Willie Rennie
Scottish Liberal Democrats · Scotland
“Daniel Johnson’s remarks were powerful, and he identified an issue that is sometimes uncomfortable and that we need to address. The country faces difficult issues, and we do ourselves no favours by ignoring those issues. Some of the points that Daniel Johnson made about immigration were right, and we need to discuss them.”
“Again, Daniel Johnson highlighted that when he talked about comments on “fighting- age men”, “strangers” and “two-tier policing”. We know what those terms mean and what they are appealing to. Thomas Kerr: Will the member take an intervention? Willie Rennie: Yes, I will take an intervention from Mr Charmer himself.”
“I understand that a German company will now use the Dalzell plant as a jobbing mill, importing 4,000 tonnes of slab from a foreign supplier outside the UK instead of purchasing that slab from Scunthorpe. All that raises serious questions about an important part of the steel industry in Scotland.”
“It is important for the UK Government that there is learning from the process and that the circumstances of our Parliament—for example, when we re-form following an election—are not an afterthought in relation to the UK Government’s formulation of its approach to legislation and when it decides to introduce it.”
“So far, the Scottish Government has not been formally asked to provide support, but I advise the member and the chamber that the issue was part of my discussions with the UK Government minister yesterday. The legislation extends to Scotland, and the steel undertaking would capture the site.”
“Will that be repaid, and at what point? When will we have a proper functioning mill—the only wide-plate mill in the United Kingdom—at Dalzell? When will it have a constructive relationship with the Scunthorpe plant? All those issues should be at the front of the Government’s mind, but, as usual, it is not paying attention.”
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“At least the tax resolution is stable, and the fact that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government indicated that that stability will last for the remainder of the parliamentary session is a good thing, too. I will conclude on this point. These debates are very different from what they used to be. We used to debate in Parliament how we were going to spend money rather than how we were going to raise it. The change has resulted in far better debate and a far better Parliament. We are thinking about the effects on people’s pockets and about investment in public services at the same time, which is a good thing. 14:54”
“Are we going to plug the holes for all the critical people we require to run the economy, health services and education systems? Of course we will not, because that would undermine the whole purpose of the taxation system. I recognise Neil Gray’s point, but it proves my point that we need a tax system that people trust, that has long-lasting effects and that people believe in, so that people do not change their behaviour as a result. Having said all that, we will support the tax resolution, because we believe that we need to get people paid and get the tax raised, which is an essential part of the process. We have negotiated a good deal in the budget process for GPs and dentists and on long Covid, housing, hospices, drugs and careers—the list goes on for a long time. Therefore, we will vote for the budget.”
“They will not decide in the middle of a contract to go somewhere else, but the pressure is there, combined with all the other pressures that exist in the system. Neil Gray: I appreciate Willie Rennie raising the need for competitiveness for our consultants and our wider NHS staff. Does he appreciate the pay deal that was secured last year, which meant that we have competitiveness for consultants, and that the majority of healthcare staff in Scotland are paid more than their counterparts elsewhere in the UK? Willie Rennie: That reinforces the point that we have a system of plugging the holes that are caused by other parts of Government policy, which is where we need to be careful, because we are not just talking about NHS consultants.”
“People can live with individual decisions. It is the cumulative effect over time and the uncertainty that is caused by the rhetoric that goes with it that have an impact. That was certainly case with Humza Yousaf. We proposed a tax rise in 2016, but the difference was that it was a penny for a purpose— for education. It was defined, and we said that that was it. We did not say that it was going to go on forever as a progressive campaign over years. We said that it was defined, and we believed that we would retain public confidence with that method. The people whom I worry about in relation to behavioural change are people such as NHS consultants, who can be mobile and can make a decision at certain points in their careers to leave the country, go down south or go elsewhere because of better taxation systems.”
“Then Humza Yousaf took over, and all went wild. He talked about ever greater progressivity in the tax system, egged on by the Green Party. That is a valid point of view, but the problem is that it broke trust with the public; they did not know where the Government was going with that progressive taxation. When trust on taxation is broken, it is invidious and creates difficulties for people’s individual choices about their behaviour. I am not talking about people leaving the country; I am talking about individual behavioural changes in relation to how people work, such as early retirement, going part-time or moving over to corporation status. People make all sorts of choices, and we have seen that there has been an effect from behavioural change, but not only because of individual budget decisions.”
