Communities Committee, 15 Jun 2005
Meeting date: Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Official Report
134KB pdf
Subordinate Legislation
Right to Purchase (Prescribed Persons) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2005<br />(SSI 2005/275)
Good morning. I welcome everyone to the 19th meeting in 2005 of the Communities Committee. I remind members that mobile phones should be turned off.
Our first item is consideration of the Right to Purchase (Prescribed Persons) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2005 (SSI 2005/275), which was laid on 24 May 2005 and is subject to the negative procedure. Under the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, a tenant is allowed a right to purchase and an entitlement to a discount from either a landlord mentioned in section 61(11) of the act or a person prescribed by order. This order extends the list of prescribed persons from whom a tenant can purchase a house under the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 to include any person who is the new employer of an employee who formerly occupied a house as an employee of a local authority school and who was required
"to occupy the house for the better performance of"
their duties as an employee. For example, janitors in schools will still have the right to buy their property if they work in a school that is rebuilt by a public-private partnership.
Members have been provided with a copy of the order and the explanatory note. Are there any comments?
When I read the documents, I felt at one point that a right would be conveyed to the new owner—in other words, the PPP contractor. Convener, your account of the order clearly confirms that the tenant—the janitor or whoever it might be—maintains that right, which means that an obligation will be transferred to the new owners. Given that useful clarification, I am perfectly content with the order.
My understanding is certainly that the order ensures that the tenant will have continued rights.
It does not convey any new rights to the new landlord, who might be the PPP operator.
No.
As members have no further comments, I ask whether the committee is content with the order.
Yes.
I am delirious about it.
I note that Ms Fabiani is not just content but delirious.
The committee will not make any recommendation on the order in its report to the Parliament. I now ask members to agree that we report to the Parliament on our decision on the order. Are we agreed?
Members indicated agreement.