Meeting of the Parliament 26 October 2022
When I speak to council leaders, all they say to me is, “We have heard about this and we have heard nothing more from Government about how we implement it.” They are desperate to get on with the job and to take in that extra money, which could be going into the pockets of those who need it most. They are simply waiting for the Government to tell them how to do that.
We have set out areas where we think that the Scottish Government should step up—on cancelling school meals debt, on topping up the welfare fund and on support for advice services. We have come to the Parliament regularly to speak about how those steps could be funded through better income generation and by cutting out the waste that this Government seems to grow more of than it does support for those who need it most.
People are absolutely sick of the chaos that they see going on in the UK Government. They are sick of seeing it push their bills only one way, which is up and up and up. They want to see more action, and there is action that can be taken that is within the gift of this Government. People want that reassurance, and they want it now.
I move,
That the Parliament notes that inflation again reached 10.1% in September 2022, driven by rising food prices and energy bills; condemns the mini-budget set out by the UK Government, and recognises that the cost of living pressures that households are facing will be exacerbated by the economic damage it caused; believes that the priority for every government must be preventing further instability and addressing the cost of living; considers that there is more action that could be taken by the Scottish Government, including the cancellation of school meals debt, increased funding for money advice services and a top up to the welfare fund; remains deeply concerned about households in Scotland that are struggling to make ends meet over the winter, and calls, therefore, in the interests of transparency, for the Deputy First Minister to set out the outcome of the Emergency Budget Review to Parliament as a matter of urgency.