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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 right balance to encourage investment while protecting rents and keeping them at a reasonable level. We will touch more on the nuanced aspects of rent controls, but it is important to encourage investment. More broadly, when it comes to getting a more balanced rent control system in place, although we have had temporary measures, we now need to move on to a set of measures that encourage more balanced rent increases, as well as encouraging investment.

This is not covered in the bill itself, but I will mention a piece of work that we undertook with Ken Gibb, who was looking into affordability. The report on that—which I have referenced before—has just been submitted, and we are considering what it says. It will be taken into account in the broader discussions around rent controls. As I say, it comes down to supply and demand, and we need to increase the supply of housing—that is incredibly important. The bill covers rent controls, and it also considers how we can encourage investment. If we can encourage investment and keep rent controls at a certain rate, we will be able to build houses at a quicker rate as part of the all-tenure approach. That is the important aspect for me.

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.

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 achieve that balance with what is being considered, to make sure that we have protection for tenants but can also encourage investment.

I cannot go into detail, because we are still considering and discussing the matter, and we have meetings planned with stakeholders on that. However, one of the key things is trying to strike that balance, which I mentioned at the start. It is also about trying to provide flexibility.

As I said, it is about giving clarity to investors—as Ms Gosal mentioned—and about making sure that we protect people where they need to be protected, which is where the local approach with regard to data and getting local authorities’ and local residents’ views can come in. That is incredibly important in trying to get that balance.

The rent increases are not the same across Scotland, as we know. It involves a much broader discussion about supply and demand and about how we encourage more house building in Edinburgh and Glasgow. I regularly have discussions with the councils in Edinburgh and Glasgow about what we can do to encourage that. The rent controls in the bill are part of it, but there are much broader discussions going on about how we bring strategic sites forward. One of the housing investment task force’s key areas of work is on how we bring strategic sites forward at a quicker pace. That requires a mix of investment, local government funding and Government funding, and there is the question of the role of the SNIB and the SFT.

It is a much broader discussion, but what we are looking at is all about trying to strike a balance. Hopefully, when the amendments are lodged, we will demonstrate that.

There are a number of issues there, one of which relates to the general principle of improving tenants’ rights, which I touched on. That is one of the key issues. Awareness raising is important, and we have spoken to tenants groups about that.

The bill sets out information that landlords must include in advertisements for rental properties. One of the measures in the bill proposes to modify the existing duty on landlords to provide specified information to the tenant at that time. Both those aspects are required.

There is a need for general awareness raising, and we are talking to tenants groups about that. I regularly meet tenants groups, both locally and nationally. That issue has been raised not only in relation to rent controls but in the much broader context of renters’ rights and what we can do to support renters to make them aware of those rights. As you rightly recognised, not everybody who is a tenant is aware of their rights. We need to continue to work with tenants on that.

It is about that balance and what it looks like. There is a duty for both landlords and the Government to do that. We need to make sure that we are picking up the issue of tenants’ rights and raising awareness of them, and that duty also lies with the landlord.

Again, there is a whole discussion and debate about getting people into the sector and the regulation for single-property landlords, for example. It is about trying to strike that balance. The balance might move slightly, but I am confident that what is proposed in the bill is what we set out as our initial position.

We will continue to discuss that with other stakeholders and consider the committee’s feedback and what the bill would look like before it becomes law.

I am happy to pick that up offline, or you can contact me about that point.

On whether that would fit in the bill, the issue is slightly more complex than that. If we are talking about seasonal agricultural workers, an aspect of that is where responsibility sits. I will touch on that in a second. Mairi Gougeon and I will be meeting Richard Leonard very soon to discuss seasonal agricultural workers, and others have raised the issue, too.

More broadly, the issue is to do with identifying key workers. I have visited various places where accommodation is an issue, particularly during the summer tourism season. Should that be a matter for local authorities to address when they look at their key worker strategies? I am encouraging local authorities to look at that and take a strategic approach. That is one way to look at the issue. It comes back to the accommodation issue, although that is not so much about seasonal workers as it is about construction workers. As I said, Mairi Gougeon and I have a meeting coming up with Richard Leonard about seasonal and agricultural workers in particular.

On key workers and on seasonal workers more broadly, we would encourage local authorities to look strategically at what they need to do, to discuss that and to come forward with any proposals. We have had a number of round-table events with accommodation providers, including hoteliers, and other organisations to talk about what we need to do. The issue needs to be discussed. Some reports on accommodation came out, I think, last week. We cannot have people staying in accommodation such as the examples that are raised in those reports.

We have touched on that. One of the key points was to provide flexibility around the individual circumstances of each of the local authorities, which is important. With regard to looking at possible amendments or changes to the bill, that has given us the flexibility at this stage to discuss with local authorities what is required.

That comes back to the balance around protection. The whole purpose of rent controls is to ensure that we protect people who need those controls in place, while not deterring investment. It is about trying to strike a balance in that regard, and reflecting the impacts on individual local authorities, or wider regional impacts, at that particular time. That was an important reason. I am happy to come back at stage 2 to discuss any amendments to the bill. It is about giving more flexibility to ensure that rent controls do not try to provide a one-size-fits-all answer.

I am sorry: I meant Charlotte McHaffie. The timing is still to be confirmed, but it is important that we learn the lessons. Covid was a challenge that we did not expect at the time, obviously, and we had to deal with it. We need to consider the issue, Mr Coffey, because it is an important part of the refreshed look at the bill. At that time, when the emergency legislation was brought in, we knew that there were lessons to learn. I will bring Charlotte in on that point.

I will bring in Charlotte McHaffie in a second.

I think that the tribunals service allows both tenants and landlords to have representation, which can come from a friend, a family member or someone from the third sector. I am aware of cases in which the likes of Shelter have taken part. Charlotte might want to touch on that.

This might relate to the discussion about tenants’ rights and whether they are aware of what is available to them. That goes back to what Ms Roddick asked about whether we should ensure that tenants are aware of their rights. Charlotte may want to touch on that. She can correct me if I am wrong, but I think that they have the ability to do that. We will consider how to support tenants who go to the tribunal so that they are aware of that right, but I think that that right is available.