Chamber and committees

Good morning, panel. What are the main challenges faced by communities across Scotland and have they changed in the years since the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 was passed? We could talk about the Covid pandemic, for example. Also, looking ahead, what role could community planning partnerships have in supporting communities during the cost of living crisis? I put that question to David Allan first.

Minister, why do you think that extending the evictions pause is necessary and proportionate, given that landlords generally pursue eviction as a last resort and that precautions are already in place, such as the need for landlords to comply with rent arrears pre-action requirements?

Thanks for that, David.

I will move on a wee bit. We heard from the previous panel about the lack of data, but we have some data. Data is collected by the Improvement Service, which shows massive inequalities between communities in the same local authority areas, for example, in Glasgow, between Springburn and Maryhill, and Kelvinside and Jordanhill. Reducing inequalities is a core purpose of community planning. How successful has that been? Maybe David could kick that one off, seeing as he is still on my screen.

Peter, do you want to add anything?

Thank you very much for those answers, panel.

I will ask about inequalities. Data that has been collected by the Improvement Service shows massive inequalities between communities in the same local authority area; for example, between Springburn and Maryhill, and Kelvinside and Jordanhill, in Glasgow. Reducing inequalities is a core purpose of community planning. How successful has that been?

Good afternoon—it is afternoon already.

The legislation requires that the Scottish ministers ensure that tenants who are affected by the rent cap and the evictions moratorium receive appropriate information, advice and support. What is your view on how effectively the Scottish Government has provided information, advice and support on the legislation? Does anything need to change?

We have heard a lot from both panels today. Is there anything else that you think the committee should know about operation of short-term lets that we have not already discussed? If there is something that we have not touched on, can you tell us more?

Thank you. I hand back to the convener.

Thank you for that. My final question is about the local governance review. What has happened to the wider local governance review beyond just the relationship with local authorities? What should be happening to improve community empowerment, local democracy and community wealth building? Do you believe that communities are more empowered than they were when the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 was passed? That is maybe a question for Bill.

I have one final question. Given that councils have the flexibility to increase council tax in 2023-24, what processes and assessments do they go through to make sure that the increases are proportionate and fair to households across their local authority areas?