Nicola Sturgeon has unveiled plans for a rent freeze in an effort to tackle the "humanitarian emergency" of the cost of living crisis.
The First Minister revealed a rent freeze for public and private rented properties across the country in order to help households deal with rising bills.
Speaking to MSPs, Sturgeon announced that the Scottish Government will table emergency legislation that will freeze rents until spring 2023 and ban evictions throughout the winter.
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In addition, plans to freeze ScotRail fares until March 2023 were also unveiled, as were plans to increase the Scottish Child Payment to £25 per week starting from November.
Universal provision of free school meals will also be expanded to include all students in primary six and primary seven. While the Scottish Government had previously stated it would give free lunches to children up to primary seven, the deployment of the policy has been delayed.
Alongside the announcement, Sturgeon called on new Prime Minister Liz Truss to hold a four-nation meeting of political leaders with the aim of helping households across the UK.
The First Minister said: "I can announce that we will shortly introduce emergency legislation to Parliament. The purpose of the emergency law will be two-fold.
"Firstly, it will aim to give people security about the roof over their head this winter through a moratorium on evictions. Secondly, the legislation will include measures to deliver a rent freeze."
Ms Sturgeon added: "The Scottish Government does not have the power to stop your energy bills soaring, but we can and will take action to make sure that your rent does not rise."
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