Chamber and committees

Yes.

That is unfair—especially given the cost of living plan that the Scottish Labour Party has put to the Government on several occasions. I will leave it there.

Thank you. That was bleak but clear. Do you have anything to add on my question about the budgeting process?

Good morning, cabinet secretary. Thank you for coming and for the information that you shared with us in advance.

In the letter that we received recently, you said that you have taken the decisions that you consider to have the least impact. In relation to the employability service cuts, how have you carried out the assessment of impact? What organisations have you spoken to?

In reaching the decision that you have come to on the use of buses, did you look at usage during the Covid pandemic, and did you look at comparable years before that? It strikes me—I am sure that you will appreciate this with your Covid recovery hat on—that disabled people and older people have been more reticent about going back to using buses. I would be worried if the amount was based on only very recent patronage.

[Inaudible.]—Deputy First Minister, the question. I would love to debate those issues with you at length, but we do not have enough time to go into them. My questions were about how you made the decisions in the budget that you currently control. I would really appreciate reassurance on the record, because a number of organisations are looking for that.

Those organisations would offer and have offered alternatives, so I would not characterise that as complaining; rather, it is a plea to be involved in the process. Witnesses last week and before have told us that the process was opaque and untransparent, and that they were not able to get involved in it. They want the reassurance that they will have a meaningful conversation with you about the budget.

Thank you both for the evidence that you have given so far and for your submissions.

Most of my questions on the cost of living have already been covered, with the exception of one. How have not only your membership but your organisations been affected by the cost of living crisis?

Sorry, convener—perhaps we could start with Graham O’Neill.

Good morning. Thank you for your submissions and your answers so far.

My first question is for Frank McKillop. In a similar vein to my colleague Natalie Don, I wonder whether you can set out some of the realities of what disabled people are having to do in the cost of living crisis, particularly in relation to fuel poverty. How is it affecting what they do on a daily basis?