Current status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 10 July 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to (a) review any relevant regulatory timelines for the next five years and (b) publish associated deliverable route maps, in accordance with the principles of its Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment, in order to ensure that Scotland is an attractive location for investment.
As set out in the Minister for Housing’s statement to Parliament on 20 June, responding to the recently declared housing emergency, the Scottish Government recognise the importance of considering the impact of new regulation on the housing sector.
We have already taken action to reduce such impacts for example by rescheduling work on a new tenure neutral housing standard which we now intend to publish a public consultation on in 2025. We have also heard concerns from local authorities about the impact of introducing homelessness prevention duties at a time when councils are experiencing other pressures, and we are considering this carefully to ensure the implementation schedule balances the intended benefits with deliverability.
As with all new legislation being brought before the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Government will be required to undertake a full range of impact assessments, including a Business Regulatory Impact Assessment - where careful consideration on the impact of business and wider investment is examined.
In wider work emerging from the New Deal for Business Group and Investor Panel, the Scottish Government will also bring coherence and focus to how the public sector works to attract investment at scale by convening policy, delivery and regulatory interests across the public sector to create a more ‘investor friendly’ environment and support the delivery of specific, priority investments.