Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 17 March 2011
17 Mar 2011 · S3 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill
That is a good point from Mr Doris. I am always one to undersell our achievements. [Laughter.]
The legislation is extremely important, but it is also important that we move forward on other fronts, particularly on investment. Whether we are talking about Govanhill and Clune Park or the wider housing sector—both the social and private housing sectors—investment and development are essential. I have charged the private rented sector strategy group with preparing, in consultation, a long-term development plan for the private rented sector in Scotland.
Bob Doris was right: given the challenges that we face in the housing sector—the waiting lists, the difficulty that first-time buyers have in putting together a deposit to get a mortgage, an ageing population and a rising population—the demand for housing will rise exponentially in the years ahead. We require a major contribution from every sector—the owner-occupied sector, the social housing sector, the intermediate market sector, the private rented sector, the shared equity sector and every variation of those different sectors—to meet the demands and need for housing that will be placed on us in the years ahead.
I want to update members on some of the specific issues that were raised during the debate and which require some answer. Patricia Ferguson rightly raised the role of the courts and in particular their taking a more robust approach to the issues that are referred to them, not only in relation to the private rented sector but more widely in housing issues. Mary Mulligan and others also mentioned that.
There is no doubt in my mind that there is a need for a more robust approach. As I promised I would, I have written to the Lord Advocate about how judgments in sheriff courts are not as robust as many believe that they should be. I will continue the dialogue with both this Lord Advocate and the new one to ensure that the issue is properly addressed without interfering in any way with the right of a sheriff to make an appropriate decision.
Like Mary Mulligan and others, I think that whoever wins the election on 5 May will have to take up the issue of the future jurisdiction of housing issues in the courts. At the moment, matters are settled in a range of different ways. For example, evictions for antisocial behaviour and disputes in relation to private landlords often end up in the sheriff court, while other matters are decided by the housing panel or referred to ombudsmen of different types. I believe, particularly in the light of Lord Gill’s report last year, that, whoever forms the new Government, it will be a matter of priority attention to get a more streamlined approach to the jurisdiction of housing disputes across the sector.
The legislation is extremely important, but it is also important that we move forward on other fronts, particularly on investment. Whether we are talking about Govanhill and Clune Park or the wider housing sector—both the social and private housing sectors—investment and development are essential. I have charged the private rented sector strategy group with preparing, in consultation, a long-term development plan for the private rented sector in Scotland.
Bob Doris was right: given the challenges that we face in the housing sector—the waiting lists, the difficulty that first-time buyers have in putting together a deposit to get a mortgage, an ageing population and a rising population—the demand for housing will rise exponentially in the years ahead. We require a major contribution from every sector—the owner-occupied sector, the social housing sector, the intermediate market sector, the private rented sector, the shared equity sector and every variation of those different sectors—to meet the demands and need for housing that will be placed on us in the years ahead.
I want to update members on some of the specific issues that were raised during the debate and which require some answer. Patricia Ferguson rightly raised the role of the courts and in particular their taking a more robust approach to the issues that are referred to them, not only in relation to the private rented sector but more widely in housing issues. Mary Mulligan and others also mentioned that.
There is no doubt in my mind that there is a need for a more robust approach. As I promised I would, I have written to the Lord Advocate about how judgments in sheriff courts are not as robust as many believe that they should be. I will continue the dialogue with both this Lord Advocate and the new one to ensure that the issue is properly addressed without interfering in any way with the right of a sheriff to make an appropriate decision.
Like Mary Mulligan and others, I think that whoever wins the election on 5 May will have to take up the issue of the future jurisdiction of housing issues in the courts. At the moment, matters are settled in a range of different ways. For example, evictions for antisocial behaviour and disputes in relation to private landlords often end up in the sheriff court, while other matters are decided by the housing panel or referred to ombudsmen of different types. I believe, particularly in the light of Lord Gill’s report last year, that, whoever forms the new Government, it will be a matter of priority attention to get a more streamlined approach to the jurisdiction of housing disputes across the sector.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Alasdair Morgan)
SNP
The next item of business is a debate on motion S3M-8128, in the name of Alex Neil, on the Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill.15:45
The Minister for Housing and Communities (Alex Neil)
SNP
I am pleased to open the debate and to move the motion in my name.I thank the Local Government and Communities Committee for its detailed consideration of th...
Tricia Marwick (Central Fife) (SNP)
SNP
Will the minister assure the chamber that the powers that the bill establishes will force local authorities to act when private landlords do not live up to t...
Alex Neil
SNP
I agree with Tricia Marwick that enforcement is crucial. The powers are now well in place and I believe that the local authorities have the tools to do the j...
Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab)
Lab
I am sure that I am not the only one who feels a sense of achievement when we reach stage 3 of a bill, and that is especially true when one has been particul...
Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
The Conservatives support and will vote for the bill.Going through the process has been interesting and certain aspects of today’s procedures have been parti...
Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD)
LD
I thank my colleagues on the Local Government and Communities Committee, the committee clerks, the bill team and the minister for their hard work and dedicat...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
We now move to the open debate.16:07
Anne McLaughlin (Glasgow) (SNP)
SNP
Sometimes it might seem to people as if we in this Parliament are navel gazing or talking only to ourselves, but nothing could be further from the truth. Thi...
Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab)
Lab
Although the bill is one of the last that we shall consider in this session of the Parliament, its gestation has been fairly long. Most of its provisions wer...
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
It was a privilege to be a member of the committee that examined the bill. It was clear that not all local authorities have taken a vigorous approach to land...
Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab)
Lab
I welcome the opportunity to make a brief contribution. In the stage 1 debate I spoke exclusively on the rogue landlord aspects of the bill, given the antiso...
Bob Doris (Glasgow) (SNP)
SNP
I start by saying something that I think that we all agree on: the private rented sector must become increasingly important in the provision of good-quality,...
Jim Tolson
LD
One principal element of the bill is the measures on the registration of private landlords. Alex Neil said that the bill is targeted at a minority of landlor...
Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
In winding up for the Conservatives today, I begin what will possibly be my final contribution in this place by saying how grateful I am for the kind words o...
Alex Neil
SNP
Can the member confirm that he is registered? Laughter.
Ted Brocklebank
Con
Absolutely, as the minister will discover if he checks the register of landlords.However, there have been problems. Pauline McNeill and Patricia Ferguson all...
Mary Mulligan
Lab
I offer my best wishes to Ted Brocklebank for all that he has done, particularly today. He said that his closing speech will probably be his last contributio...
The Presiding Officer (Alex Fergusson)
NPA
Given Patricia Ferguson’s earlier warning about what Alex Neil is capable of doing in an empty house, I am a little bit loth to let him loose on a fairly emp...
Alex Neil
SNP
I am delighted that Mary Mulligan is confident that I am going to be the minister moving the commencement order after the election.Earlier, when we were disc...
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning (Michael Russell)
SNP
Indeed.
Alex Neil
SNP
This has been a consensual debate, with good contributions from throughout the chamber. It is appropriate that it has been consensual, because the issue that...
Bob Doris
SNP
I just want to add to the list the Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Act 2010, under which all evictions for mortgage arrears must call in court, w...
Alex Neil
SNP
That is a good point from Mr Doris. I am always one to undersell our achievements. Laughter. The legislation is extremely important, but it is also importan...
Patricia Ferguson
Lab
Does the minister accept that the issue is not just the location of the judgment but the courts having an understanding of the effects that behaviour can hav...
Alex Neil
SNP
Absolutely. My view is that some kind of tribunal system may be more appropriate, certainly in some circumstances, than a case immediately going to the sheri...