Chamber and committees

As set out in our response , published today, to the report of the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group, we will begin by prioritising a number of actions to reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation by 2026. We will:

• invest at least £60 million this year through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme to support a national acquisition plan
• maintain momentum in delivering our Affordable Housing Supply Programme
• work with social landlords to deliver a new programme of stock management
• implement targeted partnership plans with the local authorities facing greatest pressure.

These actions build on the clear commitment in the Policy Prospectus to respond to the Task and Finish Group’s recommendations to support more people more quickly to a settled home and progress our work to end homelessness in Scotland. Work to set the conditions for effective delivery has been progressing in parallel to preparing our response and we are ready to hit the ground running in implementing these actions.

We will build on engagement undertaken in the lead up to the publication of our response which has helped inform the detail of these actions. We call on our partners in local government and across the housing sector to work with us to respond to the housing pressures we are seeing across the sector and to deliver on our shared public responsibility to both prevent homelessness and support more households to a settled home.

We continue to engage regularly with stakeholders including COSLA, SOLAR and licensing authorities. We have highlighted the JR decision to licensing authorities and it is for them to consider this in the context of their own local policies.

During the development of short-term lets regulations between 2019 and 2021, we considered alternatives to licensing including whether regulations (made under Part 8 of the 2004 Act) might extend landlord registration to cover short-term lets. These alternatives were found to be unsuitable and could not deliver on all aspects of our short-term lets policy. A significant disadvantage of using a system designed for a different purpose is it imposes constraints on short-term lets regulation, and we consider it an integral aspect for local areas to be able to include additional conditions to address issues relevant to individual cases and local areas. Using the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004, in particular, would also have had broader implications for short-term lets in the context of other legislation, for example the Tenancy Deposit Scheme regulations and Letting Agent Regulation, as well as restricted appeals to be dealt with by the Housing Tribunal, which would not have been sustainable.

Development of the short-term lets licensing legislation took place over four years with extensive consultation and engagement with stakeholders. This included through three consultations. Alternatives were considered but these do not provide the same level of provision as licensing. The approach that was taken provides powers to local authorities to set additional conditions to regulate the short-term let sector to empower them to implement a system that works for their area, which addresses the local needs and concerns of each local authority.

Hotels are not listed as ‘relevant buildings’ within the meaning of the Building Scotland (Amendment) Regulations 2022. All new and converted hotels having a storey, or creating a storey at a height of 11 metres or more above the ground, must comply with the relevant mandatory functional standards, including mandatory standard 2.7 that requires the fire spread on external walls to be inhibited.

We are aware of the global issues affecting construction which are impacting housing delivery so are working closely with the construction industry and housing partners to mitigate this where possible. For example, the Scottish Government is a member of the Cost Pressures in Construction Working Group, which brings together a number of stakeholders, including the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, Homes for Scotland and Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations and their member organisations, to explore a range of solutions to overcome the cost barriers to housing development.

We continue to collaborate with all our partners to achieve our shared goal of delivering more affordable homes for Scotland, and we are committed to delivering our target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which at least 70% will be available for social rent and 10% will be in our remote, rural and island communities.

Recently published quarterly statistics show that in the year to end March 2023, a total of 10,458 affordable homes were completed, an increase of 7% (701 homes) on the previous year and 61% (3,979 homes) higher than in the year to end March 2021. This is the highest annual completions figure since the start of the series in 2000.

Since May 2021 Scottish Ministers have met with, or attended events at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on the following dates. We have included meetings with the strategic umbrella organisation for Edinburgh festivals, Festivals Edinburgh.

The discussions at formal meetings included: support for the festival and culture within Scotland; the challenges of, and recovery from, the COVID-19 pandemic; helping the sector develop a strategic approach to resilience; the unique challenges and opportunities Edinburgh has as a destination city and; the progress towards delivery of the outcomes within the relevant Scottish Government strategies.

These Ministerial engagements are in addition to Scottish Government’s regular engagement with Edinburgh International Book Festival at Official level.

Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture

30 June 2021

Roundtable meet and greet with the major Edinburgh festivals

Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture

26 January 2022

Meeting with Julia Amour, Director, Festivals Edinburgh

Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture

18 May 2022

Meeting with Festivals Edinburgh

Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture

27 July 2022

Meeting with Edinburgh Festivals Directors

Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture

21 August 2022

Attend Edinburgh International Book Festival performance - Chitra Ramaswamy: Homelands

Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture

22 August 2022

Attend Momentum Literature Delegate Reception at British Council/Edinburgh International Book Festival event

Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development

24 August 2021

Attend Edinburgh Festivals Community and Education Showcase

Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development

04 August 2022

Attend all Festival Event

Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development

17 August 2022

Meeting with Festivals Edinburgh

Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development

23 August 2022

Attend Edinburgh Festivals – Scotland On Tour Launch

Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development

14 December 2022

Scottish Government and City of Edinburgh Cultural Roundtable

Nick Barley of the Edinburgh International Book Festival attended for, and on behalf of, Festivals Edinburgh

Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development

18 May 2023

Meeting with Festivals Edinburgh

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills

30 August 2022

Visit to Edinburgh International Book Festival

First Minister

30 August 2021

Edinburgh International Book Festival, In Conversation with Douglas Stuart

First Minister

08 August 2022

All Festivals Reception

First Minister

15 August 2022

Edinburgh International Book Festival, In Conversation with Louise Welsh and Reception – Bute House

First Minister

29 August 2022

Edinburgh International Book Festival, In Conversation with Brian Cox

Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development

17 August 2022

Meeting with Festivals Edinburgh

Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development

24 August 2021

Attend Edinburgh Festivals Community and Education Showcase

Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development

04 August 2022

Attend all Festival Events

Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development

23 August 2022

Attend Edinburgh Festivals – Scotland On Tour Launch

Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development

18 May 2023

Meeting with Festivals Edinburgh

Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture

18 May 2022

Meeting with Festivals Edinburgh

Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture

27 July 2022

Meeting with Edinburgh Festivals Directors

Building safety is a matter for the owner acting in accordance with the relevant health and safety legislation. Before any decisions can be taken on funding, it is important to understand the scope and nature of the issue.

We do not hold any information on the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete in current social or private housing developments. Building safety is a matter for the building owner, acting in accordance with the relevant legislation.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19525 on 19 July 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19525 on 19 July 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

Forecasts for the Scottish economy are produced by the independent Scottish Fiscal Commission. They published their most recent forecast in May 2023.

The Scottish Government has not made any formal assessment of the impact of increased mortgage rates on the Scottish economy. However, the Scottish Government regularly monitors trends in mortgage rates and the level of mortgage lending through the quarterly Scottish Housing Market Review , and also monitors trends in economic activity, which is affected by mortgage and other interest rates, through the monthly Economic Brief .

The Scottish Government has recently conducted an evidence review on the impact of the wider cost of living crisis on low income households with children. A part of the report includes a section on housing which briefly summarises the impact of higher mortgage costs for families on low incomes.