Chamber and committees

I will give way when I have finished this point. Landlords are not always as they are often characterised. This afternoon, we have heard unfortunate language being used in relation to landlords. There are accidental landlords, landlords with a single property that they intend to let to self-employed individuals, and landlords who hold properties as part of pension arrangements. There is a whole landscape of landlords, which is why we need to look at any exemptions carefully.

On that point, I will give way to John Mason.

I have more amendments to speak to in other groups, but I say to Mr Greer that I hope that we can debate those when we reach them.

I return to the point about removing exemptions. I have no idea how we will get out of the housing emergency if we do not build more homes. I welcome the announcement that confirmed that MMR and BTR properties will be exempt from rent controls. I hope that Maggie Chapman will also welcome that announcement, even if she does so solely because we need homes to tackle the housing emergency. However, I understand that the Greens have quite defined stances on exemptions and rent controls in general.

I will touch on Graham Simpson’s amendments 158 to 160. He will be aware that Scottish Conservatives support the exemptions to rent controls. We would prefer to see them in the bill, but the Scottish Government has announced that MMR and BTR properties will be exempt from such controls once the secondary legislation has been approved. Given that the stage 3 proceedings on the bill are planned to take place over several days, I hope that at some point in the process we will be able to tease out from the Government what further exemptions could be included as part of the consultation process, because it is hugely important that we provide the required certainty and clarity.

I will finish on this point: we have to be incredibly careful about what we put in the bill. It is important that we have debates on exemptions; however, it is also important to note that if we put in some but not others, we could harm investment opportunities and, therefore, the people whom we are trying to help by passing the bill.

Does the cabinet secretary recognise that there is an issue with the legislation as it stands, given that some small dwellings holders are being put out because of the way in which the legislation is being enforced? Does she have any intention to further consider such issues and rectify them through the bill or secondary legislation?

I lodged the amendment at stage 3 as a result of discussions with the Chartered Institute of Housing, which said:

“If the Scottish Government decides that a rent cap system should be introduced, it must ensure that the rent system is viable and adequately resourced. This includes provision for robust data collection.”

That is perhaps what the cabinet secretary alludes to with regard to the work that she is going to undertake as part of creating a good data system in which information can be collected.

Does the cabinet secretary agree, however, that the system needs to be streamlined; the information has to be contained within a single data system; and it has to be easy for landlords to feed into that without—as Edward Mountain said—there being extravagant costs attached when they are simply doing their job?

The truth is that the Scottish National Party has had 18 years to get a grip of Scotland’s worsening housing shortage. Figures that were released this week show that the number of families in temporary accommodation has increased by 6 per cent, 10,000 children remain trapped in temporary accommodation, and rough sleeping is on the rise—[Interruption.]

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any steps it is taking to expand the availability of training and apprenticeships in the construction sector, in light of reported industry concerns about a growing skills gap. (S6O-04961)

They do not want to hear it, Presiding Officer, but the figures speak for themselves. Can the First Minister tell the Parliament when the housing emergency will end? Is he confident that his Government can achieve the target of 15,000 affordable homes, especially when we are debating a housing bill next week that will not result in one single home being built?

The minister will be aware that we are in a housing emergency. We have a shortage of homes, and we need the skills to build those homes throughout the country. The minister referred to the Scottish Government’s skills investment plan for construction, yet the warning signs about an ageing workforce, declining numbers in key trades and the urgent need to attract young people through schools and apprenticeships were there years ago. How does the minister plan to speed up the process of trying to get young people into the construction industry, making it a viable workforce and an area where young people feel confident that their jobs will be there for life?

The Deputy First Minister mentioned in her statement that the furlough support scheme is time limited to a maximum period of 26 weeks. What will happen at 27 weeks, should the strategy not work?

As members have mentioned, decisive procurement reform is needed. Does the Deputy First Minister accept that, if procurement reform does not give domestic manufacturers a fair chance to win contracts, it will result in the offshoring of vital jobs and skills? What contingency plans are the Scottish Government considering, should the strategy not work, to ensure that we do not lose vital skills and jobs?

Thank you.