Meeting of the Parliament 23 November 2022
We will, of course, cover that in the review that the cabinet secretary mentioned. However, to maximise the support, we are currently considering eligibility rules and property value thresholds, and we will conclude those considerations in the spring.
I clarify that the scheme also relies on the co-operation of landlords, lenders and those undertaking conveyancing. That is really important to Labour’s suggestion of a two-month turnaround, which is unachievable regardless of resourcing or funding from the Government because it relies on other partners, particularly the legal profession, which has had high pressure on it in recent years because of the demand in the housing market. That wider context is important.
Our priority is to help the people who are most in need. Evaluation of the help-to-buy scheme showed that 80 per cent of participants would have been able to purchase a property that met their needs without financial assistance. With regard to the Conservative amendment, which we urge the Parliament to reject, cuts to financial transactions by the UK Government mean that reopening the help-to-buy scheme would have to be at the expense of delivering other affordable housing. That is not a choice that we are willing to make.
What is more, we recognise the huge pressure that the cost crisis is placing on households who rent their homes. That is why we took action as a Government through our emergency legislation, which Parliament supported. As members know, the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 provides a temporary rent freeze and moratorium on evictions. It protects tenants by putting in place measures to stabilise immediate housing costs and enable them to stay in their homes.