Chamber and committees

As an amendment to motion S6M-13197 in the name of Mark Griffin (Scotland’s Housing Emergency), insert at end "; notes that there are a record number of people in Scotland experiencing homelessness with almost 10,000 children stuck in temporary accommodation and 45 children becoming homeless in Scotland every day; calls on the Scottish Ministers to bring forward an urgent housing emergency action plan to tackle the issues raised by the Scottish Government’s own expert Homelessness Prevention Task and Finish Group, including actions that will reduce the number of children stuck in temporary accommodation by the end of this parliamentary session; recognises the need to improve capacity in local government to prevent more local homelessness services falling into systemic failure, and the need to improve delivery for those with specific supported living needs, and calls on the Scottish Ministers to review how national government, local authorities and third sector partners are working together on the shared ambition to end homelessness."

As an amendment to motion S6M-13197 in the name of Mark Griffin (Scotland’s Housing Emergency), insert at end "; further believes that an effective national system of rent control in the private rented sector is an essential part of the response to the housing emergency, and recommits to delivering this through the Housing (Scotland) Bill."

As an amendment to motion S6M-13196 in the name of Pam Duncan-Glancy (Stand Up for Teaching), leave out from “, including” to end and insert “; recognises that the Scottish Government is investing in maintaining teaching numbers with an additional £145.5 million designed to support local authorities to do so; thanks those local authorities in 2022-23 that maintained or increased their teacher numbers; acknowledges that the policy of free tuition means that students in Scotland avoid incurring additional debt of up to £27,750; recognises that the Scottish Government further invests in supporting full postgraduate support, and in funding the salaries associated with the first full year of probation; recognises the challenges of rurality and subject area in certain parts of the country; confirms that action needs to be taken to reduce workload that does not support learning and teaching; recognises that the Scottish Government and the Parliament have a responsibility to promote teaching as a highly rewarding career, and agrees that the Scottish Government should engage with parties across the Parliament to hear views on how best to meet these challenges, further to work with COSLA, as underpinned by the principles of the Verity House Agreement, in a joint collaborative effort to improve the employment opportunities for all of Scotland’s teachers, for the benefit of Scotland’s young people.”

As an amendment to motion S6M-13196 in the name of Pam Duncan-Glancy (Stand Up for Teaching), insert at end “; takes on board the recommendations of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party’s New Deal for Teachers to support teachers, reduce contact time and properly fund local authorities; believes that enacting these recommendations would help to facilitate the recruitment and retention of teachers, provide the highest standard of education and work to better improve the link between the education system and employers, and calls, in that regard, for the alignment of skills to meet the needs of businesses and employers both for today and into the future, as set out in the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party’s Grasping the Thistle economic strategy plan.”

As an amendment to motion S6M-13196 in the name of Pam Duncan-Glancy (Stand Up for Teaching), insert at end "; notes that education is the largest area of local government spending, and therefore believes that further reform of local government finances and particularly Council Tax is critical to the sustainable funding of teacher posts and other education services, and that all parties should be invited to contribute proposals to the Joint Working Group on Local Government Finance Resources and Council Tax Reform; welcomes recent progress on fiscal empowerment of local authorities, including the devolution of empty property relief, greater Council Tax discretion in relation to second and holiday homes, the Visitor Levy and the commitments to further work, including on a Cruise Ship Levy, Public Health Supplement and General Power of Competence, and believes that the Scottish Government and local authorities should work together to protect teacher numbers and to improve retention by reducing workload pressures caused by unnecessary bureaucracy and policies that provide insufficient additional value."

As an amendment to motion S6M-13197 in the name of Mark Griffin (Scotland’s Housing Emergency), insert at end "and that the housing emergency is more acutely felt in some parts of the country than others; acknowledges that the current situation is due to a combination of factors including those outwith the Scottish Government’s powers, including a decade of UK Government austerity, soaring inflation and an increasing cost of living, labour shortages linked to Brexit, and a freeze to local housing allowance (LHA) rates; calls on the UK Government to reverse the near 9% cut in Scotland’s capital funding settlement, commit to ensuring that LHA rates will permanently meet at least the 30th percentile of local rents, and provide adequate support to local authorities impacted by the increase in asylum support cessations; recognises the Scottish Government’s record on delivering affordable homes and action taken on rent rises; notes that in 2024-25, despite the UK Government imposing a cut to its capital budget, the Scottish Government will invest nearly £600 million in affordable housing and over £90 million for discretionary housing payments; welcomes the actions in the Housing (Scotland) Bill to tackle rising rent levels and the continued focus on the target of delivering 110,000 high-quality, energy efficient affordable homes, and agrees that the Scottish Government, UK Government and local authorities must work together to deliver a housing system that meets the needs of the people of Scotland."

That, subject to the Parliament’s agreement that the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Bill be treated as an Emergency Bill, the Parliament agrees to consider the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Bill as follows—

Stage 1 on Tuesday 21 May 2024; and

Stage 2 on Thursday 23 May 2024.

That the Parliament agrees that, under Rule 12.3.3B of Standing Orders, the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee can meet, if necessary, at the same time as a meeting of the Parliament after Portfolio Questions on Thursday 16 May 2024.

That the Parliament agrees that consideration of the Social Security (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill at stage 1 be extended to 7 June 2024.

That the Parliament agrees to the general principles of the Aggregates Tax and Devolved Taxes Administration (Scotland) Bill.