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Child Poverty in Scotland

We would utilise the jobcentres and buildings that are already there, but the Government are taking staff away. Almost half the jobcentre staff in my constituency have been lost in recent years, owing to transfers to the call centre at Clydebank. I want to talk about the problems caused by the world energy crisis that people on low incomes face. Paying their fuel bills, both to keep their homes warm and to travel, is a serious problem for people on low incomes. To help tackle the problems that people on low incomes face in keeping their homes warm, the energy companies should be forced to use some of their huge windfall profits to ensure that all poor and vulnerable people have access to cheap social tariffs. The higher utility pre-payment charges should be abolished. It is a scandal that people with pre-payment meters should pay more for their fuel than those who have access to direct debits. We should work for the swift roll-out of smart meters in every home, so that people can have more control over their energy consumption.