“I will carry on from where Ross Greer finished. Much has been said about the progressive nature of our taxation system, which has been a feature of our budgets for some years now. John Swinney, when he stepped in for Kate Forbes as finance secretary, made a slightly different argument. He said that the situation was extraordinary and that there was an emergency. It was just post Covid, and we were dealing with some deep financial problems. He said that that required an emergency rise in tax, and I asked him whether, when the emergency was over, tax would go back down again. He was reluctant to plan future budgets, as he put it at the time, but, as we have seen, those increases have been embedded into the budget, so it was not really an extraordinary emergency situation at that point—it was another means to raise taxation.”
“We have also seen a reduction in the number of voids—for example, by 55 per cent in Edinburgh. We will continue to have discussions through the ministerial working group on those issues. That issue is the very reason why I started the homelessness group to discuss cross-portfolio interests. WASPI Campaign (Compensation) 3.”
“The minister knows that the number of children in temporary accommodation has got worse, not better, since we declared a housing emergency. His actions are clearly not having the immediate effect that we want. Has the minister spoken to his education colleagues about the impact that that is having on those young people and their educational performance? I worry about the long-term effects on so many children of living for an extended period in temporary accommodation. Paul McLennan: I mentioned previously the ministerial working group on homelessness, in which we have discussed that. On targeted action, we have seen reductions in 20 local authorities and £42 million is being invested in the five local authorities where there is the most pressure.”
“I have to commend Lorna Slater for raising the deposit return scheme in the Scottish Parliament and claiming it as an asset. We are nine years on from the referendum, yet we are still debating the consequences of Brexit. I have hardly seen any great benefits from Brexit so far. I have not seen great trade agreements with other nations of the world that are bringing huge volumes of trade into the United Kingdom, but we are still dealing with the consequences of Brexit. There is no doubt that, following Brexit, we needed to have a new market arrangement. Replacing the single market with the internal market act probably was required. The issue was not whether we had something; it was how we did it. There is also no doubt that the previous Conservative Government was far too heavy handed in its use of the internal market act.”
“However, as I have said, we are invested and we are prioritising that, which can be proven by the extra £6 million that is going to children’s services planning partnerships. The Deputy Presiding Officer: A number of colleagues want to ask questions, so we will need a bit more brevity in questions and in responses, minister.”
“I am not trying to hide anything; I am very aware that people can view the figures on a daily basis, which is what members have done. I am standing here and I am accountable in relation to that. I have said that I am monitoring the issue on a daily basis, and I am committed in the short and the long term to finding the solutions to the issue. Given what I have previously said to Parliament and the committee, I am very disappointed that we find ourselves in this situation. I am absolutely committed to the whole family wellbeing approach, which is absolutely key to delivering on the Promise, and we are making very good progress. I understand that children’s services planning partnerships experienced issues with regard to the time that it takes to make such transformational change at local level.”
“We have discovered that there are no secure unit beds. The minister was not going to tell us that, and we found out only because Martin Whitfield asked the question. She said that the issue was important, but she did not include it in her statement. Why has there been no reference to the fact that we are way behind schedule on spending the whole family wellbeing fund? Why has there been no mention of the fact that care-experienced children go from social worker to social worker year after year after year? None of that is mentioned. That is deeply unimpressive. Is the minister surprised that care-experienced people have no confidence in the Government to deliver the Promise? Natalie Don-Innes: Secure capacity issues were not something that I was going to put in my statement.”
“We are open to dialogue with the company about how the site can be used to sustain employment in the future and how to ensure that it is an essential part of the transition to net zero. However, we need to be able to engage in constructive dialogue with the company, and I assure Mr Rennie that there will be no shortage of willingness to do that on the part of the”
“It is right that the First Minister is leading for the Government on the issue, and I hope that the UK Government listens to the pleas from across the chamber to provide some funding. This is a dark period for the workers, but there is also a great prospect for the site, because it is good industrial land that is well connected by land and sea, with good access to workers. What is the First Minister’s assessment of the approach of the company, Petroineos, to working in partnership to fully exploit the potential of the area? The First Minister: I welcome the points that Mr Rennie makes. He correctly assesses the significance of the site and the potential for it to play a significant part in the work that we need to take forward in the transition to net zero.”
“Rather than just having the opportunity to engage or be consulted, they will have economic empowerment through the control of assets that can generate revenue, and they, as a community, can then determine how best to use that. That is the real long-term vision and hope that community wealth building, as a model, offers. I absolutely agree with Willie Rennie on the need to ensure that community benefits ensure a lasting legacy.”
