Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government published statutory guidance in 2011 on the exercise of a local authority’s functions in relation to HMO licensing and local authorities must have regard to this. It has no plans at present to review guidance or the legislation.

The Scottish Government publishes annual statistics relating to HMOs in Scotland, including information on licences revoked or suspended each year. This can be found on the Scottish Government webpages at:

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS/HousesMultipleOccupation

It is for local authorities in granting HMO licences to set the standards required in their area in respect of HMOs. Failure by the HMO owner or agent to comply with obligations to owners of neighbouring properties may result in action being taken against them by the local authority under housing, nuisance or building standards legislation.

The Scottish Government published statutory guidance in August 2011 and since then Glasgow City Council and Fife Council have made substantive representations regarding HMO licence legislation and guidance.

Glasgow City Council and Fife Council have expressed concerns about the guidance relating to the overprovision of HMO licences.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government does not provide such guidance to local authorities, but has allocated funding of over £305,000 (2015-16) to the Scottish Disability Equality Forum to work with and support access panels across Scotland to strengthen the voice of disabled people at a local level.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The Scottish Disability Equality Forum, which has been allocated funding of over £305,000 (2015-16) by the Scottish Government, works with and supports access panels across Scotland and publishes a Directory of Access Panels.

There has been significant reform to the welfare system by the UK Government since the publication of the first Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework document. HIV Scotland and Hepatitis Scotland published a joint report in 2014 on the impact of welfare reform on people living with HIV and hepatitis in Scotland. The report concluded: “the welfare reforms being implemented at a UK level are not appropriate in a Scottish context, and not at all suitable for people with blood borne viruses. The reforms are causing significant uncertainty and anxiety, worsening the mental and physical health of people in grave need, and adding to the burden carried by specialist services that are already stretched and oversubscribed.”

Through the Hepatitis C Action Plan the Scottish Government invested significantly in treatment and care services for hepatitis C in Scotland. This has led to a more than doubling of the number of people being treated for hepatitis C each year – from around 400 a year to 1,100 a year in 2014. Anyone diagnosed with hepatitis C should be referred to a specialist hepatitis clinician for monitoring and discussions about treatment options. All NHS boards have Managed Care Networks in place to ensure patients infected with hepatitis C are tested, diagnosed and engaged with specialist services.