Make no mistake, the worst impact of the cost of living crisis is still to hit home.
When energy prices increase again in October, the budgets of some of the poorest households in Scotland will simply topple over. Those who are better off will trim their spending accordingly but many people will face penury this winter.
With a pay squeeze and double digit inflation that crisis will start hitting council budgets and devolved budgets in a big way. That’s why the Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh finance ministers have made a joint approach to the UK Treasury to start making targeted decisions before it is too late.
Kate Forbes and other ministers highlight the problems the NHS face and inflation are having on their own budgets. But the real squeeze is on those low income groups who need help the most.
Low income families get some relief with the previous decision to give a £650 payment but all that does by October is take families back to the start line in a snakes and ladders game.
Widely spread tax cuts, like the rebate in council tax for everyone, are a blunt instrument. The well off don’t need the cash and the poor are more affected by inflationary rises because they spend a larger proportion of income on life’s essentials.
The devolved finance leaders are right to demand action from the Chancellor. The problem is, Nadhim Zahawi is a lame-duck Chancellor in a powerless Tory government.
They are drifting while Boris Johnson sees out his last weeks as PM while the country sinks into crisis. Which is why we need a general election now to get a government that actually works.
Law needs fixed
Taking “upskirting” images has been illegal in Scotland for a decade more than the rest of the UK which only caught up recently.
The law was changed by the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 – but leading the way in legislation makes no difference if the law does not work. The revelation that only five per cent of the 500 or so cases being reported to police each year make it to court raises serious questions about the usefulness of the law.
The big gap between offences and prosecutions appears to be that the legislation is badly framed. One problem is that upskirting is currently only illegal if the motive of the perpetrator is either sexual gratification or causing distress to their victim.
It is hard for prosecutors to prove beyond reasonable doubt what the motivation of the offender is. The law has to be refined so the message goes out that this outrageous behaviour is stamped out.
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