Chamber and committees

Thank you. Does Donna Birrell want to talk about the balance between investment plans, including how they have been funded, and the affordability of rents?

No.

Will you outline why the ban on using highly combustible metal composite material is limited to material with a thickness of up to 10mm or a gross calorific value of more than 35 megajoules per kilogram? Will you set out why those values were chosen?

I will move on to affordability of rent, if that is okay. I know that it has been touched on already. Are investment programmes essentially funded by rent rises? As we see the cost of units far outstripping the grant allocation from the Government, is it unsustainable to fund new builds through rent rises? What impact is that having on affordability levels for your tenants?

I want to ask about the sites that are currently under development. What role do modern methods of construction play at those sites? For example, how are modern construction methods being employed to reduce unit costs or to increase efficiency in order to reduce costs for the eventual tenants? What is the Scottish Government’s role in pushing out that innovation in order to reduce costs for developers and tenants?

My question is similar to a question that I asked the previous panel. Do the witnesses have any comments about how their investment decisions and new-build programmes are impacting on rent levels? Are their new-build programmes essentially predicated on rent rises? If so, is that causing any concerns about the affordability of rents? I put that to Elaine Scott, Pam Humphries and Steven Henderson.

The regulations set the height from which non-combustible cladding materials must be used at 11m. I welcome that, as it seems to be a robust approach, but what was the rationale for choosing the height of 11m? Will that decision be kept under review?

I do not know whether Steven Henderson has any points to make.

That is helpful. The key phrase that you used there was “done properly”, because we have heard evidence that that is not happening. Colleagues who are joining us online have publicly raised concerns about BS8414. Do Laura Hughes or George Edwardes want to come in on whether it is appropriate to continue with its use?

I will continue the discussion of professional indemnity insurance. Craig Ross, what would help your members? What should be addressed to assure them that they will be able to get the insurance that they need to carry out the work? There will be a major issue if we have no one to assess the buildings.