Seòmar agus comataidhean

My understanding is that the minister at that time would still be able to bring in rent controls if they wished to do so. However, such circumstances would be highly unlikely. As you said, you are talking about the situation just now, and we do not know how circumstances might change in time.

Can you ask that again, so that I am clear in my mind?

As I mentioned, a new deal for tenants is part of our wider strategy. A key thing from that is the learning from coronavirus. As has been talked about, we are committed to a review. I ask Catriona MacKean to come in on that.

The tribunal is really important. I will touch on that in a wee second.

I will maybe bring in Charlotte McHaffie to talk about ethics. One key point is that the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service is a separate body. Obviously, we have on-going discussions about case numbers, staffing numbers and costs, and we have raised concerns about the time that the process has been taking, but the service is a separate body and the tribunal is a judicial decision maker, so we cannot interfere in that. It is all about trying to strike the right balance. The tribunal sits on its own.

Charlotte might want to touch on whether the ethics point has been discussed. As Mr Coffey will know, there are discussions between officials and the tribunals service, but the tribunal sits separately. Charlotte—do you want to add anything?

Just before Craig comes in, I will say that one of the key things that the tribunal offers is a less adversarial approach. Such discussions can, by their nature, be tricky, as you can appreciate. We should recognise the work that the tribunal does, in which it tries to promote a less adversarial approach in what can be really difficult discussions.

I will bring in Craig McGuffie on the point that Charlotte McHaffie made.

I will bring in Charlotte McHaffie in a wee second. I am happy to pick that up later if there is further detail on that, or if there is a specific case. Charlotte might want to come in on that specific point, because we hear about that happening occasionally.

That is fine by me.

Yes, you are right: that is an issue in relation to adaptations. One aspect is about ensuring that local authorities are more proactively aware of the adaptations that are required. There will be cases in which a person who is coming home from hospital needs adaptations to be made. There is guidance to encourage landlords to consider that and to move as quickly as possible. I do not see a situation in which a landlord would say no, unless there are real technical issues, such as in relation to changes involving heavy lifting gear. There is support and guidance in order to try to provide changes as quickly as we possibly can, which is really important.

I touched on category 1 and category 2 changes. It depends—if the adaptation involves a couple of handrails, I would not imagine that that would be an issue. If it involved lifting gear going in, for example, that might impact on the property, so I imagine that there would be discussions at an early stage about the technical stuff. However, there is support and guidance to encourage landlords to be as flexible as possible in that period, particularly in respect of the issues that you raise. I am sure that most landlords would be sympathetic, but it would depend on the level of adaptation.

Marie Curie has mentioned that point in recent discussions. I expect to get some correspondence about that matter, if it has not already come in. That suggestion is something that we could consider.

I have also had discussions with MND Scotland and Marie Curie about getting in place a process to deal with adaptations, because sometimes a situation is life threatening. In some cases, such as with cancer or motor neurone disease, things can happen very quickly. Therefore, it is important to get in place a structure to ensure that matters are dealt with. For example, we have been speaking to the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers about local authorities having a process to ensure that those people are prioritised. For the PRS sector, again, we should have a process in place for people who are terminally ill.

I fully expect that MND Scotland and Marie Curie will send in something in writing, and we would look at that sympathetically, because we are trying to get people in as comfortable a position as possible. As I said, both MND Scotland and Marie Curie have raised the matter in previous discussions, but we have not received anything yet, as far as I am aware.

That has been recognised as a key issue. I visited a rent deposit scheme to see the work that it does, and I was impressed by the way that it tries to return deposits to the best of its ability. Unclaimed deposits represent a substantial amount of money, and that is one of the key issues that it discussed with me. It is important to have the necessary contact information. It made the point that, sometimes, it has only one telephone number or email address and that, if somebody changes that, it suddenly cannot get hold of them. People get to the end of their tenancy, move on and forget about their deposit.