In the partnership agreement we made it clear that we will support the aspiration of the UHI Millennium Institute for university status.

The first stage of this process will be an application for powers to award its own degrees for teaching. As yet, the institute has not made any application for such powers.

The registration scheme is intended to protect tenants of all types in the private rented sector by ensuring that their landlords are fit and proper people to let housing. It is also the essential starting point for local authorities and the Scottish Executive to engage with the sector to encourage good standards, drive out unacceptable landlords and ensure that the sector’s important role in providing for housing need is enhanced.

The Scottish Executive did not engage in formal consultations on the inclusion of proposals for a national registration scheme in the bill since those proposals were inserted in the bill by non-Executive amendments.

We have already involved a range of key stakeholders in discussions on the scheme since stage 2 of the Bill process. We will discuss with the Landlord Sub-Group of the Implementation Advisory Group for the bill how best to involve relevant stakeholders in the development of the detail of the registration scheme, and to ensure that those with an interest are aware of the scheme and able to make their views known.

The registration scheme contained in the bill will ensure that private landlords are fit and proper people to be letting houses and will establish a list of the houses that they let. Licensing of houses in multiple occupation controls detailed physical and management standards for a specific category of privately let houses. Voluntary accreditation is intended to recognise physical and management standards in any type of privately let house.

We wish to avoid unnecessary duplication in the assessment of landlords as fit and proper under the different schemes, or in the recording of details of houses, and will be working to achieve in consultation with key stakeholders on the detailed implementation of the registration scheme.

The bill gives ministers powers to provide funding to local authorities in connection with the administration of the registration scheme.  I intend to use those powers as necessary to ensure that the resources are in place to support the initial costs of establishing the scheme. I will decide the amount of support to be provided in the light of further detailed work with stakeholders on the implementation of the scheme within the framework provided by the bill. We intend that the running costs of the scheme will be met from registration fees.

Our view from experience with the regulation of other activities is that the unit cost of operating the registration scheme will be modest, as it does not involve the inspection of premises. We intend that the running costs of the scheme will be met from registration fees.

Although the registration scheme will provide a means of dealing with landlords who fail to adopt acceptable management approaches to antisocial behaviour it also serves a broader function. It assists local authorities to engage effectively with the private rented sector in pursuit of the strategic improvement of the sector in line with local housing strategies and Scottish Executive policies. As with other local authority functions, I expect each local authority to arrange its staffing and financial resources to support these purposes in an appropriate way according to local needs.

We intend to undertake a regulatory impact assessment as part of the development of the detailed implementation of the registration scheme within the framework provided by the bill. The assessment will inform the use of powers in the bill for ministers to make orders and regulations

We have carried out a broad assessment of the likely cost of registration by discussion with a sample of local authority officials and have covered a range of implementation issues in consultations carried out with representatives of local authorities, private landlords and other interests since the scheme was introduced to the bill through non-Executive amendment at stage 2.

We intend to carry out further consultation with key stakeholders on the detailed implementation of registration within the framework provided by the bill. Those consultations will go further into issues of cost and practical implementation.