Tag: Scottish Parliament

Around three quarters of older people feel their issues are not understood by Scottish Government

Scottish Parliament debates committee report on commissioners

  • Over seven in ten (74%) older people (over 65)  in Scotland feel their issues are not understood by the Scottish Government.
  • Charity Independent Age calls for greater focus on the issues affecting older people in Scotland and the creation of an Older People’s Commissioner. 
  • Polling revealed as Scottish Parliament set to debate Finance and Public Accounts Committee report that proposes a pause on new commissioners in Scotland.  

Independent Age, the national charity supporting pensioners in poverty is calling on the Scottish Parliament to ‘carefully and urgently’ consider how it will ensure older people on a low income will be protected, have their voices heard and their rights upheld.  

As the Scottish Parliament is set to debate a report from the Finance and Public Accounts Committee into the commissioner landscape in Scotland, new polling commissioned by the charity shows that 74% of pensioners in Scotland feel their issues are not understood by the Scottish Government.1  

The report calls for a moratorium – a pause – on any new commissioners in Scotland until a review can be carried out2  , which the charity says risks continuing to leave older people without an independent champion in these times of rising energy costs, the onset of winter, and recent changes to the eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments.

Support for an Older People’s Commissioner is wide-spread. In May last year, over 30 organisations working with and supporting older people across Scotland called for an OPC.3 The MSP Colin Smyth introduced a Private Member’s Bill calling for the creation of the position which recently secured the cross-party support required to be formally introduced to Parliament.   

The charity says this has never been more urgent as the number of pensioners in poverty – 150,000 – is up in number by 25% since 2012 and has remained stubbornly high in recent years. 4

Debbie Horne, Scotland Policy and Public Affairs Manager at Independent Age, said: “It’s hard to overstate the devastating impact that deepening poverty is having on older people across Scotland.

“In a socially-just society, no one should live in poverty. It is also incredibly worrying that the majority of older people feel their issues are not understood by the Scottish Government. 

“While we welcome the robust efforts of many MSPs to support their older constituents and represent their views in Parliament, polling shows that more needs to be done. Careful and urgent action is required to support the many pensioner households suffering the impacts of poverty.

“We firmly believe the only way to tackle pensioner poverty in Scotland is through a strategic approach. A key part of this being the introduction of an independent Older People’s Commissioner. Without such a champion we worry that older people’s issues will continue to fall between the gaps.” 

Scottish Parliament Boundaries Consultation: Have Your Say

CLOSING DATE – 26 OCTOBER

What is happening?

The Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries started in September 2022. In early 2023 and again in April/May 2024 we consulted on proposals for constituency boundaries and names.

We are now consulting on Provisional Proposals for region boundaries and names.

The rules that govern Scottish Parliament region design are

  • a constituency must fall wholly within a region.
  • the electorate of a region must be as near the regional electorate of each of the other regions as is practicable, having regard (where appropriate) to special geographical considerations.

Why is this happening?
Boundaries Scotland undertakes reviews of Scottish Parliament boundaries every 8-12 years to ensure each region or constituency has an equal number of electors.

What Boundaries Scotland says

We now want to hear the views of the public on our proposals, we will reflect on responses to the consultation and make changes where appropriate and where the legislation allows us to do so.  We strongly encourage people to make their views heard. 

This review is of electoral boundaries (constituencies and regions) only and therefore does not affect any other boundaries (UK constituencies, local authorities, community councils, health boards etc).  For individuals, this review does not affect the council area in which they live nor the way local services are accessed. 

Why your views matter

Your views play a vital role in shaping our boundaries and they also provide important local knowledge to help us improve our proposals. 

We are also consulting on our Further Proposals for Scottish Parliament Constituencies. Click here to take part in that consultation.

Give us your views on our Provisional Proposals for Regions

Online Survey

People’s Panel to consider what needs to be done to tackle drug deaths and drug related harms

The Scottish Parliament has announced the launch of a ‘people’s panel’ which will consider the question: ‘What does Scotland need to do differently to reduce drug related harms?’

