Chamber and committees

The National Theatre of Scotland remains committed to its permanent home base at The Bridge in Easterhouse and to maintaining and enhancing its relationship with the community there. The lease of the Company’s Hope Street offices is, however, due to expire in October 2008. The National Theatre of Scotland is therefore exploring options for alternative short-term office accommodation to supplement its permanent home base at The Bridge from October 2008 when the lease on its temporary premises in Hope Street expires.

I refer the member to the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan 2008 (Bib. number 45134) which was published on 28 March for the many projects which we have approved and announced since May 2007. The plan can also be found at the following link:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/Recent.

We have recently announced that the Borders Railway project has been approved to be taken forward using the NPD model, with procurement planned for late 2008.

Whether existing tenants are old or young, they are entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of their home. Antisocial behaviour is a tenancy management issue and social landlords should apply tenancy conditions strictly and take action where necessary to put a stop to antisocial behaviour, including eviction action, if no other intervention is successful.

We know that demand for social housing makes housing allocations a difficult and pressured area for landlords. This is not a new development, and it is important for landlords to recognise the flexibility that they have to develop allocations policies, in consultation with their tenants, that suit their circumstances and will help create balanced and sustainable communities. It is open to social landlords to look at their system of priorities to see whether some amendment to their rules, within the statutory framework, might help retain the special nature of particular properties.

Recent Scottish Government research confirmed that landlords find it difficult to navigate the different statutory requirements and policies in this area. The government is committed to improving clarity in this area and addressing the issues identified.

Where an applicant has been evicted for antisocial behaviour in the last three years or where an Antisocial Behaviour Order (ASBO) is in place, social landlords can use short Scottish secure tenancies which can be ended speedily if the antisocial behaviour persists. Where there has been a history of antisocial behaviour but no eviction or ASBO, the landlord has discretion to suspend applicants from housing allocation for a time until there has been evidence of improvement in behaviour.

We are currently reviewing the national antisocial behaviour strategy to see where it can be strengthened and where communities can become more usefully involved. We want to put more emphasis on prevention and early intervention to tackle antisocial behaviour early before it escalates. Only by tackling the underlying causes of antisocial behaviour, such as drink, drugs and deprivation, will we deliver long terms solutions for our communities.

We will work with our partners in local government to decide how best to allocate the £25 million and ensure it has maximum impact on the supply of new council housing in Scotland where it is most needed.

Source: New South Glasgow Hospital, New Children''s Hospital and New Laboratory Build “ Outline Business Case.

The exact timing and final value of individual capital receipts will be dependent upon detailed negotiations, prevailing property market conditions and factors such as planning consent(s). The forecast value of £135 million contained within the Outline Business Case is considered prudent and achievable across the range of properties involved.

The table a financial year summarises the anticipated phasing and level of receipts over the life of the New Southern Hospitals Project: