3rd April 2023: A Week in Parliament

Humza Yousaf

I was pleased to see Humza was appointed the new leader of the party and also First Minister. On social media, I pledged my support to him during the leadership race. It is historic to see the first ethnic minority First Minister of Scotland and indeed the first Muslim leader in the western world. There is no doubt he has big shoes to fill and there will be many challenges ahead, however, I am confident he can hit the ground running.

Parliamentary Business

Plenty was happening at Parliament last week in the lead-up to the Easter Recess. I spoke in the Ministerial Statement on the review of the state pension age. The state pension age is set to increase to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and then to 68 between 2044 and 2046 – affecting people born after April 1977. However, the UK Government had proposed to bring forward the date for raising the pension age to 68. I called the UK Government out on not publishing the reports used to inform the review of the state pension age earlier, to allow for proper parliamentary scrutiny and highlighted that sadly Tory austerity and covid have reduced overall average life expectancy figures. We in the SNP oppose any further increases to the state pension age as the UK has one of the worst state pensions in Western Europe – a damning indictment on the supposed sixth-largest economy in the world! I asked them what lessons had been learned from the WASPI scandal, which affects more than 6,500 in my constituency, but I will not hold my breath. I fully believe an independent Scotland will be the best place to grow old in prosperity, not in poverty with a Westminster Government we did not vote for.

As well as this, I also criticised the UK Government’s energy policy. They are completely obsessed with nuclear and will not see past it. It is imperative they invest in Scotland’s renewable sector in backing pumped storage hydro and tidal stream. Scotland is a world leader in this field and Westminster is standing in the way of further prosperity.

Raising Cases in Parliament

I raised another constituent case at Business Questions. I called on the UK Government to provide more support to those being passed over to Social Security Scotland from DWP. My constituent, Carol Ann, had a stroke and her husband updated the DWP about her condition. She is due to be passed over to Social Security Scotland in May, but the DWP are doing absolutely nothing to help her in the meantime and trying to palm her off. I called on the Leader of the House to outline what they will do to make sure they treat cases with care and dignity until they migrate to Social Security Scotland. Hopefully, common sense will prevail.

I was delighted to hear following a case I raised the previous week, a constituent has been offered £3500 in backdated payments from the DWP. This is what gives me real job satisfaction.

Note…

Since publishing, it has been confirmed that due to an admin error from DWP, the amount backdated to my constituent is actually £23,500! Fantastic news in the end.