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Every contribution to the Official Report — chamber and committee — searchable in one place. Pulled from data.parliament.scot, indexed for full-text search, linked through to every MSP.

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Showing 60 of 2,354,908 contributions. Latest 30 days: 0. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 25 Mar 2026.
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
10 Sep 2024
Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
One of the key things that I mentioned at the start of the bill process was about making sure that we give investors that clarity, which, from speaking to them, I know that they want. It is long-term patient capital, which no one tends to invest in, so they want clarity over a...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
16 Apr 2024
Building Safety and Maintenance and Housing to 2040
I will come to the social housing issue first. I think that there has to be more social housing built, which could be local authority housing. As you know, a piece of work on affordable housing is being carried out by Ken Gibb, whom I mentioned earlier. We have raised the issu...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
16 Apr 2024
Building Safety and Maintenance and Housing to 2040
The housing investment task force was pulled together for that reason. It includes banks, institutional investors, local authorities and housing associations, and it will look at the barriers to investment as well as the opportunities. That piece of work is really important. T...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
16 Apr 2024
Building Safety and Maintenance and Housing to 2040
I will double check this, but I understand that the green heat finance task force is due to report around the end of April. I referred to it earlier, because it is all to do with specific advice to local authorities and housing associations. You are right to say that the issue...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
16 Apr 2024
Building Safety and Maintenance and Housing to 2040
That is an important point. Ken Gibb is a member of the housing investment task force and his input will be valuable. He talked about data, and he offered to do a piece of work around that. That will be developed as part of the work of the housing investment task force. The r...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
10 Sep 2024
Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I have engaged extensively with stakeholders since the bill was published, as I did before then. When I took over responsibility for the bill from Mr Harvie, I reviewed what had been previously proposed. It was key for me to set out a bill that still protected people, where th...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
16 Apr 2024
Building Safety and Maintenance and Housing to 2040
That is an important issue. The discussions that we had with housing associations and local authorities were slightly different from the discussions that we have had with the SFT, SNIB and hubco. Local authorities are represented and are inputting to the broader housing invest...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
16 Apr 2024
Building Safety and Maintenance and Housing to 2040
It is important to set the context. As house builders will tell you, the macroeconomic situation and the interest rates have not helped the market in Scotland, Wales or England. However, the outlook on that is probably more positive now. When I have spoken to developers, they...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
19 Mar 2025
Temporary Accommodation (Children’s Rights)
I will come back to that point. On the amendments—Interruption. I said that I would come back, and I will come back to the points that were made by Meghan Gallacher after I address Mark Griffin’s points. We discussed the UNCRC. We will vote for the Labour motion, but we ar...
The Minister for Housing (Paul McLennan) SNP Chamber
01 Oct 2024
Housing
The future of housing in Scotland affects every constituency, every community and every family in the country. In a vibrant, cohesive and forward-looking country such as Scotland, all people should have a safe, secure and affordable place to live. I begin by acknowledging the...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
16 Apr 2024
Building Safety and Maintenance and Housing to 2040
That is another important point. I met the city region team in Edinburgh and we talked about the fact that there are seven or eight strategic housing developments that need to be brought forward there, and about how that could be done. At the end, we came to the view that the ...
The Minister for Housing (Paul McLennan) SNP Chamber
31 Oct 2024
Housing (Scotland) Bill
I am pleased to make a statement to the Parliament on the rent control measures in the Housing (Scotland) Bill. In March this year, the bill was introduced to the Parliament, bringing forward a package of reforms that will help to ensure that people have a safe, secure and aff...
Paul McLennan (East Lothian) (SNP) SNP Chamber
29 Jun 2022
Scotland’s Companies
I thank John Mason for bringing this debate to the chamber. I share his concern that the headquarters functions of Stagecoach and John Menzies may be lost. Those companies are well known in Scotland and have had a strong presence for many a year. I worked for Bank of Scotland...
Paul McLennan (East Lothian) (SNP) SNP Chamber
16 Nov 2021
Scottish National Investment Bank
The Scottish National Investment Bank is a vital ingredient in our recovery from Covid and our future prosperity. In other countries across the world, we have seen Governments use their extensive borrowing powers to invest in projects that are strategically important. Here, in...