“The community benefit from the energy infrastructure developments that will come in the next few years could be significant for local communities, particularly in the Highlands. I favour investment in housing, roads and infrastructure rather than just in community facilities, because that could leave a lasting legacy for those areas. Does the minister agree with that approach? Tom Arthur: I heard Willie Rennie make that point just before the recess. The point about a lasting legacy is important. Current spend can, of course, be beneficial, but if, as a legacy, communities have assets and control of wealth and capital that they can then grow to generate revenue, that will create real community empowerment.”
“I am hopeful that GB Energy can play a valuable part in pursuing that goal, but I will leave it there. I move that the Parliament backs the motion and grants legislative consent to the clauses that are in the bill. Decision Time 17:33”
“I want GB Energy to work alongside the Scottish Government and Scottish public bodies to support community and local energy projects, which are vital for Scotland’s economic growth and net zero ambitions. I know that I do not have much time, but I want to mention community benefits, which Willie Rennie touched on, although he is not in his seat at the moment. I am doing a separate stream of work to encourage the UK Government to mandate community benefits for all projects. He is absolutely right that there must be legacy benefits and that we should look at the infrastructure that is required, but I do not see GB Energy being part of that work. We want all Scottish consumers to be able to rely on affordable, sustainable and secure energy for years to come.”
“I wish the cabinet secretary well in her discussions with the UK Government and I hope that she can get answers to the questions that I and my constituents have. Gillian Martin: I want to reiterate some of the comments that I made in response to Stephen Kerr. I think that it is for Labour members—those who were parliamentary candidates and those members who are sitting in the seats to my right— to answer why the promises that were made about what GB Energy would do will not come to fruition. I had my doubts about those promises from the start. I hope that the Parliament votes to give consent to all the clauses in the bill, because I want us to work on the development of the project in good faith.”
“I know that there is a great deal to be discussed in relation to what GB Energy is going to be and how it is going to be developed, and I want to be involved in those discussions, because I think that there is an issue with what was promised. Kevin Stewart: I would like to be involved in those discussions, too. I want clarity from the UK Government on how many jobs there will be for Aberdeen. We were promised that there would be 1,000 jobs, but it is now saying that it will take 20 years before Aberdeen will get 1,000 jobs. It pledged to cut energy bills by £300, but Juergen Maier could not give us a timescale for that either. It seems that the UK Government and GB Energy are failing to invest in the north-east of Scotland and in Scotland’s renewable industries, and are failing to reduce energy costs for the public and businesses.”
“Stephen Kerr: In what circumstances would it be appropriate, as is done in other settings, to extend the time that is allocated for the debate by 30 minutes by virtue of a motion of the Parliament? The Presiding Officer: Mr Kerr, we are currently conducting an item of parliamentary business. We are not in the chamber at this moment to discuss how we run parliamentary business. I am happy to do that with Mr Kerr or any other member in another setting. In this instance, it is not appropriate and I am not going to think of hypothetical situations that I might address by allowing an extension of business. I call the cabinet secretary to wind up the debate. 17:32 Gillian Martin: I thank members for their contributions to the debate.”
“Stephen Kerr: On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Recognising the genuine concern that Kevin Stewart has expressed about the importance of the debate and the time allocated to it, can I apply under the relevant standing order for the debate to be extended by 30 minutes? The Presiding Officer: Thank you for your comments, Mr Kerr. At this point, I cannot agree to such a request. The business of the week is fully discussed at the Parliamentary Bureau. It is then brought to the chamber, where every member has an opportunity to speak against or to oppose a motion that they are not content with. Therefore, I will not allow this to continue, because that would be discourteous to the vast majority of members. Stephen Kerr: On a point of order, Presiding Officer. May I seek your guidance? The Presiding Officer: Briefly, Mr Kerr.”
“Kevin Stewart: I am afraid that I have made a point of order— The Presiding Officer: Mr Stewart— Kevin Stewart: And that I have the time to make a point of order— The Presiding Officer: Mr Stewart, I am happy to address your query about timing, although it is not a point of order. The Parliament voted for a business motion that allocated a specific amount of time to a specific item. That happened. The matter was proposed at the Parliamentary Bureau and agreed by the Parliamentary Bureau, and it came into the Parliament and was voted on and accepted by all members, including those here, I imagine. The issue has not been raised until this moment, and the Parliament has allotted 30 minutes to this item. We are taking up time, which is being taken away from the debate, so I would be grateful if we could proceed.”
