Chamber and committees

In advance of that work being completed, does the Government have any concerns about the risk of financial failure of any particular Scottish local authority?

I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of interests as the owner of a private rented property up to July last year.

Good morning, minister. The new process relies on tenants taking the initiative to challenge a potentially unfair rent increase, but we in the committee have heard long-standing concerns about tenants’ ability to challenge landlords, for fear of putting their tenancy in jeopardy. What steps is the Government putting in place to protect tenants through the process and assure them that any such challenge will not put their tenancy in jeopardy?

You set out some of the financial challenges that have resulted in this flexibility being used in England, which are well documented. What assessment has the Government carried out of the financial health of local authorities in Scotland that have used this flexibility and of whether that has put any of them at risk of going down the same road as the English local authorities that you mentioned?

I am an MSP for Central Scotland.

I will wrap two questions into one. The regulations continue only the rent control element and not the evictions element. Will that have an impact on the levels of evictions and homelessness? What are your expectations and ambitions for the housing bill on rent controls? What do you hope to see the Government propose as a long-term approach to those?

I am an MSP for Central Scotland and a member of the committee.

Before I ask my questions, I remind everyone of my interest as a former owner of a private rented property, which I owned up to July last year.

Lots of people have talked about budgets. I would like to hear witnesses’ views on the impact on the “Housing to 2040” vision of this year’s housing supply programme budget cuts. How will they affect supply overall, and affordable supply in particular? Is the ambition to deliver 110,000 affordable homes still realistic?

If we assume that the draft budget will be passed in its current form and that there will be a cut, the million-dollar question becomes: how will we build the homes—which, as we have all said, are desperately needed—with less money? Are there any innovative finance models? Could the Government provide guarantees for loan funding? Is there anything else that the Government could do, in the absence of hard cash, to stimulate the house building that we know is required?

As you will know, we have heard a range of views in our evidence sessions. Some witnesses have raised concerns about the bill’s broad scope and how it could impact the speed and cost of assessment and remediation, while other witnesses have said that the bill does not go far enough and that they want the bill to cover all fire safety aspects of buildings, rather than just cladding. What is the minister’s—and the Government’s—thinking with regard to the balance of those arguments? Is there any potential for prioritisation based on the risk of multiple fire safety issues?

Why was there no public consultation when it came to developing the proposals in the bill?