Cost of Living

Question

What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the impact of cost of living increases on households in Scotland?

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With food inflation well in excess of 15%, people cannot afford basic staples. What advice does the Minister have for households worried about providing food?

Question

After 13 interest rate hikes, the IFS warns of a 20% fall in disposable income for 1.4 million households. What is his party doing to address this?

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What exactly is his Government doing to protect tenants in Scotland and prevent an increase in homelessness?

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Is the Minister aware of a YouGov survey showing almost one in six adults accessing food aid? What steps are being taken to address this?

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Under the last Labour Government, child poverty in Scotland fell from 40% to 20%. What steps are being taken to lower it again?

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£4.2 billion was added to energy bills last year due to balancing costs. What are the Government doing about pumped-storage hydro schemes?

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I know that the Prime Minister and the Government are entirely focused on helping people to deal with those pressures. However, the focus of the SNP Government seems to be elsewhere as they announced that the next election would be entirely focused on yet another independence referendum. Does the Minister agree that this is the wrong priority for Scotland, and that Scotland's two Governments should be working together to improve the delivery of public services and help people with the cost of living?

Question

Let me also wish the Secretary of State a happy birthday—a significant birthday—for next week. Nearly five months ago, the Secretary of State promised to arrange a meeting for David Williamson, a Scottish terminal cancer patient, but neither his Department nor the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has been able to do so. I wonder whether that could be sorted out as soon as possible. Millions of people across the country are facing spiralling mortgage rates and rents. Statistics released by Citizens Advice Scotland this week show that the number of Scottish mortgage holders searching for advice on repossession is up by 341%. Does the Minister agree with the insightful advice from the Prime Minister that worried mortgage payers hit by a Tory mortgage premium should just “hold their nerve”?

Question

The Scotland Office is saying that Scottish mortgage holders should just “hold their nerve”. What the Minister did not include in his list of excuses was the fact that the Tories actually crashed the economy, which has resulted in some of these mortgage interest rates. Is it not incredible that during the worst cost of living crisis in living memory the Prime Minister's entire approach is to tell people to hold their nerve, while the approach of the First Minister in Scotland is to launch proposals for a de facto referendum and a written constitution—something that he himself admits Scottish voters do not want? Scotland has two Governments so out of touch with the priorities of the Scottish people that polling shows that 70% think they are doing little to help with the cost of living. Does the Minister agree that what Scots need and deserve is a UK Labour Government focused solely on delivering the priorities of Scottish voters?

Question

I thank the Secretary of State for his kind words about Winnie Ewing and Craig Brown. Let me pay my own personal tribute to Winnie Ewing, who was such an icon for our party and, almost uniquely, served in three Parliaments—our own Madame Écosse. At over 19%, food inflation in the UK is 50% higher than among our EU neighbours, yet both the Government and the Labour party seem to be in complete denial about Brexit's contribution to this cost of eating crisis. With 28% of the UK's food coming from Europe, how will the UK Government prevent a new surge in food prices next winter, when extra post-Brexit checks are introduced at the border?

Question

The London School of Economics has shown that a third of food inflation in the UK is due to Brexit. With the loss of freedom of movement and European workers, Brexit has also caused £60 million of Scottish fruit and veg to rot in the fields, threatening farms and further increasing the cost even of domestic produce. As a Brexiteer, should the Secretary of State not apologise to the Scottish public, including his own constituents, for driving up food prices, and maybe explain why he still supports the proven liar who was one of its main architects?