Paul McLennan (East Lothian) (SNP) SNP Chamber
27 Jan 2022
Budget (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I am delighted to speak in the stage 1 budget debate, which at its heart is about building a fairer, greener and more prosperous Scotland. As we recover from Covid, securing stability and support for my constituents in East Lothian is my utmost priority. The budget sets out a...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
19 Nov 2024
Scottish Empty Homes Partnership
Meghan Gallacher raises a valid point on the discussions that we have been having. When we look at the homelessness figures, we see that there are four or five local authorities on which the issue is focused. We have been focusing on voids and empty homes. The question is wh...
The Minister for Housing (Paul McLennan) SNP Chamber
20 Jun 2024
Housing Emergency
It is just over a month since we came together to debate the declaration of a housing emergency. Since then, I have continued my extensive engagement with colleagues across the Parliament, our partners in local authorities and our stakeholders. I have met housing conveners to ...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
01 Oct 2024
Housing
I come back to my statement. I think that, when I made the statement and talked about setting up the housing investment task force, I recognised the role of institutional investment. That work is incredibly important and will continue. Miles Briggs and I had a chat about that ...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
02 Oct 2024
Housing Emergency
I am not going to take any lessons in financial management from the member. The biggest cut that we had last year was a 9 per cent capital cut from the UK Government. I never heard anything from Tory members, including Mr Hoy, about that. The biggest cut that we suffered in o...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
10 Sep 2024
Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
There are a number of things there. One concerns getting the balance right between protecting rents and the need for investment, as we need investment in various sectors. It comes down to supply and demand. We will move on to discuss rent controls, but we need to strike the ri...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
16 Apr 2024
Building Safety and Maintenance and Housing to 2040
There are a number of things to mention. First, £35 million has been set aside this year to deal with the issue. On the housing emergencies that have been declared, the week before last I was up in Argyll and Bute to talk to housing associations and some of the island communi...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
16 Apr 2024
Building Safety and Maintenance and Housing to 2040
That is an important question, and the housing to 2040 strategy acknowledges that. The rural and island housing action plan came out in October 2023. Again, there was a review and there were indicators for the short term, medium term and long term. There is a review going on w...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
31 Oct 2024
Housing (Scotland) Bill
We are talking about rent control today, but on the homelessness prevention duties, which are an incredibly important part of the bill, we have met a number of stakeholders. We are already encouraging stakeholders including local authorities, the Scottish Prison Service and so...
Paul McLennan (East Lothian) (SNP) SNP Chamber
02 Jun 2021
Economic Recovery
I welcome you to your post, Presiding Officer, and commend those members who have made their first speeches today. Yesterday, we had a very informative debate on health recovery in Parliament and we are all aware of the importance of the recovery in our health and social care...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
17 May 2022
Carbon Neutral Islands
Mr McArthur mentioned that before and I think that it was being considered by the cabinet secretary. I look forward to hearing her answer on that. The islands connectivity plan will be taken forward through the national transport strategy and the strategic transport projects ...
Paul McLennan (East Lothian) (SNP) SNP Chamber
14 Mar 2023
Net Zero: Local Government and Cross-sectoral Partners
I am delighted to speak in the debate. I thank the committee for its report. It is an excellent summary of what we need to do, and I commend the committee for it. Scotland will not meet its ambitious target of being net zero by 2045 without a strong partnership with local go...
Paul McLennan (East Lothian) (SNP) SNP Chamber
07 Jan 2026
Non-domestic Rates
I am glad to engage in the debate. My background is with the Bank of Scotland—I worked in business and corporate banking for more than 20 years, and for that period I engaged with businesses on a daily basis. What businesses need more than anything is certainty. The Scottish ...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
16 Apr 2024
Building Safety and Maintenance and Housing to 2040
When we were in London, housing associations made that point during discussions that we had with the investment sector. Those things will be discussed and we will look at that point. Very quickly after the Housing (Scotland) Bill was published, I had a meeting with you, as Opp...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
10 Sep 2024
Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
You are right; inflation-linked increases is one of the issues that is being considered. I previously mentioned the discussions that we are having with Living Rent, investors and so on, about trying to strike that balance. It is a tough ask, but I still think that we can achie...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
13 Nov 2024
Housing Emergency
I have only a short time in which to speak. Many private sector stakeholders have welcomed clarity on the rent cap’s form. In spring 2025, we plan to launch a consultation to seek views on how to ensure that powers to exempt certain types of provision from rent control can be...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
14 Sep 2023
Portfolio Question Time · Children in Temporary Accommodation (Dumfries and Galloway)
There are a series of measures. I will come back to the task and finish group recommendations, but one of the recommendations that came through, which we have responded to, was about acquisitions. We will be working in Dumfries and Galloway in that regard, and we will also be ...
