Seòmar agus comataidhean

Good afternoon. I will ask a couple of questions on stigma and my particular raison d’être of being trauma aware. That is something that gets me out of bed in the morning.

Can the minister provide an update on the work that has been undertaken with regard to part of the stigma action plan? I will roll the two questions together to save time. Can the minister outline the engagement that has taken place with the third sector to assess its experience of attitudes and whether that assessment has indicated any improvement in those attitudes over time?

Thank you very much for that very full answer. My only concern is that, when anyone says that we have to take time to do something, the process becomes never ending, and it cannot be never ending when it comes to trauma. Are you willing to give an indication of how long you anticipate that process taking? I am not trying to hold anyone to a date, but I do not like the idea of it being a never-ending process.

You have alluded to bits of this, but how can Social Security Scotland help young people and their families understand how other benefits and payments might change as they move from CDP to ADP?

Thank you. That was alluded to. I appreciate that.

I am happy to hear what you have to say, Graham.

Gordon MacRae, you have alluded to the need for more resources, but why are you concerned that the Scottish Government’s response to the temporary accommodation task and finish group will not drive the structural change that is needed to tackle the housing emergency? How can the forthcoming budget decisions help to drive that structural change?

I thank the panel for coming.

You have kind of answered my question already; it was for Gordon MacRae, but he has given his information, and I think that Graham O’Neill has already answered it, too. My question was: why should affordable housing supply be the Scottish Government’s number 1 priority for capital spend in the budget? As I have said, you have pretty much answered it already, but it would be helpful if you could add a bit more. I suppose that I am asking whether there is an adequate focus on homelessness in the Parliament—or even in this committee, given the links to child poverty and, as Graham O’Neill eloquently put it, the refugee issue.

That leads me on to my next questions. Thank you for the information that you have given.

I will now go back to Gordon MacRae, if I may. First, I just wanted to note what it says in the Scottish Housing Regulator’s “National Report on the Scottish Social Housing Charter 2022-23”—that is a fun thing to say. It has highlighted the tough financial decisions that social landlords need to make arising from the settling, or setting, of below-inflation rent rises, along with increased costs of maintenance—I am sorry, but you will need to bear with me; I have a bit of a cold and my brain is a bit fuzzy—and improving the energy efficiency of existing stock.

As a result, registered social landlords are reducing and delaying their plans to build new homes. I have had representations from social landlords that the rent freeze legislation has directly reduced, delayed and, in some cases, completely halted their plans for new social accommodation. Given the challenges that social landlords face, how much difference would an increased capital budget for new homes make? Could the Scottish Government take any other action to improve the supply of new social homes?

I put those questions to Gordon MacRae in the first instance. I know that Graham O’Neill wants to come in, too, but I want to hear what Gordon has to say.

That makes sense. Thank you.

Thanks. I have one last question, on participation, because the public should obviously have an input. Should the Scottish Government involve the public in setting the overall priorities for spending, and what is a realistic scope for meaningful public participation in more detailed consideration of budget decisions?

Everything that you have said feeds into that, but let us flip the issue on its head and consider some detail about how we can deliver proper participation. Paul, given where you are coming from, perhaps you can give me a direct answer on that.