Chamber and committees

For the purposes of this item and a number of other agenda items, I declare an interest as the owner of a private rental property in the North Lanarkshire Council area.

Cabinet secretary, the committee has heard evidence from a number of local authorities and public sector partners, including, in particular, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland, that they do not have the resources available to process licence applications as fast as they would like to be able to, and that they did not get additional resource to support that process. Have you seen the evidence that those public sector partners have provided? Is the Government taking any action to resolve the issues that they have flagged?

I will direct my first question to Timothy Douglas—if anybody else wants to come in after he answers, they can. My line of questioning concerns the moratorium on evictions. Broadly, what impact has the moratorium on the enforcement of some eviction orders had on your tenants and on landlords?

It is Mark Griffin.

My second question goes back to the point about consistency. We have heard that some local authorities, including Glasgow City Council, are asking for the planning status of a short-term let to be set out in the licence application, even when the property is outwith a short-term let control area. What is the cabinet secretary’s view of that requirement when it comes to licence applications?

That is helpful—thank you.

Gillian McNaught, do you have any comments from the Glasgow perspective regarding any concerns about the application process?

The committee has received written evidence that includes concerns that the licence application process can be unduly complex. Some people have talked about poorly designed online application processes, although I know that Ailsa Raeburn said that she is aware of people who have found the process fairly simple to complete.

Gary Somers, how do you respond to concerns that the application process is unduly complex? How do you view the process in comparison with other application processes relating to other licensing functions?

I want to direct a question to Fiona Campbell. You spoke earlier about the need for the Government to carry out a review. You have called, if the Government does not agree to that early review, for an urgent rewrite of the guidance. Would you like the opportunity to put on the record what you feel the reasons are for a rewrite, and what you would like to see in revised guidance?

My second question is about the concerns that we have heard from local authorities and public sector partners—such as the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service—that are involved in the application process. They do not have the necessary resources to process applications quickly. Gary Somers touched on the issue of profiling and the fact that spending on staff might now be out of sync with the possible six-month delay to the deadline for getting a licence.

My question is for Gillian McNaught and then Gary Somers. How are your authorities covering their costs at the moment? Should the Government look at that if it plans to implement a six-month delay that will have a knock-on impact on the income that you would expect to receive to cover those costs?

Thank you. I hand back to the convener.