The people’s panel, made up of 25 people from across Scotland who are broadly representative of the Scottish population, will work together to scrutinise the issue. The final report will help inform the cross-Committee scrutiny of matters related to reducing drug deaths and tackling problem drug use by the Criminal Justice Committee, the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, and the Social Justice and Social Security Committee.

Last month, 5000 invitation letters were sent to residential households across Scotland, selected at random from the Royal Mail’s address database.  25 people were then chosen to form the panel.

The people’s panel will meet over two weekends – on October 25 -27 and November 15 – 17 – where they will hear testimony from those with lived experience of the issue, from academics and researchers, and from stakeholders who work in this area.

Organisations the panel shall hear from include Community Justice Scotland, Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs and the Scottish Drugs Forum.

The panel will deliberate on the evidence they gather before a final report is produced which will identify what they see as the key issues and provide recommendations for action to tackle these issues.

Audrey Nicoll, Convener of the Criminal Justice Committee said: “The issue of how to tackle drug deaths and drug related harms is one of great and urgent national importance.

“This people’s panel can offer a fresh perspective on this issue.

“It is vital that the Scottish Parliament is proactive in involving the people of Scotland in its work. This is a unique opportunity for MSPs on our Committees to hear grassroots views which can help in holding the government to account.”

Clare Haughey, Convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee said: “The number of drug related deaths and the impact of drug related harms has been a cause for concern for many years.

“It is an issue which deserves national attention and that’s why it’s so important a range of views from across Scotland are heard.

“Holding a people’s panel on this topic is an opportunity for a broad section of Scotland’s society to shape political discourse, to consider this matter in detail and to make recommendations which can help tackle this issue.”

Collette Stevenson, Convener of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee said: “The findings of the people’s panel report will be vital in informing our cross-Committee scrutiny of this issue.

“We know that drug related deaths and the myriad harms of drug use cause pain and distress to people and families across Scotland.

“Our Committees look forward to engaging with the panel and hearing their recommendations on what more they feel can and should be done to tackle this issue.”

Target to halve the disability employment gap won’t be met unless urgent action is taken

The Economy and Fair Work Committee is calling on the Scottish Government to deliver a clear and measurable action plan that focuses on the needs of people with a learning disability and neurodiverse people, if the ambition to halve the disability employment gap by 2038 is to become a reality. 

The call comes as the Committee publishes a report following an inquiry into the disability employment gap.

During evidence, the Committee heard that the current strategy does not contain enough detail on how the target will be achieved. The Committee says that the Scottish Government must now listen to voices of people with lived experience to understand where improvements are needed to help disabled people into employment, particularly those who are the furthest from the workplace.

The Committee’s report considers the specific barriers disabled people face, what help is available for them to access the labour market, and the support available for employers for more inclusive recruitment practices and workplaces.

As part of its work, the Committee took evidence from, and engaged with, disabled people seeking employment as well as those who support them. It repeatedly heard that the way society views disabled people needs to change if they are to gain qualifications, access suitable jobs and thrive in the workplace.

The Committee also heard how most business owners want to employ disabled people, but that the fear of “getting things wrong” often stops them from doing so and that current guidance for employers is often too long and inaccessible.

The report now calls on government, local authorities, businesses, and employability services to work together to reduce the disability employment gap. This will require changes to be made across the different sectors to help prepare all young people for work, as well as finding work and staying in employment.

The Committee also asks that the Scottish Government provides an update on progress around its fair work resource for employers, which should address employers’ concerns and be easily accessible.

Claire Baker MSP, Convener of the Economy and Fair Work Committee, said: “Progress has been made in reducing the disability employment gap, but this is at risk of stalling unless the Scottish Government focuses on the needs of people with learning disabilities and neurodiverse people. They are the furthest from the workplace and supporting them into employment is crucial if the gap is to be halved by 2038.

“Today we have shone a light on the barriers that disabled people face in actively looking for employment. By hearing directly from people with lived experience, our inquiry has made it clearer what actions needs to be taken, and by whom, to help more people into fulfilling, long-term work.

“We know that in some workplaces everyone, regardless of their background, is able to get and keep a job. But disabled people everywhere who are actively looking for employment should have an equitable experience.

