Chamber and committees

The poverty premium was raised as an issue of particular concern by many people during our Fairer Scotland discussions last year. We will shortly be publishing our Fairer Scotland Action Plan which will respond to this and other key issues that were raised during that discussion.

Under the Scotland Act 2016, the Scottish Government has taken on responsibility for consumer advocacy and advice. It is working with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that consumer advocacy and advice improves outcomes for consumers in Scotland, including those where the poverty premium applies, such as energy, where vulnerable consumers are supported by the Extra Help Unit. The Scottish Government will also be undertaking a survey to establish the extent of switching and the barriers that consumers face, and use the results to identify the characteristics of different types of switchers, such as those on low incomes, with the aim of developing targeted policy interventions.

We are determined to tackle fuel poverty. An independently chaired Fuel Poverty Strategic Working Group is currently considering a range of issues such as how we ensure those who most need help get it. In the meantime, of our £113 million fuel poverty budget allocation for 2016-17, around 70% is targeted via grants at the poorest households in Scotland to make their homes warmer and cheaper to heat. The remaining 30% is allocated to advice and support for all consumers and loans to help those able to pay to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. We are satisfied that the majority of our HEEPS programme is aimed at those who are subject to the poverty premium.

The Scottish Government has set out minimum standards for maintenance and repair that can be expected by tenants in social housing. These standards are set out in the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) and, by 2020, landlords will also have to meet the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH). We have made available £10 million in grant and loan funding over the last two years to help social landlords meet EESSH.

The performance of social landlords is monitored by the independent Scottish Housing Regulator who will engage with landlords who are at risk of not meeting standards. The Regulator’s most recent report found that 91.4% of social housing met the SHQS, and 68.6% of social housing already met the EESSH, in 2015-16. The report also found that tenants’ satisfaction with their landlord’s repairs and maintenance has improved, and that landlords are responding faster to emergency repairs.

In some cases maintenance and repairs to social housing in tenements are blocked by owners who are unable or unwilling to consent to common works. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 introduced a discretionary power for local authorities to pay missing shares, and we are seeking views from stakeholders on extending this power to registered social landlords. The Scottish Government has also established a stakeholder forum to consider a single condition standard for all housing tenures, and I announced earlier this week the launch of a pilot equity loan scheme to assist home owners with essential energy efficiency works and repairs.

Private home owners are primarily responsible for improving their own property. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 gave local authorities discretionary powers to require owners to carry out work on substandard houses and to provide assistance with repairs and improvements to private property. The 2006 Act also set standards for private rented housing and gave tenants the rights to apply to the Private Rented Housing Panel.

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 made some amendments to these powers to make them more effective in response to consultation with local authorities and other stakeholders, and also added additional safety elements to standards in private rented housing and third party reporting for local authorities to apply to the Private Rented Housing Panel on behalf of vulnerable tenants. It is for each local authority to determine how best to make use of those powers in order to meet its statutory duties and strategic aims, with regard to local priorities and resources.

Private home owners and landlords are primarily responsible for improving their own property. Social landlords, including local authorities, are responsible for improving social housing. The Scottish Government requires local authorities to produce a local housing strategy which must, in particular, set out their strategy to address houses that do not meet the statutory tolerable standard, and their strategy for providing assistance for improving houses. The performance of social landlords against outcomes in the Scottish Social housing Charter is monitored by the independent Scottish Housing Regulator who will engage with landlords who are at risk of not meeting standards.

The Scottish Government includes an element for private sector housing activities in the general capital and revenue grant made to local authorities. However, it is for each local authority to decide what actions should be taken to improve housing, with regard to local priorities and resources

As social landlords, local authorities are expected to use rental income and prudential borrowing to ensure social housing owned by the authority complies with the Scottish Housing Quality Standard and to plan to meet the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing by 2020.

