Seòmar agus comataidhean

Thank you. I will bring in Murdo Fraser for a quick supplementary to my question.

There are a couple of points that I want to pick up on with some rapid-fire questions. Your latest data shows that the rate of rejection of applications dropped to 6.9 per cent from 7.9 per cent between the years 2022-23 and 2023-24. Do you have any insight into that reduction? What are your plans to get the rejection rate back down to the 5 or 6 per cent level that it was at in previous years?

That would be very helpful. Thank you very much.

That brings us to the end of today’s evidence session. I thank Jennifer Henderson and Chris Kerr for joining us and for all the information that they have provided. We now move into private session.

Can you give us a flavour of what the differential in timings for your business customers and your citizen customers might be?

That line of sight is vital.

Good morning. Thank you for joining us, cabinet secretary. I will pick up on some similar points. We already know that there are concerns that the number of so-called orphan buildings will increase, should disreputable or unethical builders choose to liquidate themselves and re-establish elsewhere. That is a regrettable risk. What is your assessment of whether the introduction of the Scottish building levy could increase the number of orphan buildings? I am not suggesting that the introduction of the levy in and of itself would be the primary trigger, but it might overlay additional financial considerations. Have you considered that?

As we have all said, we will need to wait and see, because the matter is highly complex. There will be uncertainties about risks until the building assessments have been made, and I presume that there will be the same uncertainties about risk elsewhere in the UK, because the assessments have to be carried out.

I am inclined to agree that the £30 million of revenue that it is proposed to raise will probably be too low. Given that we agree that the risks, the uncertainties and, potentially, the costs might be broadly similar, with some regional variations, are you concerned that the issue having had to become a devolved matter has meant that the risk of there being a much bigger bill, with £30 million not being enough, has been passed to the Scottish Government?

This is a slightly technical point—and I might not be remotely right. The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s recent change of heart on the fiscal rules will mean that debt will be recast as assets, particularly in relation to investment. Have you given any consideration to what that might mean in relation to whether what might have been seen as debts on a balance sheet, for the UK Government or the Scottish Government, could be metamorphosed into assets?

I realise that it is a bit technical—sorry.