Daisy Cooper: ...’s Speech. We are pleased that there will be reform of the Mental Health Act 1983, which is incredibly long overdue, and a number of other public health measures—especially on the protection of children’s health. However, we in this House all know that it is equally important to tackle the social and commercial determinants of health, and tackling child poverty is just as important...
Baroness Tyler of Enfield: ...of the noble Baroness, Lady Pitkeathley. Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay, published in May, included a commitment to review the implementation of the Carer’s Leave Act 2023 and examine all the benefits of introducing paid carer’s leave. However, the background briefing to the employment rights Bill, published on Wednesday, contained no mention of this. There is a real opportunity here...
Sharon Hodgson: ...affordable housing—based on five key principles that will enable those houses to turn into secure homes, and those homes to turn into stable and thriving communities. We will also deliver for our children, with policies intended to tackle childhood health and obesity head-on. Our plans to deliver free breakfast clubs in every primary school in England will ensure that kids can start...
Richard Burgon: ...misrule. We gather in this House after a period of nearly 15 years that ended with more food banks in this country than branches of McDonald’s, record numbers on NHS waiting lists, 4 million children living in poverty in the sixth richest economy on earth, rivers literally full of sewage and real wages lower than they were back in 2008. All that is before we get on to the shameful...
Seamus Logan: ...Angus steak, a prawn cocktail or perhaps a fish supper, because the chances are that they came from the industries based in my constituency. There is also significant poverty—in particular child poverty—in this otherwise prosperous area. Although this is mainly concentrated in larger towns, it is also a challenge in villages and rural areas where it is often less visible. Recent...
Mark Durkan: ...gain before people's best interests. However, I digress. I will get down to the truth of the matter. The Budget falls dangerously short on the most critical issues facing the North, namely child poverty and homelessness. The Budget document lacks sufficient detail. There are no timelines or anything of the like. I suppose that we are waiting for a Programme for Government. Greater...
Conor Murphy: ...pressure on workers to accept reduced terms and conditions in order to keep their jobs. I want to hear views on what action could be taken to combat that practice here. The second theme is pay and benefits. Minimum wage legislation is currently reserved in London. In preparation for that power being transferred to the Assembly, I have commissioned research into how it could be used to...
Audrey Nicoll: To ask the First Minister, regarding the impact on child poverty levels in Scotland, what assessment the Scottish Government has made of recent research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies on the impact of the two-child benefit cap. (S6F-03277)
Gillian Martin: ...to net zero. One of the key areas in which we are seizing those opportunities is in our vision for Scotland to become a renewables powerhouse, which the people of Scotland will see the benefit from. In 2022, 87.9 per cent of electricity generation came from zero carbon or low-carbon sources. That has already brought huge benefits to Scotland in economic growth, export...
Colm Gildernew: As Chairperson of the Committee for Communities, I support the motions relating to the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (NI) 2024 and the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations (NI) 2024. The Committee considered the order and the draft regulations at its meeting on 11 April 2024. The Committee regularly sees secondary legislation pertaining to social security benefits, and it...
Paul McLennan: ...climate means that it has never been more important to encourage and support people to access all the assistance that they are entitled to. In total, our investment in social security benefits and payments in 2023-24 amounted to an estimated £5.3 billion, despite the on-going pressures on public finances, the spending cuts, the cost of living crisis and the inflationary...
Ivan McKee: ...invested an additional £1 billion in national health service agenda for change pay to support staff through the cost of living crisis. We spent nearly £5.2 billion on social security benefits, including £429 million on the Scottish child payment. That payment, which is unique to Scotland, lifts families out of poverty and helps with the cost of living crisis. The...
James Dornan: The child poverty practice accelerator fund demonstrates how real investment in eradicating child poverty benefits families, our society and our economy. Under the plans put forward by the major Westminster parties, however, it seems that both the Tories and Labour are unwilling to make that investment, instead opting for low taxes for high earners and painful public spending cuts. Will the...
Mike Nesbitt: Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank all those who contributed to the debate. As many Members made clear, everybody knows somebody who has been affected — a friend, sibling, loved one, child, parent. I have spoken previously of my paternal grandmother and her slow, painful and, frankly, undignified death from bowel cancer. It impacts, as Mr McGrath hinted, on mental health,...
Neil Gray: ...by 31 per cent, and we have a record number of students from our most deprived communities. On social security, the Government is spending record sums this year, with £6.3 billion for benefit expenditure. That is £1.1 billion more than the UK Government gives the Scottish Government for social security. That demonstrates our commitment to tackling poverty, supporting people...
Kate Forbes: ...projects. The difficulty is that this cycle is the last one and there is a hard stop. We are missing out on the current cycle, which runs from 2021 to 2027 and which our European partners are benefiting from, to the tune of millions of pounds-worth of euros, because we are no longer part of the European Union. Those millions of euros are very much focused on renewables and on research and...
Natalie Don: ...the many excellent contributions that we have had from members and which have been informed by research and evidence from Upstart Scotland. I whole-heartedly agree that it is important to give our children the best possible start in life, and I strongly support this opportunity to foster an open dialogue on the best way of achieving that over the longer term. I note the points...
