Meeting of the Parliament 11 March 2025
I welcome the opportunity to open the debate on supporting households with on-going cost of living pressures. As the motion notes, the recent energy price cap hike by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets is the third increase in a row; the price cap is 9.4 per cent, or £159, higher than this time last year. That again emphasises the relevance and importance of such issues to people across Scotland.
I will take a moment to add further context for all of us in the chamber. Last week, we read news reports—indeed, there were more again this morning—about the Labour United Kingdom Government’s planned £6 billion cut to welfare spending. That is turbocharged austerity on the backs of some of our most vulnerable constituents. Let me be very clear that the Scottish Government will never accept that, and we are urgently calling on the UK Government to scrap those plans ahead of the spring statement later this month. I certainly hope that Labour MSPs and their leader will join me in that call.
The Scottish Government’s foremost priority is ending child poverty in Scotland, and I strongly reiterate that commitment today. Poverty limits a child’s opportunity, health and wellbeing, and the on-going cost of living crisis is only worsening the poverty premium that those at the sharpest end face. However, we know that the reality is that the cost of living affects many people—even those on middle incomes—in their daily lives. As a result, the Government continues to take immediate action through our budget, with more than £3 billion to tackle poverty and help with the cost of living crisis for households. That package spans a range of support for energy bills, childcare, health and travel, as well as social security payments that are either not available elsewhere in the UK or are more generous here.
As the First Minister has said, the budget delivers the things that make the difference to people today, and it lays the foundation for a hopeful future in which Scotland can grow and further prosper. Our interventionist approach to delivery addresses the issues that have a direct and immediate impact, day in and day out, on families in Scotland. That begins with the essentials of food, warm and safe homes, good jobs and money in people’s pockets. The budget is about investing in the people of Scotland and our communities.
As many families struggle with the cost of living and soaring energy bills, our budget provides immediate support for day-to-day costs. It commits more than £6.9 billion for benefits expenditure, which is almost £1.3 billion more than the UK Government gives to the Scottish Government for social security. Within that, £644 million of our package of payments is for payments that are available only here in Scotland. That is essential support, such as the Scottish child payment, which puts money directly into the pockets of low-income families. We know how important certainty is in addressing competing household costs. That is why I was pleased to attend the Social Justice and Social Security Committee last week to confirm in law the annual uprating of benefits in line with inflation.
In the coming financial year, we will invest £768 million to boost delivery through the affordable housing supply programme, which we estimate will support the delivery of at least 8,000 affordable homes. However, stakeholders, including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, have highlighted that the biggest pressure on household bills is from rising rents. Although the Scottish Government is doing what it can, by introducing measures such as rent controls in the Housing (Scotland) Bill, the Labour UK Government continues to drag its feet on critical measures such as the local housing allowance.