Hansard

I thank Gordon MacDonald for bringing the debate to the chamber. I also thank the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership and Shelter Scotland.

Gordon MacDonald mentioned the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership and the network of empty homes officers, which are quite rightly proud of their achievements. A total of 1,875 homes were returned to active use last year—that is the highest number on record, in a difficult situation, so my thanks go to them. Two thirds of those homes had been empty for longer than a year. That brings the total number since the partnership was established in 2010 to almost 11,000.

That is impressive, because we hear figures for unoccupied housing quoted in the press and by members as if those homes are ready to be used. We know that there are complex reasons why some such houses are currently left empty. It is important to appreciate the reasons why they are empty, and why they stay empty in the longer term. As I said, the reasons are complex, and time and perseverance are needed to unlock them.

A few members have highlighted the importance of local knowledge. That is important, as each local authority is different. It is important to recognise that the numbers of empty homes vary across Scotland.

Our investment of £3.7 million is delivering real results. That was recognised, as was mentioned, in last year’s independent audit by Indigo House on the effectiveness of our interventions, which endorsed Scotland’s approach and recognised the partnership’s crucial role. I thank everybody who picked up on that.

We have heard different ideas and approaches in the debate. I will touch on a few of the points that have been raised.

Gordon MacDonald rightly talked about the work that has gone on. VAT on repairs is an incredibly important issue. I ask Foysol Choudhury, who is the Labour member present in the chamber, to take that back to his Government to see whether it can examine that barrier to bringing empty homes back into use.

Meghan Gallacher acknowledged the work of the Government and the Empty Homes Partnership on dealing with empty homes, which is one of the areas of work that we need to expand in tackling the housing emergency. We have a good record on building houses. We build 40 per cent more per head of population than England and about 70 per cent more than Wales.

Ms Gallacher was right to talk about the importance of the broader measures. The acquisitions that we have talked about relate to bringing voids back into use. That has been identified as incredibly important in Edinburgh.