The Minister for Housing (Paul McLennan) SNP Chamber
18 Apr 2024
Portfolio Question Time · Ministerial Task Force on Population (Rural Communities)
In 2019, the Government established a ministerial task force on population to oversee the development and delivery of Scotland’s first national population strategy in 2021. The task force, which Emma Roddick chairs, brings together ministers from across the Scottish Government...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
12 Mar 2024
Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
In 2022, the then Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government acknowledged that point. That is why we moved on to select a delivery model. I will touch more on the pace as I go through my speech. The programme has accumulated a significant amount of kno...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
27 Jun 2024
Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I have a couple of thoughts on that. An outcome group and a task-and-finish group were set up to look at measurements and how we monitor these things, and the issue has also been discussed by the homelessness prevention and strategy group that we referred to at the start of th...
Paul McLennan (East Lothian) (SNP) SNP Chamber
26 Oct 2021
Mental Health Needs and Substance Use
Just over two weeks ago, I was honoured to lead a members’ business debate on world mental health day 2021 and its theme: mental health in an unequal world. World mental health day provides elected representatives with the opportunity to highlight the importance of and need fo...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
31 May 2022
Tackling Drug Deaths and Drug Harm
The evidence that I have presented is clear and compelling, as I just said. I want to touch on a few other issues that the RCPE raised in its report. It stated that optimising the use of medication-assisted treatment can mitigate opioid use disorder, and we have heard that in...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
16 Apr 2024
Building Safety and Maintenance and Housing to 2040
With regard to local government, I have tried to get round to as many local authorities as I possibly can—I have about three to go, and then I will have been round all of them. The issue that comes up first and foremost is what they should prioritise. We are having discussions...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
16 Apr 2024
Building Safety and Maintenance and Housing to 2040
I agree. I go back to the acquisitions policy. The City of Edinburgh Council is cognisant of that and is working with that. We have had discussions with the council about how it allocates properties, which is really important. There are other pieces of work going on around tha...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
18 Apr 2024
Portfolio Question Time · New Homes
The medium-term outlook for capital remains challenging, with an expected 8.7 per cent real-terms cut to our capital funding between 2023-24 and 2027-28. Given that, I was delighted to chair the first meeting of the housing investment task force just two weeks ago. Over the co...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
20 Jun 2024
Housing Emergency
I would like to pick up on a number of Michelle Thomson’s points, especially about the green housing element and, in particular, on the retrofitting aspect. I was a member of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee when it considered that issue, at which point the...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
10 Sep 2024
Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I cannot go into the specifics of MMR. A key thing to mention on exemptions is that the bill gives us the power to specify types of properties, or other circumstances, for which rent increases would not apply. When we discuss some of the amendments at stage 2, those details wi...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
01 Oct 2024
Housing
I will pick up on a couple of points. One is about the housing investment task force, which is an important part of how we bring institutional investment back into Scotland. We have institutional investors who are part of that group. I mentioned the opportunities that we are ...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
31 Oct 2024
Housing (Scotland) Bill
One of the key things that investors have been saying to me about that is about giving them certainty, and we have certainly given them that today. As for moving forward, we have talked about the consultation, and I have mentioned the housing investment task force, which has ...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
28 Nov 2024
Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I only have five minutes. Willie Rennie raised an incredibly important point about mid-market rent. The Government has stated its commitment to invest £100 million in mid-market rent. The consultation will look at that. Like Willie Rennie, I want to drive investment into the ...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
29 May 2025
Portfolio Question Time · Housing Emergency
There are a number of points to make. We are undertaking work with Homes for Scotland on stalled sites, as well as on issues that have been mentioned previously, such as water and so on. We are working very closely with it and local authorities on that issue. We are also work...
Paul McLennan (East Lothian) (SNP) SNP Chamber
07 Sep 2021
Programme for Government 2021-22
I am extremely proud to talk about the programme for government over the next six months. I will start with a quote: “Politics is not a game. It is an earnest business.” Who said that? None other than Winston Churchill. Indeed, politics is a serious business. Let us not forg...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
17 Mar 2022
Active Travel
I thank the member for the intervention—I will touch on that in a second. A spokesman for the Drem-Gullane path campaign was delighted with the increased investment, and said: “Investing in active travel infrastructure is vital to keep pedestrians and cyclists safe and to en...
