Chamber and committees

What are the current deadlines set out in the GB Biocidal Products Regulations? How will the proposals change those?

Minister, what discussions have you or the Scottish Government had with the UK Government about the impact of the loss of access to EU data on the HSE’s timescales for evaluating applications for authorisations?

I did receive the briefing papers—as, I am sure, Mr Kerr did. I have read them over just as much as he has, and I know that the Government has read them as well.

The Scottish Trades Union Congress stated:

“The Scottish Government is to be commended for freezing rents. If implemented correctly—and we are pressing for further answers—this will help thousands of households across Scotland when they need it most. When used, the powers of our Parliament can bring positive change.”

Those expert testimonies from organisations on the front line of the cost crisis speak for themselves and they show the absolute need for the bill.

It remains essential that tenants continue to pay their rent, and anyone who is struggling to do so should contact their landlord at the earliest possible opportunity. The bill aims to freeze rents at an affordable level so that folk can continue paying their bills and do not fall into arrears. Tenants and landlords who are willing to work together to address rent arrears can receive support from the Scottish Government and local authorities, such as through the tenant grant fund and discretionary housing payments.

I also welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to continue to engage with landlords as well as housing authorities while the legislation is in place up to March.

I will, very quickly.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Would it be possible to check whether everyone can access BlueJeans? I am getting notifications from some of our team that they are not able to do so.

I absolutely agree with my colleague Emma Harper. As a former vice-convener and a former spokesperson for housing for the SNP group on Aberdeen City Council, I know that most social sector rents are already set until 1 April 2023, so having the temporary measure in place until March should not financially impact on housing authorities or social landlords. I join Emma Harper in asking the cabinet secretary to reaffirm her commitment to keeping housing authorities fully informed of the Government’s plans as we approach March.

During the current UK Government-made cost crisis, I welcome the emergency legislation from the Scottish Government, which will work to protect my Aberdeen Donside constituents as well as folk across Scotland during the winter months.

I will try not to use my angry voice today; I will try to use my reasonable one.

I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. Although the Scottish Government does not have the power to prevent people’s energy bills from soaring, it is right that it is taking action to ensure that their rents do not rise and that they are not evicted from their homes over the winter. I therefore welcome the emergency legislation, which will ensure that that is done in a way that is legally robust, with the right safeguards being in place.

The bill aims to restrict landlords from increasing rents—with exceptions, as we have heard—until March 2023. It also bans evictions in the same period. The bill confirms that rents will be frozen unless landlords are experiencing increased property costs such as increased mortgage interest or service charges.

It is important to point out that landlords will be able to evict tenants, but only if the landlord can prove that they are suffering from financial hardship. That is not necessarily obvious from the commentary in the media or, indeed, from some landlords.

Under the proposals in the bill, it will still be possible for rents to be increased between tenancies, with the policy memorandum that is attached to the bill stating:

“the rent freeze ... protects tenants, helping them to stay in their homes during the cost crisis, whilst responding to the need to ensure that the measures are proportionate.”

The cap on rent increases will initially be set at zero per cent, meaning that no rises will be permissible in the short term. The Government has made it clear that that will apply until March 2023, when the policy will be reviewed.

My Aberdeen Donside constituency has many people living in social rented accommodation as well as many people living in private lets. Many of my constituents will be among the hardest hit by the Tory-made cost crisis. Tenants, especially those in the private rented sector, spend a greater proportion of their income on housing than is spent by people who own their homes. People who rent have, on average, lower incomes and housing with lower energy standards. Recent research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that almost a third of people who rent their homes in Scotland were already finding it difficult to pay their rent before the current cost crisis hit.

We face the threat of a humanitarian emergency in every community across Scotland, and it is a responsible move by the Scottish Government, in the absence of the powers to act properly on energy bills, to act through the emergency legislation, which will protect the most vulnerable in our society.

It is also worth noting the comments of organisations that have welcomed the bill. The Poverty Alliance said:

“Rent freezes will help tenants across the country.”

Shelter Scotland has stated that the short-term, emergency measures in the programme for government are

“great news for tenants”

and that they

“will stop people ... losing their homes.”

Shelter Scotland also told Parliament that any measures to ensure that citizens have access to the right to a home are very welcome in the context of the cost of living, although it will wait to see the final detail.

Living Rent said that a rent freeze would have a

“massive impact”

as

“skyrocketing rents continue to pile on top of out of control energy bills”.

I put on record my thanks to the business minister for the call that I had with him yesterday regarding the impact on my constituents of the closure of the Stoneywood mill. I would be grateful if the First Minister could provide a commitment that the Scottish Government and partners will continue to support all constituents who are impacted by the closure, and if she would join me in condemning outright the employment practices of the mill’s owners, who have not consulted the unions or employees and have provided no notice to workers of redundancies while locking them out of the workplace. Will the First Minister urge the administrators to engage with me, as the constituency MSP, to discuss staff redundancies? I have had no response so far.

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting Aberdeen City Council to meet its net zero ambitions. (S6O-01396)

I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer. Aberdeen City Council has an ambitious plan, with the ultimate aim of becoming a net zero and climate resilient council. The six key strands of the plan focus on mobility, buildings and heat, the circular economy, energy supply, the natural environment and empowerment.

Will the cabinet secretary join me in welcoming that ambitious plan for Aberdeen? Can he go into further detail on how communities in my Aberdeen Donside constituency will be able to take action to help to reach the net zero goal through the community empowerment legislation?