Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 18 December 2025 [Draft]
18 Dec 2025 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Portfolio Question Time
Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Housebuilders (Support)
Social Justice and Housing
As well as discussing the needs of SME house builders at the Homes for Scotland board, which the First Minister and I attend, I have held subsequent bespoke discussions with the SME sector, to listen to its views and ideas. We have reflected many of those discussions in our emergency action plan, with specific cross-Government intervention to better support SME builders and Scotland’s housing sector, including lending by the Scottish National Investment Bank, investment of up to £4.9 billion and, as I mentioned, the introduction of that new all-tenure target. In September, the minister with responsibility for planning and I wrote to planning authorities across Scotland, setting out our expectation of proportionality when dealing with SMEs.
In the same item of business
5. Alexander Burnett (Aberdeenshire West) (Con)
Con
I refer members to my entry regarding construction in the register of members’ interests. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support...
The Cabinet Secretary for Housing (Màiri McAllan)
SNP
As well as discussing the needs of SME house builders at the Homes for Scotland board, which the First Minister and I attend, I have held subsequent bespoke ...
Alexander Burnett
Con
Is the cabinet secretary aware that, between the late timing of the United Kingdom budget and the traditional Christmas slowdown, house sales have dropped fo...
Màiri McAllan
SNP
I meet Homes for Scotland regularly and speak to it in detail about its proposals. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government will set out the co...
Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP)
SNP
Will the cabinet secretary say a little more about the importance of proportionality in the planning system for SME house builders and, in particular, how th...
Màiri McAllan
SNP
Proportionality is key, because we are talking about a question of viability. Viability requires regularity, and it requires SMEs to be able to enter the pla...