Paul McLennan (East Lothian) (SNP) SNP Chamber
25 May 2022
Solar Energy
I thank Fergus Ewing for bringing forward the debate tonight. As co-convener of the cross-party group on renewable energy, I am delighted to see our renewables sector continuing to grow in strength. I was also delighted to see the publication of Solar Energy Scotland’s policy...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
08 Jun 2022
Economic Priorities
The growth commission said that that would be the initial position and then we would move on to our own currency, which would set rates. Of course, we are still feeling the impact of Brexit, but the Tories have not mentioned it—not even once—during the debate. Not one Tory MS...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
02 Feb 2023
Budget (Scotland) (No 2) Bill: Stage 1
I have already taken an intervention. The finance secretary has set out plans to add 1p to the higher and top tax rates, maintain the starter and basic rates at their current levels and reduce the threshold above which people pay the top rate from £150,000 to £125,140. Accord...
The Minister for Housing (Paul McLennan) SNP Chamber
20 Jun 2024
Benefits Uptake
I apologise for coughing throughout the debate. I thank my colleague Evelyn Tweed for the opportunity to discuss this vital issue in the chamber. As she highlighted, the current economic climate means that it has never been more important to encourage and support people to acc...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
01 Oct 2024
Housing
I mentioned the £22 million investment in the charitable bond programme to increase investment in affordable homes and to deliver more housing. That has enabled the Scottish Government to invest in two new bonds, thereby providing loan funding to Link Housing and to Cairn Hous...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
26 Nov 2025
Economy
I have only four minutes. I am sorry. At the same time, the Bank of England is selling gilts that were held under the quantitative easing scheme. More overseas owners have stepped into that market, accounting for about a third of it. The OBR has warned that that could make th...
Paul McLennan (East Lothian) (SNP) SNP Chamber
10 Dec 2025
FIFA World Cup 2026
On Tuesday 18 November, I arrived at Hampden park for the opening of the gates at 6.15. I walked in with a few other early birds and stood thinking what the stadium would be like at 9.45. Four minutes in, after the Scott McTominay wonder goal, the dream was on. Then, Denmark s...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
26 Apr 2023
Homelessness Prevention and Housing Supply
I will address that point later in my speech. The 2023-24 budget shows a real-terms reduction of 4.5 per cent in Barnett formula funding since 2021-22. It is estimated that construction inflation, which is incredibly important, is between 15 and 20 per cent at the moment. Ho...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
16 Apr 2024
Building Safety and Maintenance and Housing to 2040
I mentioned the funding that was allocated this year as part of the £100 million of ending homelessness together funding. An additional £2 million was set aside and we negotiated and discussed with COSLA which local authorities needed it most—it is not my place to say which on...
Paul McLennan SNP Committee
10 Sep 2024
Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I will try to be brief, convener. There are a couple of points. One is that funding was announced last week, from which Edinburgh will benefit significantly. We have been working with the City of Edinburgh Council on its practices around void properties in terms of what it nee...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
01 Oct 2024
Housing
That is an interesting comment. That would be for the Cabinet to discuss. As I said, one of the key things that I have been looking at is how we can bring additional capital into the system. I talked about the housing investment task force, the £100 million mid-market rent p...
Paul McLennan SNP Chamber
31 Oct 2024
Housing (Scotland) Bill
On the point that the member raised about consulting the sector, in April last year we set up the housing investment task force, which includes a number of investors. We have consulted those investors on the proposals and will continue to do so through the consultation that I ...
Paul McLennan (East Lothian) (SNP) SNP Chamber
14 Sep 2021
Health and Social Care
The first line in the Scottish Government’s “NHS Recovery Plan 2021-26” is: “Scotland’s National Health Service is our most precious institution.” We can all agree on that. It continues: “In our hour of greatest need during the pandemic the women and men who staff our NHS p...
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Committee

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee 10 September 2024

10 Sep 2024 · S6 · Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Item of business
Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
McLennan, Paul SNP East Lothian Watch on SPTV
One of the key things that I mentioned at the start of the bill process was about making sure that we give investors that clarity, which, from speaking to them, I know that they want. It is long-term patient capital, which no one tends to invest in, so they want clarity over a certain period of time. That is the message that has come through in the discussions that I have had. The two-pronged approach is about setting up the housing investment task force, on which there are members of the investment community that are part of those discussions, and about trying to give clarity through the rent controls. A key aspect that the housing investment task force is looking at is barriers to investment. It is not just looking at rent controls but at a much broader range of measures, such as the use of guarantees. The housing investment task force will produce a report with recommendations, so that work is being driven by the task force itself. We talked about the MMR commitment following last week’s programme for government, which kind of came out of discussions with the housing investment task force. We are looking at different ways and different models to deal with that, which we hope will come out in the short term through the task force’s recommendations. However, we need to give clarity on rent controls—there is no doubt about that.