“Kevin Stewart: On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My understanding was that there would be time for a contribution from the SNP back benches within the time allocated for this debate on the LCM, but that does not seem to be the case, and I am wondering why it is not the case. I was going to be that speaker, and I wanted to highlight the fact that, this week, Juergen Maier, the chair of GB Energy, admitted that it would be 20 years before Aberdeen got 1,000 jobs and could not put a date on when Labour’s pledge to cut energy— The Presiding Officer: Mr Stewart, the points that you have just raised are not, in fact, a point of order, so I will ask that you refrain from making them.”
“I do not know whether that figure is right—it might work for some and not for others—but we should be debating how we can best get and use resources from those schemes in order to ensure that we have lasting and immediate benefits for those areas. In communities such as Shetland, where there are great aspirations to build tunnels between the islands rather than relying on ferries, there is a significant desire to secure such investment in order to leave a lasting legacy. I hope that the minister will respond to some of those remarks in her closing speech. I would like to see the Government go further to make sure that we ring fence, secure and invest greater resources in the right areas for a lasting legacy. The Presiding Officer: I call the cabinet secretary to wind up. Cabinet secretary, you have up to three minutes.”
“How much do we secure from the schemes and what do we use it for? Until now, there has been significant investment in what we might call astroturf schemes—local facilities and halls. In communities that have already seen significant benefits, there are only so many astroturf pitches that can be put down, so what should we be using those resources for? I would argue that we should be using them for housing, schools, roads and so on, as leverage to get more resources into those communities. That is something that Angus MacDonald, my colleague in the House of Commons, has been talking about. He has suggested that 5 per cent of the revenue of any particular renewable energy scheme should be ploughed back into that kind of community benefit.”
“We therefore need to have a debate about how we use the revenues from ScotWind and the community benefit revenues from many onshore and offshore wind and pump storage schemes, so that those communities can see a direct benefit now, in order to cope with the pressures that are being faced, and a lasting legacy. SSE has given an indication of the extra 1,000 houses that it will build to help with the construction of its facilities. Sarah Boyack: Will the member take an intervention? Willie Rennie: I have only four minutes, and I would like to get through a few other things. That gives an indication of the pressure that is to come. We should not see a restriction on activities and development in those areas because of the lack of local services and infrastructure. That brings us to the revenues themselves. There are two questions.”
“Those who are close observers will have noticed from our exchange of letters that we secured a commitment that the revenues from ScotWind will be used for day-to-day spending only in extreme circumstances. That was in severe doubt last year, when the Government was dipping into those resources to fund health and other services. That would be a concern in the long term, because we need to use those revenues for economic benefit in communities. The change that is coming is significant. Look at the pump storage facilities that are coming in in Perth and Kinross, Dumfries and Galloway, and the Highlands; significant extra housing and improvements to roads, schools and health services will be required in areas where those services are already struggling to cope.”
“I have not been on the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee and I have not been immersed in the details of the legislative consent motion, but there is a striking contrast between the Scottish Government’s relationship with the previous UK Government and its relationship with the current one. It is a step in the right direction, although it is still clunky, as the convener of the committee acknowledged. Mark Ruskell is right—we need to codify an awful lot of the relationships rather than relying on good will. Perhaps a federalist structure is, finally, the answer to the issue. I want to talk about community benefit, which was an important subject in our discussions with the Scottish Government during the budget process.”
“If there is that nervousness, I am happy to do something to address it.”
“I reassure members that the bill requires ministers to have regard to the desirability of including in the membership of the SFC persons who “have experience of, and have shown capacity in, the provision of ... apprenticeships or work-based learning”. That is one of the changes that the bill allows us to make. I am keen to take the opportunity that this year affords us, with changes in the membership of the SFC, to ensure that that experience is on the board. That is essential. I have already highlighted the work that will be done around the committee experience, but I am disappointed if the chambers of commerce have paid attention to what has been going on over the past year and are still nervous. We have engaged extensively with employers and gained a lot of positive feedback from them.”
“I support the bill. The single source of funding and the careers reforms are welcome, but there is clearly a nervousness, including from the chambers of commerce, about the employer voice. There is clearly nervousness about moving the funding from an employer-based body—SDS—to an education-based body—the Funding Council. In particular, as we heard yesterday in the Education, Children and Young People Committee, there is concern that the funding model for further education is not necessarily flexible enough to meet the needs of employers. I invite the minister to have a meeting with me and the chambers of commerce to see whether we can find a solution to that nervousness. Graeme Dey: I met representatives from the chambers of commerce some time ago, but I am happy to take Willie Rennie up on his invitation.”
