact uh that these have and short-term let's have in many communities and it is often raised an issue that comes up uh to local residents finding homes uh to live in a point that willie rennie made well and that's why we took action on short-term let's both in terms of planning and in terms of creating the licensing scheme also our long-term housing strategy housing to 2040 outlines our intention to give local authorities the power to manage the number of second homes and they will see this where they see this as a problem in their locality and since 2013 councils have been able to vary the discount against council tax for second homes and in 2017 we changed legislation to ensure that council tax discounts for second homes are either no longer available or in the hands of local authorities and we are also taking action through land the building's transaction tax through our additional dwelling supplement and we will of course be reviewing that as we committed to in the budget members have rightly asked um that the government must respond and as a scottish government we of course absolutely are we have put in place a considerable package of support that the minister for public finance set out at the start of this debate uh with a package of almost three billion pounds to a range of supports that will contribute to mitigating the impact of the increased cost of living on households and of course we will continue to look to do more where we can with the limited powers that we have and the constrained budget that we have in terms of the suggestion put forward by the conservative party i would i think it's important to to state that increasing the single person discount to 35 percent um would need to have a budgetary cut elsewhere because it would cost more than 100 million pounds and not be means tested so as is too often the case unfortunately the conservative party have brought an idea of spending more but not considered where that resource would come from in other parts of the budget so you know we need to see some more seriousness from the conservative party if they are interested in actually making a meaningful difference in debates like today like the labour party have um no i certainly will not um just winding up because as as others have said um we really need to remember that the westminster government holds most of the powers needed to tackle the cost of living crisis we have welcomed the uh initiative that they have taken but they still need to do more both in the immediate and the longer term using their fiscal headroom and their powers this including ideas like from alex raleigh around the 20 pounds universal credit uplift and also action on investments like paul sweeney mentioned which of course are reserved do you need to conclude no minister you guys five months it's four minutes he said five i said no i said four oh well i do apologize to design officer um i will conclude by um i will i will conclude but with apologizing again and to state that we hope members will support our amendment and then vote for the amended motion thank you thank you minister i now call on again to wind up the debate for up to five minutes ms grant and thank you presiding officer the cost of living crisis is causing fear and alarm to many people those that were not managing previously and to those that were just managing and therefore any assistance is very welcome but it's calling therefore that this help designed to help the worst off and is going to people who are often enough to to afford a second home and in some cases multiple second homes meaning they receive double what those in need are receiving nearly 10 million pounds going to those who don't need any help at all imagine what that money could do in the right hands helping those who who so desperately need it we agree that the uk government must go further points made by alec riley and wali rennie and indeed many others but we must also use every intervention available to us here to help people who are struggling with the cost of living crisis we welcome the change of heart and commitment and from the scottish government to examine options with kosla and also to go further and look at empty homes as well but we would ask i will turn to mr balfour's questions in a moment we would ask that the government move very quickly because they need to let people know by this autumn what they will be facing for the winter ahead i know local authorities will be desperate for further income to help the most vulnerable in their communities and their best place to do that turning to the conservative amendment and jeremy baffer's questions there are points in the conservative amendment that we would like to examine further and indeed debate further however as willie rainey pointed out they delete the cracks of our our motion and that that in order that would claw back some of the funding and divert it to what is most needed so we can't possibly support that amendment turning into jeremy belfor's direct questions councils know the people who are living in second homes so they can do this quickly and easily they already have the powers to do it it would not cost any more than the interventions the conservatives themselves are proposing and most importantly local authorities know where to divert the money so it goes to those most in need we have to act now because as mark griffin talked about the stark choice faced between heating or eating or as he said starving and freezing that is facing people this coming winter food banks themselves are struggling to get supplies as people who normally donate are struggling to feed themselves we need to look at a look again at how we ensure that people have enough food to feed themselves and their families heating is also increasing but that is more so for those who are off gas grid and it's no surprise that those who are off gas grid are most more likely to be in fuel poverty so we must unite and ask the uk government to ensure that assistance goes to those who need to fill a gas or oil tank i don't have time to take an intervention sorry and because those who are off gas grid face higher costs all right and indeed i saw on facebook today someone saying that a pack of lure pack butter hardly a luxury cost seven pounds 25 7 pounds 25 for a pack of butter private rentals and people who who rank privately also face higher costs they can also live in homes that are not insulated properly and indeed would need the landlord's permission to do anything about that and we're seeing rental costs increasing rapidly we need to look at ways of creating a rent freeze alec riley talked about older people and disabled people and who are at home longer and therefore facing higher fuel costs and that also goes for people who may require equipment at home such as dialysis machines their bills are increasing paul sweeney called for restraint on profits that energy companies are making from this horrendous situation and rather than demonizing workers who are trying to protect their standard of living to feed their families we must look at the profits being made from this situation in conclusion and presiding officer we urge the scottish government to act quickly it's simply wrong that those who are affluent enough to own a second home get a greater share of the help available than those who really need it this money must be diverted to where it can make the greatest difference diverted to those who are struggling with the cost of living crisis thank you very much indeed mr stunt that concludes the debate on cost of living support it's time to move on to the next item in business there'll be a brief pause to allow front benches to change