Cost of Living

That the Parliament notes with concern the recent confirmation by energy regulator, Ofgem, of the energy price cap rise, and reports that this will mean an increase in the average energy bill of 54%; understands that, in France, the increase will be kept at 4%; believes that this is due to EDF being nationally owned; considers that the 54% increase fits into a pattern of what it sees as a worsening cost of living crisis, which has resulted, it believes, in people taking longer to buy their first home, have difficulty finding accommodation with affordable rents, and being unable to save for their future and retirement; believes that the impossibility for so many people to adequately save for their retirement years is storing up future hardship; calls on the Scottish Government to take a coordinated approach to tackling poverty and what it sees as the cost of living crisis, by investing in the creation of good-quality, well-paid, secure jobs, and considers that this is the best way to avoid an increase in what it sees as the already appallingly high number of Scottish families living in poverty and insecurity.