Lesley Brennan: When I moved an amendment identical to amendment 1 at stage 2, the minister said: “I support the principle behind the amendment.” Therefore, it is really welcome that the Government will support amendment 1. The minister also said: “Funeral costs have been debated repeatedly throughout the bill’s passage. The bill’s central purpose is to improve legislation governing burial and...
Lesley Brennan: I thank the Government for agreeing to support amendment 1. We need to recognise that this is the start of the process of eradicating funeral poverty in Scotland. During stage 2, I recognised that power over social fund funeral payments and other consumer protection measures will come through the Scotland Bill. However, the provision on guidance that amendment 1 sets out in the bill is an...
Lesley Brennan: As many members have said, the bill covers many sensitive topics. I have focused on funeral poverty because of my experience as a councillor and, as I mentioned at a previous stage, because of a close friend’s experience. Empathy has been mentioned a few times; politicians ought to be able to empathise so that we can understand how we can best serve the people who we are here to represent....
Lesley Brennan: In 1999, only 5 per cent of households in Scotland lived in the private rented sector but, by 2014, that figure had increased to 14 per cent. Clare Adamson is right to talk about the sector’s growing importance, given that the Government has encouraged local authorities to meet housing need through the sector. If the aim is for more people’s needs to be met through the private rented...
Lesley Brennan: The right to buy stripped away properties, but the fact is that not enough houses were built in addition. The two things are not incompatible; people were very supportive of the right to buy, which leads to secure and stable communities. Anyway, I will not go into that. Now that people are renting in the private rented sector for longer, I welcome the improvement in private tenants’ rights,...
Lesley Brennan: There may have been challenges, but the hurdles were not insurmountable. We need to improve the standard across the sector. Many non-HMO rented properties need to be upgraded, especially former right-to-buy properties. Many of those properties enter the private rented sector accidentally when somebody dies and somebody inherits their property and rents it, and those properties need a lot of...
Lesley Brennan: Tenants have to chase landlords for repairs and annual gas safety checks, so we need to make sure that we put a charter in place. If more people are living in the private rented sector, they deserve better.
Lesley Brennan: It is a great honour to speak in this debate and to follow many great parliamentarians who have shaped this place over the past 17 years, and also to speak in this debate as someone who has followed this process not as a parliamentarian but as an ordinary punter and a local councillor. I want to address three areas in the Scotland Bill that have often been overlooked and in which I hope that...
Lesley Brennan: I agree that the powers are narrow in their scope, but I think that they could do a great deal of good. I suggest that the Parliament considers devolving the power relating to gaming machines to local authorities, because local authorities are best placed to take the decisions. Finally, I want to turn to clause 52 in part 4 of the bill, which deals with abortion. I was deeply disappointed at...
Lesley Brennan: That leads to a sense of stigmatisation. Given the findings, I hope that that situation is rectified and that women in Scotland seeking a late abortion can access one in Scotland. With the new powers, I hope that there will be further improvements in Scotland in this subject.
Lesley Brennan: The housing market is a key component of our economy and, as such, changes to it ought to be considered very carefully. According to Registers of Scotland, approximately 90,000 properties were submitted for registration in the past financial year. The Fraser of Allander institute warned last week that growth in Scotland is set to slow further. With that fragility in mind, I strongly urge the...
Lesley Brennan: 4. To ask the Scottish Government when ministers last met representatives of the Dundee integration joint board. (S4O-05598)
Lesley Brennan: Last Thursday, the Scottish National Party administration in Dundee City Council cut £3.5 million from the health and social care integration joint board budget. Dundee City Council is expecting to receive £7 million from the additional £250 million funding for social care. The chief executive has noted that £4 million of that money is already earmarked to cover planned staff costs,...
Lesley Brennan: I too congratulate Sandra White on persevering with the important issue of protecting vulnerable pedestrians. The Labour group supports the general principles of the bill. When members speak to anyone who lives in a built-up area about motor vehicles parking on pavements, they will find that most folk have an opinion or an experience. I remember that, when my boys were small—I had twins...
Lesley Brennan: Will the member take an intervention?
Lesley Brennan: Can we have your views on the situation in Dundee? The SNP council administration has proposed cutting home care services by reprofiling or reconfiguring them. That is a £250,000 cut from home care. At a public meeting—
Lesley Brennan: At the public meeting with the SNP finance convener, they were saying about the bullying of the home care—[Interruption.]
Lesley Brennan: I will sum up for the Labour group. It has been a very short debate, but we have heard the key points. During evidence sessions, the Finance Committee heard about the stated aim of the policy, which is to minimise market distortion in Scotland due to inward investment from the rest of the UK, given the Tories’ introduction of a similar initiative there. The Scottish Government considers...
Lesley Brennan: Very few of us plan and discuss our intentions for when we pass on or, importantly, how we will pay for the arrangements. My own parents are an exception—they have even picked their hymns. They were concerned about the cost of their funerals, and they bought funeral plans in 2010. I realise, however, that many people who do not have savings simply cannot afford to put money aside for a...
Lesley Brennan: Will the member take an intervention?
