Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 02 October 2024
02 Oct 2024 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Housing Emergency
I remind Mr Brown that the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets sets energy pricing in the country. That is why we have to reform our energy market, and that is what the Labour Government is getting to grips with.
What I would say to Mr Brown is this: is he counting the number of people who are dying on our streets because of homelessness? All they have is a sleeping bag. Is he counting the number of people who are dying in temporary accommodation without a home to call their own? Instead, there is always somebody else to blame. Instead, the SNP is always pointing fingers somewhere else rather than taking responsibility for its own record.
To demonstrate that Ms Grahame will have a more sensible question than Mr Brown, I will take the intervention from Ms Grahame.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-14719, in the name of Anas Sarwar, on the housing emergency. I invite members who wish to speak in the de...
Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
Scotland is in the midst of a housing crisis the likes of which we have never seen before. After repeated calls, for months, for a housing emergency to be de...
Keith Brown (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Christine Grahame (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Anas Sarwar
Lab
Yes.
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
From which member is Mr Sarwar taking an intervention?
Anas Sarwar
Lab
Keith Brown.
Christine Grahame
SNP
Oh!
Keith Brown
SNP
Good choice. Mr Sarwar will understand that part of what constitutes affordability—as well as rent and mortgage costs—is energy costs, which increased by 10 ...
Anas Sarwar
Lab
I remind Mr Brown that the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets sets energy pricing in the country. That is why we have to reform our energy market, and tha...
Christine Grahame
SNP
I certainly hope so. Does the member agree with me that the impact of Brexit on construction costs and on the availability of construction workers has had an...
Anas Sarwar
Lab
Absolutely. That is why we have to reset the relationship with the European Union and fix the mess that is Brexit, which was left by the previous Tory Govern...
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice (Shirley-Anne Somerville)
SNP
I would like to clarify something with Anas Sarwar—would he agree with me that the £90 million that we currently spend as a Government to mitigate the effect...
Anas Sarwar
Lab
First, I will need to educate the cabinet secretary on the difference between revenue and capital, because she clearly does not understand that. Secondly, we...
The Minister for Employment and Investment (Tom Arthur)
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Anas Sarwar
Lab
I have taken three or four interventions already. Accepting that the housing emergency exists is only the first step in ending the crisis. We need new ideas...
The Minister for Housing (Paul McLennan)
SNP
I welcome the debate. First, I will address one of Mr Sarwar’s main points. He talked about new ideas, but he did not have any new ideas whatsoever, and he d...
Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Lab
The minister and I have been in the same meetings. Is he seriously telling me that the industry is not naming the Housing (Scotland) Bill as the single bigge...
Paul McLennan
SNP
First, I have been in a number of meetings with Daniel Johnson. One of the key things that we have said is that we would introduce amendments to the bill, an...
Craig Hoy (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
Will the minister will take an intervention?
Paul McLennan
SNP
I will.
Craig Hoy
Con
The minister said that he is taking the issue seriously and that he is making progress, yet, in his constituency, 353 people were in temporary accommodation ...
Paul McLennan
SNP
I am not going to take any lessons in financial management from the member. The biggest cut that we had last year was a 9 per cent capital cut from the UK Go...
Paul Sweeney (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
Will the minister take an intervention?
Ben Macpherson (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (SNP)
SNP
Will the minister give way?
Paul McLennan
SNP
I have already taken a number of interventions, so I am struggling for time. The Government’s actions on homelessness are consistently undermined when we ar...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Thank you, minister. I call Miles Briggs to speak to and move amendment S6M-14719.2. 15:16
Miles Briggs (Lothian) (Con)
Con
I thank the Labour Party for using its debating time to debate the motion on the housing emergency. I also thank the organisations that have provided helpful...
Paul McLennan
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Miles Briggs
Con
I will if I can get some time back.