“Policymakers, together with public, private and third sectors, can all help by working together across the sectors. This starts at school, by building confidence, resilience, aspiration in all young people, with support on transitioning to adulthood and entering further education or work. If disabled people want to work, they should be offered support to both find and sustain it.

“The Committee is concerned that unless we see action on our recommendations, the target will not be met.” 

Other findings and recommendations include:

  • Applications for the UK Government’s Access to Work scheme, which provides funding for reasonable adjustments and specialist equipment to assist disabled people in the workplace, can take a long time and the funding cap can be too restrictive. Witnesses also said that the current scheme is not particularly helpful to self-employed or freelance workers. The Committee asks the UK Government whether it plans to review the scheme to address these concerns.
  • The 2024-25 budget contained a 24.2% cut to employability services. Additionally, the Committee heard there can be delays in employability services receiving funding, and only receiving funding on an annual basis, which makes planning and employing properly qualified staff to provide services more challenging. Given the clear link between the work of employability services and the ambition to halve the disability employment gap by 2038, the Committee asks the Scottish Government to outline how it will provide long-term funding certainty to these services.
  • Disabled and neurodiverse young people often do not receive the correct support in transitioning to adulthood. The Committee heard that teaching staff and careers advisors are overburdened and are sometimes not given proper training to best assist disabled and neurodiverse young people. The Committee asks that training for teachers and careers advisors be included in the Scottish Government’s upcoming National Transitions to adulthood strategy, and that the Scottish Government considers the provision of transition coordinators in schools to provide better support.

Holyrood Committee welcome commitment to increased culture funding but call for more clarity and greater certainty

A year on from the Scottish Government commitment to increase investment in culture by £100 million annually by 2028-29, stakeholders have indicated confidence in the culture sector remains low due to the lack of clarity from the Government regarding how the additional investment will be rolled out, say the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee.

The Committee say the Scottish Government should provide this greater clarity and certainty to the sector following the UK Spending Review, when it has more clarity on its longer-term budgetary outlook. The findings are part of the Committee’s pre-budget scrutiny of the culture portfolio ahead of the Scottish Government Budget 2025-26.

The Committee says it recognises the challenging environment facing public finances currently and welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to increase investment in culture by £100 million annually by 2028-29. It also welcomes the intended minimum £25 million increase in culture funding for 2025-26.

The Committee say the recent temporary closure of the Open Fund for Individuals was unhelpful given the urgent need to restore confidence in the culture sector.

It says it’s unclear why Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government were unable to resolve any issues before the fund closure was announced and is seeking reassurances from both that lessons have been learned from the significant uncertainty this caused to the sector.

The Committee add that the recent postponement of announcing the Multi-Year Funding Programme outcomes until January 2025, a matter of weeks before those decisions were scheduled to be announced, has led to yet more uncertainty for the sector.

The Committee say there is a need for a substantially improved relationship between Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government and therefore welcome the proposed review of Creative Scotland.

As part of this review the Committee say it should review the legislation which sets out Creative Scotland’s statutory roles and responsibilities, consider where it sits within the wider culture sector, and the level of resourcing it requires to fulfil its functions.

Following the significant concerns highlighted by the Committee regarding Creative Scotland’s handling of the funding for Rein, the Committee say the review must also consider effective governance and transparency. 

The Committee also welcome that this will form part of a wider review of the way the culture sector is supported, which it says will be valuable in supporting the effective distribution and investment of additional funding for the sector. However, the Committee say it is key this review does not delay the delivery of additional investment, including the planned minimum £25 million additional funding for 2025-26.

The Convener of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee, Clare Adamson MSP, said: “We recognise the funding challenges facing the Scottish Government and we welcome their commitment to increase investment in culture by £100 million annually by 2028-29 and the intended £25 million at least increase for culture in 2025-26.

“We think the Scottish Government should provide greater clarity and certainty to the culture sector on planned funding increases following the UK Spending Review, when it has greater clarity on its own budgetary outlook as this can increase confidence in the sector.

