Meeting of the Parliament 17 March 2026 [Draft]
I wish to say what I said at the start of my stage 1 speech:
“Nobody could possibly doubt the far-reaching implications of the most appalling human tragedy at Grenfell tower in 2017, nor the importance of ensuring that nothing like that can ever happen again.”
It is absolutely right that measures are put in place to improve building standards, especially so that the people who are engaged in the new-build sector fully recognise and adhere to their responsibilities. It is also right that there is a legislative process to ensure that for the future.
However, the question that we as parliamentarians continue to face is whether the Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill is the right procedure and whether the levy is the right measure. Conservative members—and, I suspect, several members in other parties—have had serious doubts. That is not because improving building standards is not the right thing to do; it is because, throughout the process, witnesses and stakeholders have expressed considerable concern in their evidence, including about the fact that far too much of the important detail could be left to secondary legislation.
As colleagues know, and as I pointed out in the stage 1 debate,
“it is unusual for a committee not to fully endorse the general principles of a bill.”—[Official Report, 8 January 2026; c 66-67.]
However, the Finance and Public Administration Committee did not endorse them at stage 1, which I think was for good reasons—because there was concern about the extent of the negative externalities.
As the committee convener said during the stage 1 debate, the major issue is the likely impact on the housing market, which, as we all know and as Michael Marra set out earlier, has already faced significant challenges. The most significant concern among witnesses and members of the Finance and Public Administration Committee was the fact that the bill could actually reduce house-building capacity, because it would make certain sites unviable and would thereby have a detrimental effect on the ability to deliver much-needed affordable housing.