Hansard

The SSI relates to the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) (Amendment) Order 2024. Scotland’s tourism sector is an incredibly important part of our economy, both locally and nationally. I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of interests, which states that I am a director of a small hotel in the Borders. Tourism is also incredibly important to our rural, coastal and island communities.

Accommodation providers have been calling for the Scottish Government to reconsider the way in which it has approached its short-term lets licensing scheme since it was introduced, and we are glad that some of those calls have been heard. The amendments, which relate primarily to technical details, are welcome and show a willingness to listen to those who understand the sector best. Temporary licence exemptions and provisional licence grants for new STLs will help to relieve some of the burden on struggling businesses and allow the quality of Scotland’s accommodation to grow. Additionally, addressing the loophole to permit licences to be transferred to a new host will allow there to be less disruption for those who are visiting remote, rural and island communities where there may be fewer alternative places to stay. However, although the principle behind the amendments remains sound, they still do not go far enough, nor do they fully listen to the concerns of accommodation providers across Scotland.

Stakeholders such as Scottish Land & Estates have highlighted the lack of detail in the amendments, stating that although the increased engagement with the accommodation sector is welcome, a clarity shortfall is evident, which could lead to unintended consequences from the instrument, burdening even more businesses in the short-term let industry. The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers has said that the

“onerous dual licensing and planning requirements”

that go along with STL licensing are

“By far the biggest obstacle”

to its successful implementation, and the amendments do not address that.

The intention of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 is that existing businesses should be protected but not impacted by retrospective planning considerations. I know that the ASSC is in conversation with the Minister for Business and the Minister for Public Finance, who has responsibility for planning, on the order. It will amend the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022 and require STL guidance to be amended, as per Burness Paull opinion. More critically, it will require a new use-class order to be created for short-term lets. Existing operators would automatically be moved to that UCO. It should be a mixed UCO—residential and STL—to enable properties to revert to residential without the requirement for planning permission.

Furthermore, groups such as the Scottish Bed and Breakfast Association have, similarly, stated that 77 per cent of their membership have

“reported ... negative or extremely negative”

impacts on their business since STL licensing came into force.

The Short Term Accommodation Association has called for “a comprehensive review” of the short-term let licensing scheme to fully understand its impact on our vital short-term let sector, and Scottish Conservatives agree that that should happen.

I am running out of time, so I will stop there, but there is so much more to say. I hope that members will agree with the points that I have made. Although Scottish Conservatives agree on the points that have been addressed with the technical amendments, we will not be supporting the motion tonight—we will abstain, and I hope that other members will do so, too.