In the same item of business

The Convener Green
The next item is to take evidence on the Housing (Scotland) Bill from the Minister for Housing, Paul McLennan MSP. Mr McLennan is joined by Scottish Governme...
The Minister for Housing (Paul McLennan) SNP
Thank you, convener and members of the committee, and good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to set out the vision for the Housing (Scotland) Bill and, ...
The Convener Green
Thank you for your opening statement. We have a number of questions to get through today, and we will follow our usual format. I will start with some general...
Paul McLennan SNP
I touched on that in my opening remarks—there are a number of key aspects, and I will try to keep my comments to a minimum. One aim is to encourage growth i...
The Convener Green
Can I come back on the encouragement for growth? Last week, the Chartered Institute of Housing said that there is no sense of what size the sector needs to b...
Paul McLennan SNP
I am keen to look at that more broadly outwith the bill. I have met the Scottish Association of Landlords on a number of occasions, and we have another meeti...
The Convener Green
I understand that there are nuances for different local authorities. When you get some information or a sense of the appropriate size, the committee will app...
Paul McLennan SNP
There are a number of things there. One concerns getting the balance right between protecting rents and the need for investment, as we need investment in var...
The Convener Green
We are aware that there is a new housing national outcome. I would be interested to hear how the bill fits in with that and how you plan to monitor the impac...
Paul McLennan SNP
I supported the national outcome on housing before I became minister. It was discussed by various groups, and its importance for housing has been recognised,...
The Convener Green
Great—thanks for that. We will now move on to discuss rent, and I invite Pam Gosal to ask the first question. A few other members wish to ask supplementarie...
Pam Gosal (West Scotland) (Con) Con
Thank you, convener, and good morning, minister and supporting officials. In previous evidence sessions, witnesses raised concerns that the Housing (Scotlan...
Paul McLennan SNP
I have engaged extensively with stakeholders since the bill was published, as I did before then. When I took over responsibility for the bill from Mr Harvie,...
Pam Gosal Con
My supplementary question is about a huge issue that is driving up rents. We all know that we simply do not have enough homes in Scotland. Has the Scottish G...
Paul McLennan SNP
I think that that problem is much broader than the private rented sector. The Construction Industry Training Board published a study six to nine months ago t...
Pam Gosal Con
In your answer to the first question, you said that a task force had been set up. Is that task force working? You told me that investors and banks are on the...
Paul McLennan SNP
One of the key things that I mentioned at the start of the bill process was about making sure that we give investors that clarity, which, from speaking to th...
Pam Gosal Con
When will that report come out?
Paul McLennan SNP
I think that we are looking at the first quarter of next year—that is the task force’s target. I am happy to write to the committee on that point. However, t...
The Convener Green
Thank you. I will go back to the First Minister’s announcements on amendments that will seek to attract more investment. We are interested in understanding t...
Paul McLennan SNP
You are right; inflation-linked increases is one of the issues that is being considered. I previously mentioned the discussions that we are having with Livin...
The Convener Green
If new amendments come, we will potentially do a bit more evidence taking.
Paul McLennan SNP
I was going to mention that. Of course, we would be happy to take part in that.
The Convener Green
Mark Griffin has a supplementary question. 10:30
Mark Griffin (Central Scotland) (Lab) Lab
I think that most people would accept that the rent control elements are the flagship part of the bill. Given that this is our last evidence session, and tha...
Paul McLennan SNP
The answer to the question of whether we will withdraw the bill is no, for a number of reasons. I will go into more of the detail. We need clarity for tena...
The Convener Green
Will you give us a timeline for the work that you are doing, so that we have an understanding? For example, if we publish our report, how much time will ther...
Paul McLennan SNP
Correct me if I am wrong, but I understand that your report is due out at the end of October.
The Convener Green
Tentatively, at this point.
Paul McLennan SNP
I would think that it would be around that time, or not too far off. Again, I am happy to come back to the committee when the amendments are lodged to have t...