Chamber and committees

Good morning. My first question is about waiting times, which, as the annual report outlines, reduced in 2022 and 2023. That, of course, is welcome, but how long are current waiting times from the beginning to the end of the process and what is being done to further reduce the length of time it takes to conclude a complaint?

I am looking at a table from the Ethical Standards Commissioner’s annual report titled “Exhibit 8—Details of reports referred to SCS in 2023/24 and their outcome”. That shows that four cases were referred to the Standards Commission for Scotland, in which the commissioner had assessed that a breach had taken place but no further action was taken by the SCS. Will you talk us through certain scenarios that would lead to that outcome? Are there any trends as to what those particular cases could be?

Thank you.

I have a brief follow-up to that. Do you think that, with the influx of social media related complaints and the amount of councillor-on-councillor crime—or, I should say, complaints—that we have just heard about from Willie Coffey, waiting times could increase again, despite all the good incentives that you are putting in place?

My final question goes back to the annual report, which states that of the three directions issued by the Standards Commission for Scotland, two have now expired or have been rescinded, and the remaining direction, which

“relates to reporting on all investigations’ outcomes ... has an expiry date of 31 January 2025.”

How confident are you that that outstanding direction will expire as planned, or do you think that there is a risk that it might not?

That is great. Thank you very much.

We want to ensure that the empty homes service in councils can thrive. Is the minister worried that, if local government is not given a good payment settlement, more services could be disrupted, which could disrupt the number of empty homes that we are trying to bring back into use?

I begin by congratulating Gordon MacDonald on securing this debate on the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership.

There are tens of thousands of abandoned homes across Scotland, and bringing empty homes back into use is essential to tackling our housing emergency. That is why, like all members, I applaud the success of the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership in bringing almost 11,000 long-term empty properties back into use since its establishment in 2010. That is potentially 11,000 families or single persons rehomed, thanks to the hard work and efforts of Shelter Scotland, local authorities and—credit where it is due—the Scottish Government.

Bringing empty homes back into use is not only good for people living in the area; it is good for local economies. In rural communities, it helps to address issues such as depopulation. However, we will not tackle the housing emergency without investment. As I will go on to explain, there are other policies that we need to consider to ensure that we are tackling the housing emergency.

It would be right to point out that the empty homes scheme is not so straightforward, as Gordon MacDonald mentioned in his opening speech. There are local authorities that do not have an EHO in their own services for the public—an officer who would help to bring more empty homes out of the state that they are in and into use. Moray Council, for example, had to take a difficult decision to cut its empty homes service, due to budget pressures. That re-emphasises the need to support local government and ensure that the Government funds local government properly. Otherwise, these vital services will need to be scaled back and we will therefore not tackle the housing emergency.

It will be interesting to note how council budgets this year balance the need to grow the housing supply with juggling the millions of pounds-worth of cuts that could be administered by the Government. That is especially relevant as the Government has introduced its Housing (Scotland) Bill, which will add a £5.5 million burden on to overstretched councils.

The motion perhaps looks at the housing situation in Scotland through rose-tinted glasses. When we scrape beneath the surface and take out all the spin, we find that the Scottish Government’s target of achieving 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 is, at this stage, unachievable at best. At present, only about 22,800 homes have been completed. If we do the maths, we find that, even if the Government manages to speed up house building without driving away investment due to its intention to bring in rent controls, it will not reach its own target until 2035. If we combine that with the recent cuts to the housing budget, it is easy for us to understand why the Scottish Government is struggling to fulfil its own targets.

I am not the only one to have highlighted the issue of unachievable targets in the house-building strategy that is in place. Shelter has commented on the matter, as have other sector bodies.

I again raise the issue of the Housing (Scotland) Bill. Although the bill has “Housing” in its title, it does not build one single home. Instead, the rent controls aspect will drive away investment—roughly £3.2 billion of developer investment so far.

Having declared a housing emergency, the Scottish Government must now back its words with significant actions. Although we of course welcome the success of the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership in managing to bring so many properties back into use, we need to deliver more affordable homes, and we need to tackle the housing and homelessness emergency in Scotland.

Last night, the Parliament sent a clear message to the Labour Government by backing a Scottish Conservative motion calling for the family farm tax to be scrapped. I congratulate my colleague Tim Eagle on his efforts in that regard.

Rather than having any sympathy with our farmers, especially those who are recovering from cancer, Labour’s response has been to tell farmers to get their affairs in order. With the majority of the Scottish Parliament against the new tax, in his next meeting with his Labour counterparts, will the minister use his authority to demand that the family farm tax simply has to go?

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions its ministers have had with their United Kingdom Government counterparts regarding the changes made to agricultural property relief on inheritance tax. (S6O-03970)

Homes for Scotland has warned that the SNP’s proposed changes to housing legislation will increase the cost of a new home by £30,000 through changes to rent controls. Previous changes to the rent cap stalled £3.2 billion-worth of housing development. Reckless rent controls are not just driving away investment; they are harming our economy. With the SNP miles off from meeting its 110,000 affordable homes target, why is the Government failing to tackle the housing emergency, and why is the Parliament considering a housing bill that does not build a single home?