Meeting of the Parliament 09 January 2014
I am particularly pleased to take part in this afternoon’s debate, not least because, as Jenny Marra pointed out, post-legislative scrutiny is so rarely carried out in the Parliament and opportunities are consequently lost to review some excellent and not so excellent legislation that has already been passed and which, without doubt, could be improved.
Ten years on from the passing of the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003, it is indeed timely that some of the more problematic provisions in the act have been the subject of the Justice Committee’s inquiry, for this is not just some arid technical bill. As the minister, the committee’s convener and other members have pointed out, and as all MSPs know from their constituents’ cases, the provisions within it relating, for example, to the factoring of properties, impact on peoples’ lives and their relationships with their neighbours.
The Government’s response to the report’s recommendations was published in September 2013. Ideally, this debate would have taken place as soon as possible thereafter, when the evidence and the findings were uppermost in members’ minds. However, due to the pressure of the legislative programme and the priority that is given to introducing new legislation, the debate is only now taking place.
The inquiry was relatively short and covered only one part of the 2003 act. It is significant that, despite that, the committee felt it necessary to make as many as 11 recommendations. I will concentrate on a couple of the major ones, starting with the concerns surrounding the dismissal and appointment of factors. Of concern is the 30-year period that prevents owners of properties that were previously the responsibility of local authorities from switching factors. Clearly, that period is too long, which is why the committee recommended that the timescale be reviewed. The Government rejected that recommendation and instead stated that the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 should be allowed to bed in before further changes were made. Although it is a pity that the recommendation was not accepted, it is, nonetheless, welcome that the 2011 act introduces a code of conduct for factors and more regulation.
It is important that the application of those provisions is closely monitored, as the issue of switching factors was of concern in the debate surrounding the 2011 act and remains a concern now. The minister’s assurances in that regard are appreciated.
The committee also heard about the problems that are associated with the appointment and dismissal of landowning land maintenance companies that have been well documented in today’s debate and have been detailed by my colleague John Lamont. I very much welcome the Government’s agreement to introduce a new code of conduct for those companies.
Concern was also expressed about the operation of section 53, which gives rights to enforce restrictions on property to arguably too many owners. The Government’s decision to refer the issue to the Scottish Law Commission is, therefore, a good one.
This has been a good debate and I hope that it will be one of many post-legislative scrutiny debates in 2014.
16:40