Chamber and committees

Most of the points that I wanted to raise have been covered, but I have two questions. The first is about changes to services. As I asked in relation to another matter, what work was done to consider potential negative impacts on women and ethnic minorities in the workforce, and what planning is going on around that?

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to statistics reportedly showing that the number of complaints against Social Security Scotland has increased by 350 per cent in one year. (S6F-02371)

I am sure that the First Minister must agree, though, that the situation is not acceptable. MSPs across the chamber will be aware of increasing costs being experienced by our constituents and of a rise in complaints. SNP ministers have said that all is well, but we are seeing increased processing times, delays in benefit roll-out and the possibility of the full devolution of all benefits not happening until 2026. Therefore, my question to the First Minister is: when does he expect all benefits to be devolved to Social Security Scotland?

I was interested to hear both the minister’s and Colin Smyth’s spin on this topic, because new statistics published on Tuesday show that the number of affordable homes that were approved in the quarter between April and June has reached the lowest level in 10 years. Those are the facts. Why have SNP and Green ministers dropped their target for the number of affordable homes to be built during this parliamentary session?

The minister talks about colleagues. His Scottish National Party colleague Tommy Sheppard has said:

“This isn’t about home sharing—where people let out their spare room in their own home for the festival—and there’s still some work to be done there.”

Well, I am sorry, but that is exactly what this legislation is about. That group of people is being captured. I think that the minister understood that when he was on the committee, but now that he is a minister, he has not done anything to change it. Why not? What is this work that his colleagues say needs to be done?

Will the minister take an intervention?

Will the member give way?

If the policy is working so well, why have 80 per cent of people not applied to register under the scheme? What is the Government going to do about that in the next two weeks?

Last week, I and other MSPs—from all the Opposition parties, anyway—met protesters outside Parliament. Welcoming constituents to Parliament is something that we do most week. However, that day was different because the people whom I met outside Parliament had never previously protested in their lives. They were hard-working law-abiding Scottish citizens who have been running bed and breakfasts and guest houses or renting out a room to tourists or workers for years. I welcome many of them to the gallery today.

They felt compelled to come to Parliament to try to speak to ministers and MSPs from the SNP and Green Parties to get them to listen—which is what we are trying to do today, too—to their real concerns on how the short-term lets policy that councils have implemented will negatively impact the lives and businesses of so many of our fellow citizens. Last Wednesday, SNP and Green ministers ignored them, with the honourable exception of Fergus Ewing MSP. I pay tribute to him for his principled stance and for his campaigning on that issue, which I am sure ministers have faced and to which I wish they would listen.

During the passage of the short-term lets legislation through the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, ministers were warned about the unintended consequences of the wide-ranging reach of the policy, especially around the hard date of 1 October for registration. We offered to work with Shona Robison, who was the cabinet secretary at the time, to try to find a cross-party consensus and workable approach to legislation, regulations and guidance, which has now been issued several times to councils across the country. Behind the scenes, the new housing minister, who understood at the time that problems were clearly on the horizon, did the same.

I welcomed the six-month extension to the policy and hoped that ministers would use the summer to understand the problems and issues, and bring forward workable suggestions to Parliament before the 1 October deadline—especially following the ruling that the City of Edinburgh Council’s licensing policy was found, on judicial review, to be unlawful.

As Daniel Johnson mentioned, linking planning systems and licensing systems was always going to be problematic, but ministers do not seem to understand the consequences thereof. Ministers were warned that, without a significant advertising campaign, the busy summer period and any other tourism period that individual households and businesses face in Scotland would not give them the time to complete applications, undertake work, get tradespeople and provide the necessary documentation. Sue Webber and Christine Grahame made really important points on that issue from constituents who are saying exactly that to each and every one of us.

For example, if they wanted to, ministers could agree on a new phased introduction beyond 1 October—they could do so today. I hope that they will take that point away and genuinely consider it beyond tonight’s vote. Giving businesses, bed and breakfasts, guest houses and people who do home sharing a phased introduction period beyond 1 October is important.

The Edinburgh festivals, which the tourism minister has not mentioned, are the world’s largest arts festivals, and have rightly helped to make Edinburgh the world capital of culture, which I welcome. I think that every MSP who represents the capital has mentioned that point. Those unrivalled cultural programmes deliver a major economic uplift to businesses, jobs and livelihoods across the capital and further afield in our country. Cities around the world that are growing their arts festivals would give their right arms to become as successful as the Edinburgh festivals have been. Indeed, many will be looking on at the potential impact of the regulations on next year’s festival to see how they can benefit in trying to become the world’s largest arts festival.

It is clear that ministers understood the negative impact and the consequences of the short-term lets legislation on this year’s festival when they announced the delayed date of 1 October to get the festival through this year.

The minister will recognise the name Avril Rennie, because she won the title of Scottish bed and breakfast of the year. He wrote to congratulate her at the Carlton Seamill B and B in Ayrshire. She says that the system in Ayrshire is too complex and costly and she is not likely to apply for it. There is a need to take a phased approach beyond the 1 October deadline. Does the minister understand that, and is the Government going to do anything about it or will it just wait for 1 October and that cliff edge for many businesses and people?