Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 06 October 2011
06 Oct 2011 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Housing
I need to correct the member on that point. We have made it absolutely clear that anyone who is evicted because they have been using drugs in a council or RSL house cannot then present themselves as involuntarily homeless. It is only if someone is involuntarily homeless that the council is required to make provision for them. It is simply not true that someone who has been evicted for a drug offence can then go on to the homelessness register.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Tricia Marwick)
NPA
The first item of business is a debate on motion S4M-01022, in the name of Keith Brown, on housing.09:15
The Minister for Housing and Transport (Keith Brown)
SNP
I am delighted to lead this debate on housing, which is my first such debate as Minister for Housing and Transport. I intend to use the debate to point out a...
Hugh Henry (Renfrewshire South) (Lab)
Lab
Will the minister confirm his party’s manifesto pledge to deliver 6,000 homes for social rent per year? Will that target be met?
Keith Brown
SNP
As I have said previously in the Parliament, and as the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth has said to the Parliament and in co...
Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (Lab)
Lab
Does the minister find it acceptable that the supply of social rented homes is plummeting, whereas he is talking about the broader definition of affordable h...
Keith Brown
SNP
I am not sure that I agree with the premise of the question that the supply of socially affordable houses is plummeting. I have just said that at least two t...
Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green)
Green
Will the minister acknowledge that, although he referred to “progressive increases” in the building standards for new stock, we have not seen progressive inc...
Keith Brown
SNP
Those points were well covered yesterday in the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment. Our programme is progressive an...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Before I call Lewis Macdonald, I point out to members that we are going to be extremely generous with time. Feel free to take interventions; if you do, I wil...
Lewis Macdonald (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Your generosity is, as always, much appreciated.When John Swinney introduced the draft budget and spending review a c...
John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member give us a suggestion for some other capital programme that should not go ahead in order to fund housing, such as the Forth road bridge?
Lewis Macdonald
Lab
If John Mason is suggesting that the Government cuts the Forth road bridge in order to fund housing, perhaps he needs to take that up with his own front benc...
The Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment (Alex Neil)
SNP
You should just have phoned me.
Lewis Macdonald
Lab
I could have phoned Mr Neil and I suspect that, if I had, I might have got a more direct answer than we have had so far in parliamentary debates. Perhaps tha...
Malcolm Chisholm
Lab
Does Lewis Macdonald agree that the situation is even worse? When he replied to me earlier, Keith Brown said that the commitment was now to build 4,000 socia...
Lewis Macdonald
Lab
That intervention goes to the nub of the argument. It is one thing to say, “We are providing funding to build new houses,” but, if the provision of that fund...
Keith Brown
SNP
Will the member give way?
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Briefly, please.
Keith Brown
SNP
First, I point out that Shelter asked for around £610 million in the budget and just over £600 million is being provided.Lewis Macdonald said that he will be...
Lewis Macdonald
Lab
It is a fair question. Indeed, I put it to ministers. If they are listening to the housing sector, they know themselves—Interruption. Publishing a manifesto ...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
I call Alex Johnstone to speak to and move amendment S4M-01022.2. I will be generous with you, too, Mr Johnstone, if you take interventions. 09:39
Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. In fact, the generosity that you have shown in this and previous debates indicates that the wise thing for us all to ...
Alex Neil
SNP
Will the member break the habit of a lifetime and suggest an innovative and creative measure that we are not taking?
Alex Johnstone
Con
We will get on to that. The innovation and investment fund has encouraged RSLs to do the Government’s job for it, and local authorities are now borrowing mon...
Keith Brown
SNP
On that last point, will the member acknowledge that our shared equity initiatives do exactly that by freeing up housing stock that can be used by other peop...
Alex Johnstone
Con
This is a time when we all have to find ways to make money go as far as possible, which means that some of us have to think the unthinkable. I would just lik...
Alex Neil
SNP
I need to correct the member on that point. We have made it absolutely clear that anyone who is evicted because they have been using drugs in a council or RS...
Alex Johnstone
Con
I have heard that explanation from the minister before and I am sure that he remembers that we have had this exchange before. The problem is that the practic...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
We move to the open debate. My generosity is not boundless, but it still exists. Mr MacKenzie, you have about six minutes.09:49
Mike MacKenzie (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
SNP
I declare an interest and ask the Parliament to note my entry in the register of members’ interests.It is a great privilege to speak in the debate, because I...