“There must also be a strategic approach taken for any increased funding to ensure the Scottish Government maximises the impact of the increased investment in culture that it has committed to deliver. That’s why we welcome the review of the way the culture sector is supported.”

The Deputy Convener, Alexander Stewart MSP added: “The temporary closure of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund for Individuals and the postponement of announcing the outcomes of their Multi-Year Funding Programme only add to the feeling of uncertainty and precariousness across the culture sector.

“We believe the relationship between Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government must substantially improve and while we welcome the proposed review of Creative Scotland, we recommend it should be independent and look at effective governance and transparency.

“We support this forming part of a wider review of the whole culture sector, how it is supported and funded, in order to foster a sustainable and thriving sector for all.”

Holyrood votes for action on Winter Fuel Payment

UK Government urged to reverse ‘damaging’ decision

The UK Government’s decision to introduce means testing for the Winter Fuel Payment must be reversed, according to MSPs.

Following a debate as part of Challenge Poverty Week, the Scottish Parliament voted in favour of a motion that the UK Government reverse its decision to restrict entitlement to the benefit. Labour MPs Richard Leonard and Alex Rowley supported the motion.

Fourteen Scottish Labour MSPs, including Edinburgh MSPs Sarah Boyack, Foysol Choudhury and Daniel Johnson, voted with their leader Anas Sarwar against the motion.

First Minister John Swinney said that as a result of this damaging decision, Scottish Government analysis indicates roughly 900,000 Scottish pensioners will no longer be entitled to support with heating costs this winter.

Commenting after the debate, the First Minister said: “More austerity is not the solution to the restrictive fiscal environment in which the UK Government, and governments across the globe, find themselves.

“It is a mistake to think that action to tackle poverty for our most vulnerable citizens are costs to be mitigated. These measures are investments in our people, our communities and our nation’s future. I have urged the UK Government to deliver an Autumn Budget that recognises this reality.

“Scotland’s Parliament has spoken, and I repeat my call for the UK Government to reverse its damaging decision to restrict entitlement to Winter Fuel Payments for pensioners.

“The Scottish Government will continue to support households with their energy bills and tackle fuel poverty. However the UK Government must ensure their budget in October provides the necessary support to those who need it most.”

Holyrood Committee calls for urgent action to improve access to and delivery of healthcare services in remote and rural areas

The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee is calling on the Scottish Government to take urgent action to address the specific challenges faced by remote and rural communities in accessing and delivering healthcare services.

The Committee’s inquiry has found that recruitment and retention of staff is one of the key challenges to effective delivery of services in remote and rural areas. The report highlights the availability and affordability of housing, and access to education and training as significant barriers to recruiting and retaining staff.

The Committee is calling on decision-makers to recognise the extent to which a lack of available and affordable housing is acting as an indirect barrier to healthcare provision in remote and rural areas of Scotland, by making it very challenging for healthcare workers to locate themselves within the communities they wish to serve. It calls on relevant NHS Boards, local authorities, professional bodies, trade unions and other key stakeholders to work together to find practical solutions to these problems.

Another barrier highlighted in the report is the lack of locally available training and development opportunities for staff. The Committee is calling on the Scottish Government and the new National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care to set out how they will improve the availability and suitability of local training and development opportunities.

Difficulties with accessing healthcare services in remote and rural areas were repeatedly raised during the Committee’s evidence gathering. These include practical challenges for patients attending in-person appointments and the often substantial additional travel and accommodation costs, which the Committee say must be addressed.

The Committee highlights significant variations in policy on reimbursement of patient travel costs, depending where an individual lives and whether or not they are in receipt of benefits. It calls for a fairer and more consistent policy for reimbursement of travel and accommodation costs to be developed.

The importance of technology and digital infrastructure in facilitating access to healthcare in remote and rural areas was also raised repeatedly during the Committee’s evidence gathering.

While recognising that some will continue to prefer face-to-face appointments, the Committee is calling on the Scottish Government to set out the specific actions it is taking, or that may be required at UK Government level, to improve digital access to healthcare services in remote and rural areas.

