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Seòmar agus comataidhean

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 24 November 2024
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Displaying 773 contributions

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Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Low Income and Debt Inquiry

Meeting date: 19 May 2022

Elena Whitham

Paul Ferguson has indicated that he wants to come in.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Low Income and Debt Inquiry

Meeting date: 19 May 2022

Elena Whitham

That is all right; do not worry about it. Paul McLennan, do you have further questions?

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Low Income and Debt Inquiry

Meeting date: 19 May 2022

Elena Whitham

That segues nicely on to questions about school meal debts. To kick us off, we will take a question from Foysol Choudhury.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Low Income and Debt Inquiry

Meeting date: 19 May 2022

Elena Whitham

Before I move to questions from my colleague Pam Duncan-Glancy, I see that Martin Canavan and Betty Stone would both like to come in. I must ask you to keep your comments brief at this point.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Low Income and Debt Inquiry

Meeting date: 19 May 2022

Elena Whitham

Do you want to come in on that, Betty?

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Low Income and Debt Inquiry

Meeting date: 19 May 2022

Elena Whitham

That reminds me of the fact that councils hold a lot of data and information. There is a need for them to passport where a family is eligible to receive another payment, whether it is school meals or other things. We need to make sure that councils do that as well, because they hold that data.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Low Income and Debt Inquiry

Meeting date: 19 May 2022

Elena Whitham

Thank you very much for that, Kirsty McKechnie. I have seen cases in which tax credit debt, which is sometimes from years ago, is in the thousands of pounds. A family can never get out of that debt, particularly when they cannot find the historical information to try to defend their position or change the outcome.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Low Income and Debt Inquiry

Meeting date: 19 May 2022

Elena Whitham

Betty Stone would like to respond, and then we will hear briefly from Kirsty McKechnie.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Low Income and Debt Inquiry

Meeting date: 19 May 2022

Elena Whitham

I will take two final questions before we stop for a wee pause, from Paul McLennan and then Foysol Choudhury.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Low Income and Debt Inquiry

Meeting date: 19 May 2022

Elena Whitham

That would be helpful.

We will move on to our fourth theme, which is about the role that the social security system plays in relation to debt. I will bring in my colleague Emma Roddick, who is online.