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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 5 February 2025
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Displaying 1063 contributions

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Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 7 October 2021

Paul McLennan

If the code is approved, what work will be involved in the roll-out and in publicity?

Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Interests

Meeting date: 7 October 2021

Paul McLennan

I refer members and the public to my entry in the register of members’ interests: I am still serving as a councillor on East Lothian Council.

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

“Code of Conduct for Councillors”

Meeting date: 5 October 2021

Paul McLennan

I refer to my entry in the register of members’ interests. I am a sitting councillor in East Lothian Council.

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Local Government, Housing and Planning

Meeting date: 28 September 2021

Paul McLennan

Moving to Nicola Barclay—and perhaps taking a slightly different slant—I know that your members deliver a large amount of housing, to which there is obviously an affordability element. Given that 25 per cent of nothing is nothing, it is in your members’ interests to develop housing as quickly as possible to achieve that affordability. As you have said, the cost of house building has gone up massively in the past few months, particularly since Brexit, but there is also the benchmarking element to take into account. I guess, then, that my question is the same as the previous one, though, as I have said, it comes at the issue from a slightly different slant.

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Local Government, Housing and Planning

Meeting date: 28 September 2021

Paul McLennan

As a brief supplementary, are you hearing from your members that these costs are a longer-term issue? I think that there are some issues with supply as a result of Brexit—indeed, some of your members whom I have met have said as much—but are these just teething problems or have we gone beyond that? Is this a longer-term issue that will be with us for the foreseeable future?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Local Government, Housing and Planning

Meeting date: 28 September 2021

Paul McLennan

I refer everyone to my entry in the register of members’ interests and declare that I am a serving councillor on East Lothian Council.

We know that cost pressures are coming through for the building of new homes, particularly in the past few months. How adequate are the recently reviewed Scottish Government grant subsidy benchmarks in allowing social landlords to build new homes with affordable rents? I direct that question to Stacey Dingwall, Tony Cain and, probably, Nicola Barclay.

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Subordinate Legislation (Electoral Boundaries)

Meeting date: 28 September 2021

Paul McLennan

I will expand on the issue of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, which has been mentioned. The intention of the act was to empower island communities. Some of the feedback that we got from Highland Council was about the reduction of representation on islands such as Bute and Skye. What are your views on that issue?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Local Government, Housing and Planning

Meeting date: 28 September 2021

Paul McLennan

The target is for 110,000 homes over the next 10 years and it depends on what comes forward in that time—it will not be 11,000 each year. Do you see that being impacted? If there are cost pressures coming through now and we are behind in the first year, delivery for the next four years will be increasingly difficult. Are you seeing issues for the next two years that will then make it difficult to deliver the 110,000 target in the latter years? Will we be playing catch-up?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Local Government, Housing and Planning

Meeting date: 28 September 2021

Paul McLennan

Does anyone else want to come in on that question?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Subordinate Legislation (Electoral Boundaries)

Meeting date: 28 September 2021

Paul McLennan

Thanks for that. My next question is more specific. Arran will be the only one-member ward in Scotland. Arran takes up 46 per cent of North Ayrshire Council’s land mass. What is your view on that specific issue?