The Committee commends existing good practice in the provision of remote and rural healthcare services, including that demonstrated by third sector organisations. However, it concludes that more action is needed to ensure this good practice is more consistently and widely shared across different organisations and areas.

Clare Haughey MSP, Convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, said: “Our inquiry has shone a light on the unique challenges facing remote and rural healthcare services, both for those accessing and those delivering those services.

“The evidence suggests that often healthcare policy is developed as ‘one size fits all’, which fails to address the particular needs of remote and rural communities.

“We want to see a whole system approach which designs services in a way that is more flexible and responsive to local needs – while systematically learning from the good practice that is out there.

“We believe that developing a tailored approach to healthcare service delivery that reflects local challenges and circumstances should be an overarching priority of the new National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care.

“We also look forward to the forthcoming publication of the Scottish Government’s Remote and Rural Workforce Recruitment Strategy and how this strategy will address some of the workforce-related issues our report highlights.

“The voices of people who live in remote and rural areas and work or receive care in these settings have been at the centre of our inquiry and we thank them for their vital contribution to this report.”

Other findings in the report include:

  • The evidence gathered by the Committee suggests that the current NRAC funding formula fails to meet the specific needs of remote and rural areas. The Committee reiterates previous calls for this formula to be reformed to take better account of the specific challenges and associated higher costs of healthcare delivery in those areas, which include an ageing population, depopulation, and the greater requirement for small scale service delivery.
  • The Committee says it has heard extensive evidence of the specific challenges associated with implementing the 2018 General Medical Services (GMS) contract in remote and rural GP practices, in particular the practical challenges associated with trying to develop multi-disciplinary teams. The Committee is calling on the Scottish Government to explore the extent to which a revised, more flexible approach to implementation of the contract, specifically in remote and rural settings, might help to improve the sustainability of these services.
  • The Committee highlights evidence of acute pressures on the provision of social, palliative and end of life care services in remote and rural areas and warns that the tendency of an ageing population increasingly living in more remote and rural areas of the country will mean demand for these services will increase significantly in the years ahead.

Housing: Briggs slams ‘out of touch’ Housing Minister

Lothian MSP Miles Briggs has slammed the Housing Minister over his statement to the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday last week saying “Paul McLennan should be ashamed of his out-of-touch statement, which seems to be an embarrassing attempt from the SNP to congratulate themselves on their own failures.”

Mr Briggs highlighted the damage that rent controls have done to the rental sector, as well as the disastrous impact of SNP Ministers slashing £200 million from the housing budget.

Edinburgh, Midlothian, West Lothian and East Lothian have received a total of 6,513 homelessness applications in the last year. The number of live homelessness applications across the four local authorities is 9,971.

The shockingly high number of children living in temporary accommodation, across Lothian local authorities, has risen to 3,700, well over the a third of the total number of children living in temporary accommodation across Scotland, 10,110.

Miles Briggs spoke in Labour party business on Housing last week to again raise the issue of homelessness as well as lack of appropriate housing stock in Scotland.

Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “Over the last eight years in which I have served as an MSP, I have never seen a more out if touch statement delivered by a Government Minister.

“After 17 years of this SNP Government homelessness across Lothian is dramatically worse than when the SNP came to power.

“The number of children living in temporary accommodation is shockingly high, with local authorities in Lothian having over a third of all children living in temporary accommodation across Scotland.

“SNP Ministers have made blunder after blunder leading to a national housing crisis, which could have been avoided with better leadership.

“We urgently need to see a new Scottish Government, with new ideas to start tackling Scotland’s homelessness crisis.”

Main+tables_Homelessness+in+Scotland+2023-24Download

Support for Boyack’s Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Bill


Over 130 organisations, including NGOs, social justice charities, think tanks and economists, have come together to urge First Minister John Swinney to give the government’s backing to Sarah Boyack MSP’s Member’s Bill.

In a letter organised by WEAll Scotland, they tell Mr Swinney that “this is a key opportunity for the Scottish Parliament to work together to pass world leading legislation that delivers for the people of Scotland”.

Ms Boyack’s Member’s Bill aims to create better outcomes for future generations by placing new definitions of sustainable development and wellbeing into legislation.