“There are a variety of ways in which Governments across the world gather data on those types of issues. I need to reflect, because we need to do better in the future in relation to how such data is gathered. I hope that members understand, from my responses today, that that is the approach that I will take.”
“As the cabinet secretary, I must reflect on the fact that, for whatever reason, 16 local authorities across the country decided not to engage in the survey. We need to work with local authorities to re-establish a more effective way of supporting them in that regard. Gathering such data is not new; it has been undertaken by Governments for many years. The health behaviour in school-aged children survey has run since the 1990s, with the latest round of it having taken place between January and March 2022. There is also the long-standing Scottish schools adolescent lifestyle and substance use survey, which has been undertaken since 1982— before I was born. Such issues are routinely included in pupil surveys in other countries across Europe, including England and Wales.”
“This is an important matter. It is important that we get our data protection procedures right, so I am pleased to hear that the cabinet secretary is taking the issue seriously. However, I hope that what has happened does not prevent us from doing future work, because we need to understand what young people think and how they live their lives. The Parliament can be detached at the best of times and, unless we do such work, we will be even more remote. Will the cabinet secretary ensure that future surveys are done correctly but that they are carried out, so that we understand what young people are thinking? Jenny Gilruth: Mr Rennie makes a really salient point. Gathering such data is important for all the reasons that I alluded to in my response to Mr Whitfield, but it is important that we get it right.”
“The Deputy Presiding Officer: We now move to the open debate. I advise members that we have a bit of time in hand, should members wish to take interventions. I call Clare Haughey, who will be followed by Jeremy Balfour. 15:52”
“All of those things are incredibly important, and we also need to look at the place of vocational activity. In Scotland, we have never properly cracked how we can get parity of esteem for vocational subjects. That is all part of improving overall performance. If we can improve the overall performance, we will have a chance of giving every child, no matter what their background, the chance to succeed. I will raise one final point, which Miles Briggs also raised. The private, voluntary and independent sector is incredibly important in early years education, but we are in danger of undermining the good work that we have done by not paying the same for the private, voluntary and independent sector as we pay for council provision. Why should people get paid less for doing exactly the same job? That needs to be sorted.”
“We are supposed to be closing the poverty-related attainment gap completely by next year, but we are nowhere near that. Let us not overstate these things; let us focus on the differences that we can make. We can have endless debates about the Scottish Qualifications Authority and so on, but that is not as relevant as the improvements that we need to make to the core of education, so we should focus on education reform. We have talked repeatedly about additional support needs, behaviour, mobile phones and the relationship with absences. All of those things are incredibly important and are fundamental to the education system. However, we also need to look at other aspects that, to be fair, the cabinet secretary is looking at. Those aspects include the role of knowledge and the place of extracurricular activity and project work.”
“That is not to say that the social role that the schools provide is not important, because it is incredibly important and schools do it well. The headteacher I met in Dundee took the view that her responsibilities go beyond the school gates—almost into households—as she wants to understand her families well so that she can do her job properly when she is in school. Nevertheless, we have seen the effect of that burden on the standards and the poverty-related attainment gap in schools. I think that the minister is overstating the improvement in that area. I recognise that there is some improvement in primary schools and among school leavers, but achievement in S3 is pretty flat and the improvements in primary schools are quite small. I do not think that we should overstate the improvement that has taken place since 2016.”
“I worry about our expectations of teachers, and I worry that the balance sometimes shifts too far away from the core of what schools do, which is about education. To some extent, I disagree with Ross Greer, as I think that education is the great leveller. It gives opportunities, and I have seen it give many families great opportunities for them to succeed in life. We should not lose sight of that important role. Martin Whitfield: Is it not the case that, at the moment, schools seem to be dealing with the very bottom layers of the hierarchy of needs—housing, food and safety—rather than the self-esteem, actualisation and dreams of children that the school system was designed to tap into? Willie Rennie: Yes, I agree.”
