Minutes: 12 March 2024

Tuesday, 12 March 2024

9th Meeting, 2024

Start time: 09:32am

End time: 12:21pm

Location: TG.60-CR3 The Fleming Room

Published: Wednesday, 13 March 2024

Also present:

Minister for Community Wealth and Public Finance, Jeremy Balfour, Neil Bibby, Sarah Boyack, Daniel Johnson, Liam McArthur and Stuart McMillan.

Minutes

1. Decision on taking business in private:

The Committee agreed to take item 5 in private.

2. Declaration of interests:

Gordon MacDonald MSP was invited to declare any relevant interests and declared that his wife is a Local Government Councillor.

3. Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill:

The Committee considered the Bill at Stage 2.

The following amendments were agreed to (without division): 18, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 17.

Amendment 6 was agreed to (by division: For 5, Against 2, Abstentions 0).

The following amendments were disagreed to (by division)—
3 (For 2, Against 4, Abstentions 1)
5 (For 2, Against 4, Abstentions 1)
27 (For 2, Against 4, Abstentions 1)
16 (For 2, Against 5, Abstentions 0)

Amendments 26, 37, 20, 50 were moved and, with the agreement of the Committee, withdrawn.

The following amendments were not moved: 1, 2, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 19, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 21, 45, 46, 22, 23, 24, 25, 11, 47, 48, 49, 51.

Sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, sections 18 to 35, sections 37 to 75 and the long title were agreed to without amendment.

Sections 4, 6, 10, 12, 17 and 36 were agreed to as amended.

The Committee completed Stage 2 consideration of the Bill.

4. Subordinate legislation:

The Committee considered the following negative instruments—

Building (Fees) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2024

Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2024

The Committee agreed not to make any recommendations in relation to the above instruments.

5. Work programme (in private):

The Committee considered its work programme and agreed to:

invite COSLA and the Scottish Government to provide evidence to the Committee on the Scottish Local Authority Remuneration Committee’s recommendations, but only once they have officially responded to the recommendations;

a programme of oral evidence on the Committee’s annual review of NPF4;

write to the Minister for Housing highlighting the evidence it has taken on Housing to 2040 and inviting a response in relation to recent developments regarding Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete;

write to Elizabeth Leighton and Dr Kate Studd on the issue of local government’s role in delivering a net-zero Scotland.