It also seeks to establish a Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Commissioner to end short-term thinking in policy decisions.

The bill received cross party support but has not yet been formally endorsed by the SNP.

In the SNP’s 2021 manifesto they committed to bringing forward a Wellbeing and Sustainability Bill, however only put a consultation forward after Ms Boyack published her bill.

In the open letter, signatories highlighted the benefits of this bill and urged Mr Swinney to support Sarah Boyack in bringing it into law

Commenting on the support, Ms Boyack said: “It is great to have such a wide range of support from stakeholders across sectors, for my bill.

“There is clearly a deep recognition of the benefits that this bill can bring Scotland.

“This gives us in Scotland the opportunity to be a real leader in this field.

“I hope the First Minister listens to these stakeholders and supports my bill to ensure that we can finally embed wellbeing into the heart of Scotland’s politics.”

WEAll Director Aileen McCleod added: “In a just and compassionate Scotland, everyone should have the opportunity to live a good and dignified life.

“We know that people are struggling as we face multiple crises for people and planet. It doesn’t have to be this way.

“Right now, the Scottish Government is not utilising the full extent of their devolved powers. The recent Programme for Government was a missed opportunity to deliver lasting change.”

Sarah Davidson, Chief Executive of Carnegie UK also commented: “New wellbeing legislation could help Scotland make headway with the biggest challenges of our time by forcing more long-term thinking.

“The Scottish Parliament should get behind Sarah Boyack’s Bill because the only way we’re going to tackle issues like climate change or child poverty is through thoughtful action, co-ordinated across government and the wider public sector.”

WEAll stakeholder letterDownload

Global Warming? Knit in my name!

KNITTERS URGE FIRST MINISTER NOT TO CROSS CLIMATE ‘RED LINE’

A group of concerned citizens calling themselves the ‘North Sea Knitters’ gathered outside the Scottish Parliament yesterday to knit a ‘red line’, representing the critical limit of 1.5 degrees of global temperature rise.

Taking place during Scottish Climate Week, as the ‘Knitting for Climate’ group gathers outside the EU Parliament in Brussels, the North Sea Knitters’ message was simple: the Scottish Government needs to stop blaming the climate crisis on individuals and use its powers to speed the phase out of fossil fuels.

The group spoke to MSPs and gave out their famous hand-knitted red scarves to remind them not to lose sight of the 1.5 degrees limit of warming enshrined in the Paris Agreement.

Several MSPs including the First Minister could be seen sporting the red scarves and discussing vital climate issues like the Stop Rosebank campaign, the Peterhead gas power station, and the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The Scottish Government is currently considering whether to approve a controversial new gas burning power station in Peterhead which would prolong the lifetime of the fossil fuel industry and lock the public into high energy bills and fuel poverty.

Chris Aldred, a member of the North Sea Knitters Group, said: “Knitting is a craft that has been passed down through generations. It symbolises the hope that we can pass on, not just our skills, but a thriving future for all that come after us.

“The knitted red line represents the 1.5C threshold of dangerous planetary warming that nations have committed not to cross. Our scarves are being created through concern, uncertainty and fear for the future, but also through our joy, love and unity.

“The Scottish Government says that climate is a priority but it must turn these words into concrete action to cut pollution now and into the future. This means using its power to firmly reject new fossil fuels, standing up to the oil industry and prioritising the needs of workers through the transition.

“We are allied with our European friends in Knitting for Climate, a movement of people using the art of knitting to express concern over climate change and inadequate political response to the crisis that is already affecting us all. Through our grassroots efforts, we demand climate justice.”

The knitters’ demands for the Scottish Government are:

 + Refuse all on-shore planning permission for fossil fuel infrastructure, including the proposed new gas plant at Peterhead.
 + Oppose and work to halt extraction from all new oil and gas fields, including Rosebank.
 + Ensure all public subsidies and tax concessions to fossil fuel companies are revoked.
 + Back the call for a Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty.
 + Ensure that workers and communities have a Just Transition to renewables, without allowing the fossil fuel industry to call the shots for the transition.