Chamber and committees

Some of the evidence that we have heard concerned the fact that rent service Scotland had the ability to increase rents more than was being asked for, and the bill proposes to remove that power. What impact do you think that that will have? Will it increase the numbers, or does the issue come back to the long-term tenant-landlord relationship?

On tenancy deposits, I will come to you first, Dan Wilson Craw, because you were the first person to raise the issue. In previous evidence sessions, the committee has heard that cumulatively, since 2012, there is £4 million of unclaimed deposits in Scotland. Can you say something about the underlying reason for that and what we can do to minimise the situation of that amount of money lying unclaimed?

The Scottish Union of Supported Employment has raised a couple of issues in relation to developing a supported employment guarantee and quality standards for supported employment. As you said, the landscape is changing all the time; for example, the UK Government announced the chance to work guarantee coming in. What is the Scottish Government’s thinking on those two areas? Does employment law being reserved to Westminster make it more difficult or does it restrict us on where we can act in those two areas?

One of those areas is access to work, which is recommendation 7. The committee heard that access to work is

“slow and restrictive”,

that the

“application process can be cumbersome”,

and that

“the scope is too restrictive”.

It also said that

“claims should involve the employer.”

Has there been any discussion about the UK Government changing the application process so that employers can apply directly for access to work funding?

Good morning, minister and panel. The review of supported employment back in 2022 made a number of recommendations and findings. They were all accepted in full by the Scottish Government. What progress has been made in implementing those recommendations?

Before I ask my questions, I seek some clarification in relation to the questions that the convener asked. My understanding is that Scottish ministers may designate a rent control area only if they are satisfied that it is both

“necessary and proportionate for the purpose of protecting the social and economic interests of tenants in the area”

and

“a necessary and proportionate control of landlords’ use of their property in the area.”

There is bit of a conflict of interests there. How will whose interests take precedence be assessed?

Good morning. I seek a quick clarification. Earlier, you said that when you are considering a rent increase, you might go out to inspect the property. Are you able to look at the condition of the property? There might be black mould or dodgy electrics, or the bathroom or the kitchen might need to be upgraded. Can you make any recommendations about that when you carry out the rent assessment? Does the tenant have any right to appeal the rent level on the grounds of the condition of the property?

My colleagues might ask questions about data but, when you are asking councils to collect data, will the house condition survey and value for money be taken into account?

As you mentioned, we already have rent pressure zones. Why do we need rent control areas?

The information that we have been given suggests that there is about £4 million in unclaimed tenancy deposits. The statutory deposit scheme came in in 2012. Is the figure the cumulative amount since 2012? If not, what has happened to deposits up to now? What is the annualised amount that goes unclaimed, on average?