Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 30 September 2025
30 Sep 2025 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Housing (Scotland) Bill
—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 am afraid that the characterisation of rent controls by members at both ends of the chamber is a little skewed and inaccurate. On the one hand, the Conservatives have to acknowledge the severe strain that tenants face when their rents become uncontrollable and begin to rise or escalate in an uncontrollable way. That feeds homelessness from the private rented sector. On the other hand, I have to appeal to Green colleagues to see that the care and balance that I and Willie Rennie have been talking about are absolutely critical to our housing system. The exemptions that I began by talking about are therefore very important. What the Government has presented in the bill responds to the needs of tenants who are struggling with escalating rents; equally, it provides confidence and ensures investment in our housing system that will ultimately increase availability and, therefore, affordability.
I was asked recently what a home meant to me—[Interruption.]
In the same item of business
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...