4. To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the anti-poverty summit that took place on Wednesday 3 May. (S6F-02064)

I am very grateful to the more than 80 people, including party leaders, who joined the anti-poverty summit. I hope that they will all agree with me that what we heard, particularly from people with direct experience of poverty, confirmed that poverty is the biggest challenge that we face, as a country. Although we have already acted to tackle the pressure on those who are most in need, of course more must be done.

We have fixed budgets and money is tight and needs to be stretched very far, so we must be hard-headed and realistic about the action that has to be taken. That means making some really tough choices that need to be bold. As we heard specifically, we have to be brave. All of us, including party leaders and me, as First Minister, were challenged to be brave by people with direct experience of poverty. The Government that I lead will be bold and will consider what we can do in relation to taxation, the tough decisions that have to be made and the targeted investments that we have to make.

I thank the First Minister for that response. A wellbeing economy and a fair social security system are two key components in tackling poverty. Many experts agree that the United Kingdom Tory Government’s policies, such as cutting universal credit, are worsening poverty. [

Interruption

.] Of course, the minimum wage, which was set by Westminster, is well below the living wage that would help people to meet the cost of living. Does the First Minister agree with me that, until this Parliament has full powers over the economy and social security, the UK Government must step up to the plate and use its powers to support rather than to punish people? Can he outline the steps that the Scottish Government will take to build on its progressive record?

The First Minister:

Whenever anybody talks about poverty, we always hear groans from the Conservative Party. Instead of groaning, they should face up to the reality that their actions—including more than a decade of austerity, the hard Brexit that has been imposed on us and a mini-budget that wreaked complete havoc on our economy—have pushed more people into poverty, and not just in Scotland but up and down the UK. Instead of groaning, they should face up to that fact and take some responsibility. [

Applause

.]

The Presiding Officer:

Thank you, members.

The First Minister:

The UK Government should match the ambition of the Scottish Government on tackling and reducing poverty, and that includes introducing the equivalent of the Scottish child payment by reinstating the universal credit uplift at £25 a week and extending support to other means-tested benefits.

Were the UK Government to reverse key reforms that have been introduced since 2015, that would put £780 million into the pockets of Scottish households, and it would lift 70,000 people, including 30,000 children, out of poverty this year.

Let me make it clear: where I can work constructively with the UK Government on reducing poverty, I will do so. It was one of the first topics that I raised in my meeting with the Prime Minister recently. Where we have the power in this Parliament to go further, I give an absolute commitment that we will use powers to their absolute maximum effect. We must all make a collective effort in order to reduce poverty—particularly child poverty.

I noted the First Minister’s headline-grabbing announcement prior to the summit of £4.5 million for after-school clubs. Does he accept that that is a drop in the ocean compared with the £1 billion financial black hole that the Government created in local authority funding through its relentless slashing of council budgets? Does he also accept that it is time for the Scottish National Party to use every lever at its disposal to improve people’s lives?

During the summit, which we attended in good faith, we outlined a number of areas where the Government could take immediate action, including wiping out of school meals debt, improvement of debt support in communities, freezing of water charges and provision of a water rebate. The First Minister said that he is listening, so when will he get on and take action in those areas to make a real difference right now?

The First Minister:

The difficulty, of course, with all those policy proposals is that Paul O’Kane did not outline how on earth we would pay for them. That is the problem—we have a Labour Party that demands action but does not do the grown-up politics of putting forward how it would pay for measures. That is the reality of government. I know that the Labour Party has not been in government for more than 16 years, but it has to be able to say how it will pay for those measures—[

Interruption

.]

The Presiding Officer:

Members, let us treat one another with courtesy and respect.

The First Minister:

Labour shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said that

“principles don’t change but the priorities and the policies must change according to the circumstances.”

I agree with her. We have to ensure that every single penny that we spend is targeted at those who need it most. I am more than happy to engage with Paul O’Kane constructively on issues that he has raised today, but we absolutely must be realistic. It is not just about coming up with potential solutions and proposals; we have to say how on earth we are going to pay for them. I make no apology whatsoever when I say that I believe in progressive taxation. I hope that that is a call that Labour can back, too.