Chamber and committees

You have said that you do not want to create a cliff edge, but from my reading of the legislation, every landlord in Scotland will be able to seek a review in March without the further extension that the Government is outlining. My concern is about what that will mean for the housing tribunal, the backlog that it already faces and the resources that it will need. Has the Government considered what that will look like?

Thank you.

I want to move on to the impact on small and medium-sized enterprises. The Scottish Government cannot actually tell us how many SMEs are currently operating in the area. Some of the schemes that have been introduced are welcome. For example, the mobile heat pump training centre, which the Government has introduced, is a welcome step forward in providing training opportunities. However, for most small businesses, losing one individual for training can completely upset their programme of works.

How can the Scottish Government ensure that SMEs are provided with the support that they will need to transition? Charlotte, I do not know whether you have done any work on that and what that looks like, but I will bring you back in and then anyone else who wants to contribute can come in.

Good morning, minister, and good morning to your officials. I return to the impact that the proposals will have on rural and island communities. What work has been undertaken to consider that point? Does the Scottish Government accept that the cost of implementing energy efficiency measures will be higher to developers and home owners in rural Scotland?

This is perhaps for another day, but we should look in more detail at the rural uplift for landlords and how that will help.

We face two challenges in this country: climate change and the housing crisis. We heard earlier that Homes for Scotland estimates that there is a shortfall of around 114,000 houses and that the Scottish Government has a target of building 10 per cent of those in rural and island communities. The Government does not know how many SMEs currently operate in the sector, so how will that be tracked to ensure that they do not withdraw from it? The challenges that SMEs currently face are obvious, and we have discussed them previously. What work is being undertaken on supply chains, workforce and the potential impact of not bringing forward developments, which are often small-scale individual units?

As with the other extensions that have been proposed, we in the Conservative Party will oppose the motion in the vote.

I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of her statement. It is clear that, for more than 40 years, the use of RAAC will have been widespread in construction projects not only in the school estate but, potentially, across all buildings that were constructed during that era. We need full transparency. I welcome the publication of the information, as was signalled by the First Minister during First Minister’s question time.

It is clear that the impact will stretch well beyond the school estate to include the NHS estate, general practitioner surgeries, colleges and, potentially, council housing that was built during that period. However, it is not clear from the statement what position the Scottish Government is taking and what policy and guidance will be issued to councils, health boards and the further education sector when buildings are assessed as red—in other words, at critical risk or high risk. The cabinet secretary touched on the Institution of Structural Engineers’ guidance. For public buildings that are assessed as being in the red category, is the expectation that those buildings will be closed to members of the public?

I agree with Ben Macpherson. In Edinburgh, the number of children who are currently living in temporary accommodation stands at 2,755, which is an increase of 13 per cent on last year. That is almost one third of the total number of children in Scotland who are currently living in temporary accommodation. The situation is escalating out of control. It is time for Scottish National Party and Green ministers to take responsibility and to declare a housing emergency. Will the minister agree urgently to chair a cross-Government temporary-accommodation task force to help to address the situation in the capital?

The cabinet secretary might not want to listen to me, but I hope that she will listen to Alison Watson of Shelter Scotland, who says that the programme for government offers nothing new to meet the challenge of ending Scotland’s housing emergency. She goes on to say:

“Anyone in Scotland currently experiencing homelessness who listened to the First Minister today would have taken no comfort from his words.”

The cabinet secretary should look in the mirror in relation to her record on the issue. In 2020, when 7,000 children were living in temporary accommodation, she said that she recognised that we must go further. In 2021, when 8,000 children were living in temporary accommodation, she was deeply concerned. In 2022, when 9,000 children were living in temporary accommodation, she said that the issue was a national priority. This year, we have a new housing minister who is very disappointed and deeply worried. That is a record of failure—

Is it still the case that the Scottish Government will stand by the First Minister’s commitment in March for a new national funding framework for hospices in Scotland?