“I will start where Ross Greer finished off. He talked about the roles of schools and the social worker role that they have in addition to the role of education worker. It has always been the case, to some degree, that schools have played an important role in the fabric of the community and the family, but there is no doubt that the balance has shifted in recent years. We now place a significant burden on schools and teachers. We expect them to perform miracles—and sometimes they do perform miracles; they do an outstanding job—but there is now a pressure-cooker atmosphere in some schools, with issues around behaviour, absences, more than 40 per cent of pupils having additional support needs, and family breakdowns. The reach of the school is so much greater now; therefore, the responsibility is great.”
“I want to ask the cabinet secretary about the mother and child recovery houses that will be provided through the Aberlour Child Care Trust, because the Liberal Democrats made the case for that service being in the budget. Will the cabinet secretary guarantee that every mother and child who needs access to the service will be able to access it in a location close to their home? Neil Gray: I thank Willie Rennie and Liberal Democrat colleagues for their engagement on the matter. I believe that Jenny Minto met him very recently to discuss it. I hope to visit Aberlour to see the fantastic work that the Liberal Democrats’ engagement in the budget process has helped to deliver, and I will report back on that in due course.”
“As part of the process, the whole-system NHS infrastructure plan will be pulled together and the infrastructure investment plan pipeline will be reviewed, as will the specific asks of any other member who raises an ask for funding in any other supplementary question.”
“Stratheden hospital, near Cupar, provides mental health services, but it is housed in a Victorian building. It has inadequate services, insufficient room and a lack of privacy, and there is not enough space for therapeutic services. The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland has been critical of its facilities. Will the minister consider Stratheden hospital in the infrastructure plan? Ivan McKee: I thank the member for raising the situation in that locality in addition to the others that have been raised. As I have indicated, the process will give due consideration to all those priorities.”
“For our islands and remote areas, hospitality relief will continue at 100 per cent. Both are capped at £110,000 per business.”
“The Government is supporting further investment in the Scottish National Investment Bank, with a net £200 million being offered to create jobs, support innovation and attract investment. This Government is also supporting the development of its future workforce by continuing to invest more than £2 billion in Scotland’s colleges, universities and skills development programmes. On non-domestic rates, the budget will support businesses and communities by freezing the basic property rate—the lowest such rate in the UK— and maintaining the small business bonus scheme, which is the most generous of its kind in the UK. The budget also provides 40 per cent rates relief in 2025-26 for the 92 per cent of hospitality premises that are liable for the basic property rate.”
“That includes almost tripling our investment in offshore wind to £150 million, advancing our commitment of up to £500 million over five years; expanding regeneration funding to £62 million to invest in communities across Scotland; and investing £100 million for the continued roll-out of our digital connectivity programmes across Scotland. This budget will also ensure that enterprise and innovation are at the heart of our economic strategy, and, through investing in an expanded enterprise package, we will grow the start-up economy and contribute towards our ambition of establishing Scotland as a top-performing start-up economy. Specifically, we are investing £321 million in Scotland’s enterprise agencies to deliver our programme of support to help Scottish businesses to start, be more productive and attract investment.”
“We want to see a Scotland where everyone is able to flourish and to support Scotland in reaching its full potential. That is why we are taking these important steps through this budget. Boosting fair and green economic growth is also essential. It improves living standards and outcomes for the people of Scotland and it helps to increase tax revenues to support high-quality public services. This budget prioritises major capital investment in the foundations of our economy, including in housing, transport, digital connectivity and delivering critical infrastructure for a green and growing economy. We are investing more than £7 billion in our total infrastructure package.”
“To support our schoolchildren, the budget will provide up to £3 million to deliver a bright start breakfasts pilot to test the delivery of free breakfast clubs and kick-start more breakfast delivery across Scotland. We will also provide £37 million to support local government to deliver on our commitment to expand free school meals provision for children in primary 6 and primary 7 who are in receipt of the Scottish child payment, which is expected to support around 25,000 pupils. We will also provide an estimated £3 million to support a new test of change phase that will extend free school meal eligibility in eight local authority areas for pupils in secondary 1 to secondary 3 who are in receipt of the Scottish child payment.”
“We are also supporting households more widely through investing £768 million for the affordable housing supply programme, boosting affordable housing supply across Scotland and enabling housing providers to deliver at least 8,000 homes for social rent, mid-market rent and low-cost home ownership. To help with home energy costs, the budget will reinstate the universal winter heating payment to every pensioner household. On wider support for children, this budget will continue to invest around £1 billion through the local government settlement in continuing to deliver high-quality funded early learning and childcare for three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds, supporting families to provide their children with an essential early learning experience at that critical stage in life.”