We do not recognise the figures quoted. The long-term trends in relation to the gender pay gap in Scotland are positive. The official source of UK earnings estimates is the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), 2015. ASHE provides evidence to support policy making in a variety of areas including: low pay; the gender pay gap, and regional economic analysis. ASHE data is published annually and is based on a 1% sample of the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system. The most recent estimates of gender pay gap sourced from the ASHE data (based on median hourly earnings excluding overtime) show that both the full time pay gap and overall pay gap (full and part-time) have narrowed considerably in Scotland since 1999 - the full-time pay gap from 16.7% in 1999 to 7.3% in 2015 and the overall pay gap from 24.6% in 1999 to 16.8% in 2015. However, there is clearly still more to do, and we are working hard to address the complex drivers and causes of the pay gap. We are providing £205,000 in funding to the 'Close the Gap' partnership in 2016-17, to encourage and work with employers to enable actions to address the gender pay gap. Under the programme for government we have committed to almost double the level of free childcare for three and four year olds by 2020; we actively promote the living wage because we know that women are disproportionately likely to be in low paid jobs, we have brought more transparency to pay issues by lowering the threshold for public authorities in Scotland to publish their pay gap. We also support fair work practices, including flexible working, which can be crucial in helping women and men combine career development with family responsibilities.

Creating a fairer workplace is essential to a sustained, long-term prosperous economy. Scotland’s labour market strategy launched on 26 August 2016, sets out a vision for a strong labour market where fair work drives inclusive, sustainable economic growth and is central to improving the lives of individuals and their families.

This government is driving forward a range of activity to tackle gender inequality in the workplace including:

We appointed an independent Fair Work Convention which published its Fair Work Framework 2016 on 21 March 2016. The framework recognises Fair Work as work which offers: Security, Opportunity, Fulfilment, Respect and Effective Voice. The programme for government reinforces our commitment of up to £500,000 to support the Fair Work Convention to embed their framework in workplaces across Scotland.

Ensuring greater pay transparency by lowering the threshold for listed public authorities to publish their gender pay gap and equal pay statements, from those with more than 150 employees to those with more than 20.

Promoting the 'Partnership for Change' initiative, a key Scottish Government policy aimed at improving the percentage of women and other under-represented groups in the boardroom in Scotland.

Encouraging employers to support payment of the real Living Wage by signing up to the Scottish Business Pledge or achieving Living Wage accreditation.

As part of our 2016-17 budget we are investing a further £250 million per year through health and social care partnerships, to protect and grow social care services. It will allow councils to commission care from the independent and voluntary sectors on the basis that people are being paid £8.25 an hour – giving up to 40,000 care workers, mainly women, doing some of the most valuable work in Scotland a pay rise.

We are working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to tackle pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the workplace and the Minister for Employability and Training will chair a working group whose remit will include creating guidelines for employers to ensure best practice, as well as improving access to guidance for pregnant women and new mothers.

We have committed to abolishing fees for employment tribunals to improve women's access to justice, when we are clear on how the transfer of powers and responsibilities will work.

We will develop a Workplace Equality Fund to support equality groups including women, where the labour market does not provide good outcomes.

We are providing £205,000 to 'Close the Gap' in 2016-17, a partnership initiative working across Scotland with employers and employees, to encourage and enable action to address the gender pay gap. It works strategically with employers, employees and policymakers to encourage and enable action to narrow the gender pay gap by reducing horizontal and vertical occupational segregation, reducing discrimination embedded within pay systems and increasing flexible working opportunities.

The Scottish Rural Fuel Poverty Task Force has not delivered any direct support to homes.

The Scottish Rural Fuel Poverty Task Force is an independent short life group set up by Scottish Ministers with the remit of exploring issues around fuel poverty in rural areas in Scotland and to make recommendations to Ministers. The group will publish its findings later in 2016.

Since measurement began in 2007, the percentage of people in Scotland using the internet has steadily increased by over 19%. 82% of citizens are now online and reaping the economic, social and cultural benefits that the internet can bring them.

Recent research has confirmed that households on average can save between £500 and £750 a year by being online, but Scottish Government appreciate that not everyone has access to a computer at home or the skills and confidence to use it.

The Scottish Government has provided funding for 486 public libraries in Scotland to be fitted with free Wi-Fi and trained members of staff to ensure those individuals who need support and encouragement to use online tools have a local, trusted community hub available to them.

In addition, there are a number of free open access points available for citizens across Glasgow. In 2016, the Scottish Government provided £110,000 of funding to help refurbish, increase and grow the effectiveness of the 35 community 'click and connect centres' which are operated by the Wheatley Group.

We are working in partnership with organisations across private, public and third sector ensure those isolated in the community have access to affordable broadband, and to raise the profile of the help and support that is available to get people online so that everyone can enjoy the benefits that the internet can bring.

The Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 is not yet in force. It is expected to commence in December 2017.