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The next item of business is consideration of Parliamentary Bureau motion S6M-15425, on approval of a Scottish statutory instrument.
Motion moved,
That the Parliament agrees that the Winter Heating Assistance (Pension Age) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 [draft] be approved.—[Jamie Hepburn]
I call Jeremy Balfour, who has up to three minutes.
17:34
Politicians have a duty to think about the consequences of the decisions that we make, both intended and unintended. The decision that was made by the Labour Government down south will be directly responsible for thousands of pensioners being cold this year. The decision to cut the winter heating payment was made with no meaningful consultation, and the UK Government has clearly not thought through the devastating consequences.
It is equally unfortunate that the Scottish Government has also decided that it is uninterested in supporting vulnerable pensioners—
Will the member give way?
I will just finish this point. The Scottish Government will throw up its hands and say that it is not its fault and that it does not have the money—[Interruption.]
Let us hear Mr Balfour.
That is a pretty hard pill to swallow after it has wasted hundreds of millions of pounds over the years on a variety of disastrous projects, not least the two ferries that islanders are still waiting for.
I suspect that the member has wasted money over the years, as we all probably have to some extent. We are where we are, and we do not have the money right now. If we borrowed it to pay out this winter, we would have to pay it back next year, and that would make things even worse.
That is very cold comfort to the vulnerable pensioners who are being discriminated against today. If the Government paused the many past projects that have still not happened, the money would be available.
We, on the Conservative benches, will abstain from the vote because we want to ensure that even more people do not miss out on the payment. However, I make it clear that we stand totally opposed to both Governments turning their backs on pensioners, many of whom will be forced to choose between eating and heating this winter. We believe that it is the duty of Government to support the most vulnerable, not to punish them. That is what this party is about—[Interruption.]
Let us hear Mr Balfour.
It is a shame that parties on the other side of the chamber are not.
I call Shirley-Anne Somerville to respond.
17:36
I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss the draft regulations, which will introduce our 16th Scottish benefit—the pension-age winter heating payment. Mirroring the United Kingdom Government’s winter fuel payment, our pension-age winter heating payment will provide targeted support to those of pension age who are in receipt of relevant benefits in Scotland.
We have faced significant challenges to get to this point. As members well know, on 29 July, the UK Government announced its decision to restrict entitlement to the winter fuel payment from this winter to those in receipt of pension credit and other means-tested benefits. The chancellor’s decision was taken without notice and will reduce this year’s block grant adjustment funding by £147 million, which is more than 80 per cent of the cost of our previously proposed universal payment.
We have repeatedly urged the UK Government to reverse that decision. Indeed, the Parliament has supported us in doing so, but our representations have not met with success. Given the budgetary implications of such a significant reduction in funding from the UK Government, we have taken the difficult decision to mirror that approach in our pension-age winter heating payment.
Scottish Greens do not support the means testing of the winter fuel payment. We know that fuel poverty is very high among older people, especially in some pockets across the country. What actions will the cabinet secretary take to address that specifically, given that we cannot rely on the fuel insecurity payment this year, because it no longer exists?
Maggie Chapman raises an important point. I assure her that discussions are on-going about what we can do in this situation. Once again, the Scottish Government is having discussions about how to mitigate a decision of a UK Government, but this time it is a Labour Government rather than a Tory Government.
This winter, payments of our proposed new benefit will be delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions under an agency agreement with Scottish ministers. That approach seeks to ensure that eligible individuals in Scotland continue to receive support over the winter. Given the timing of the UK announcement, it was not possible for Social Security Scotland to deliver those payments this year.
The Scottish Government acknowledges that there are other pensioners who are likely to face financial difficulty and who would benefit from that support. We will continue to call on the UK Government to reverse its decision to means test winter fuel payments and to reinstate the payment for all pensioners in future years. I am committed to keeping the eligibility and scope of pension-age winter heating payments under review.
Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention?
Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention?
I will give way to Christine Grahame.
Are we not seeing abject hypocrisy from the Conservatives, who, during decades in power, failed to provide pensioners with a decent state pension, requiring pensioners instead to rely on pension credit, even though we know that 40 per cent of eligible pensioners do not claim it because the form has 26 pages to read before they get to the end of it?
Christine Grahame raises an important point.
At this stage, I am happy to give way to Jackson Carlaw.
I am genuinely intrigued. The Scottish National Party made a commitment to pay the winter fuel allowance. It did not say that it would pay the winter fuel allowance on the condition of receiving support from Westminster. If the argument now is that that commitment was only ever contingent on support from Westminster, the commitment was hollow all along. The Government cannot make a commitment and then say, “Actually, the commitment was worthless unless we were given the money by somebody else.”
You must conclude, cabinet secretary.
I am genuinely surprised that Jackson Carlaw, for whom I have a great deal of respect, would come out with a question that represents something out of Liz Truss economics, in which we can spend money even if we do not have it. It is genuinely astounding.
The provisions that are laid out in these regulations are not what I had anticipated we would be delivering, and they are not what I want to be in front of Parliament to talk about today. However, they will ensure that vital support is available to help eligible pensioners with their fuel bills this winter. To be clear, without these regulations there will be no legal framework to make any payment this winter to support pensioners in Scotland.
Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention?
The cabinet secretary is concluding.
It is a duty of Parliament—I repeat the word “Parliament” for Jeremy Balfour’s benefit—not to take a position of political posturing but to instead ensure that pensioners get what they are entitled to. We may wish to do more, but, if the Tories abstain, they are abstaining on supporting pensioners this winter.
The question on that motion will be put at decision time.
The next item of business is consideration of four Parliamentary Bureau motions. I ask Jamie Hepburn, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, to move motions S6M-15426 to S6M-15428, on approval of Scottish statutory instruments, and S6M-15429, on committee membership.
Motions moved,
That the Parliament agrees that the Town and Country Planning (Amendment of National Planning Framework) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 [draft] be approved.
That the Parliament agrees that the Masterplan Consent Area Scheme (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 [draft] be approved.
That the Parliament agrees that the Free-Range Egg Marketing Standards (Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 [draft] be approved.
That the Parliament agrees that Gordon MacDonald be appointed to replace Kevin Stewart as a member of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee.—[Jamie Hepburn]
The question on those motions will be put at decision time.
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