Hansard

The Presiding Officer (Alison Johnstone) NPA

The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-18992, in the name of Màiri McAllan, on the Housing (Scotland) Bill at stage 3. I would be grateful if me...

The Cabinet Secretary for Housing (Màiri McAllan) SNP

I am absolutely delighted to finally begin this last step of the Housing (Scotland) Bill with a debate at stage 3. It has been a long and thorough process. B...

Meghan Gallacher (Central Scotland) (Con) Con

Housing remains central to many of the challenges that our communities face. Our homes are the bricks and mortar that bind local cohesion. Access to good-qua...

Mark Griffin (Central Scotland) (Lab) Lab

There are—absolutely—positive things in the bill, but let us be clear that it is a housing bill that will not build a single house. It will not bring a singl...

Maggie Chapman (North East Scotland) (Green) Green

New year’s day 1989 was a day of celebration for some—but, for many, it was the first of almost 40 years of runaway rip-off rents. Margaret Thatcher’s Housin...

Willie Rennie (North East Fife) (LD) LD

I praise the clerks and officials for their talent, their tolerance of this Parliament and their stamina. Their stamina has been outstanding throughout what ...

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur) LD

We move to the open debate. 20:46

Alasdair Allan (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP) SNP

As someone who frequently raises the issue of affordable housing in relation to my constituency, I am pleased to speak in support of the Housing (Scotland) B...

Edward Mountain (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Con

I have struggled with this housing bill because I have wanted to engage with it, but every time I have tried to engage, it has proved difficult. At the stag...

Màiri McAllan SNP

Will the member accept an intervention?

Edward Mountain Con

Do I have time, Presiding Officer?

The Deputy Presiding Officer LD

There is no time in hand.

Edward Mountain Con

I am sorry, cabinet secretary, but I cannot. I do not think that the bill strikes the right balance between getting it right for tenants and incentivising l...

Davy Russell (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (Lab) Lab

The big problem with the bill is that, from its outset, it looked to address the symptoms that we see in our housing sector rather than the underlying proble...

Jeremy Balfour (Lothian) (Ind) Ind

I start by agreeing with Willie Rennie that we should give a big thank you to all the clerks who have worked so hard on the bill and helped us with it. I als...

Graham Simpson (Central Scotland) (Reform) Reform

This has been a real marathon; however, it has felt as though we have run this course before—as we have. Many of the stage 3 amendments, which have been deba...

The Deputy Presiding Officer LD

We move to closing speeches. 21:02

Ariane Burgess (Highlands and Islands) (Green) Green

As we close our debate on the bill, let us return to the fundamentals: who the bill should serve and what we must demand if we are serious about delivering j...

Pam Duncan-Glancy (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab

Deputy Presiding Officer, I apologise for the interruption earlier. I was looking for a figure on my phone, but when clicking on the message with the answer ...

Alexander Stewart (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con

I am happy to close on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives. The bill has had a long and difficult journey to where we now find ourselves. It was 10 months...

The Deputy Presiding Officer LD

I would discourage members on the front bench from repeatedly heckling in that way. 21:14

Màiri McAllan SNP

After that lively contribution from the other side of the chamber, I wish to begin on a point of consensus, by acknowledging the considerable cross-party sup...

Meghan Gallacher Con

I am astonished that the cabinet secretary has made that statement, to be frank. If members consider what I have said and what the Scottish Conservatives hav...

Màiri McAllan SNP

However much Meghan Gallacher tries to explain it away, the Conservatives have completely undermined any credibility that they remotely had on impacting home...

Edward Mountain Con

Absolute nonsense.

The Presiding Officer (Alison Johnstone) NPA

Let us hear one another.

Màiri McAllan SNP

—or on dealing with the housing emergency. We will not let the Conservatives forget it, and neither will the people of Scotland. In her contribution, Meghan...

The Presiding Officer NPA

Let us hear one another.

Màiri McAllan SNP

—that will create rights for tenants to end their tenancies and to personalise their homes, and that will create a system of evidence-based rent controls. I...

The Presiding Officer NPA

It is fair to say that this debate has been carried on over several days in a courteous environment. I would be grateful if we could carry that through to th...