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Nicholas Sturgeon
Photo: Robert Perry/EPA
In view of the sharp increase in the cost of living, the Scottish regional government wants to temporarily freeze rents.
It is a "humanitarian emergency" and she will immediately introduce appropriate legislation, said Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Tuesday in the regional parliament in Edinburgh.
A moratorium should also apply to forced evictions, as the politician from the Scottish National Party (SNP) announced.
Sturgeon also plans to put a cap on fares at the recently nationalized rail company ScotRail.
It should apply at least until March 2023, the head of government continued.
Demand for frozen energy prices
Sturgeon, who is campaigning for her country's independence, may not have chosen the timing of her announcement by accident just before the inaugural speech of the new British Prime Minister Liz Truss.
It was expected that Truss, who was appointed to office by the Queen on Tuesday, would shortly present a plan for containing the recent sharp rise in gas and electricity costs for households and businesses.
Sturgeon called on Truss to also freeze energy prices.
These are the responsibility of the central government in London.
"The Scottish Government doesn't have the power to stop your energy prices from going up, but we can make sure your rents don't go up," Sturgeon said.
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