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The house condition survey mentions condensation and mould, but I should say first of all that the prevalence of those things is coming down. For example, the prevalence of condensation has come down from 11 per cent in 2011 to 8 per cent in 2019, which is quite a difference. Similarly, the prevalence of mould dropped from 12 per cent to 9 per cent—or from 290,000 homes to 230,000. I also point out that, according to the survey, less than 2 per cent of homes were affected.

This comes back to the duty on local authorities to go out and do that work themselves, as we have been talking about this morning. Indeed, they have the moral authority to do so. I cannot recall who said it, but people have been trying to do tenant surveys to find out more about the matter. I know that we will probably come on to how we resource that later on in the committee’s questions.

The Scottish Government works collaboratively with the CIH and local authorities on establishing the cause and extent of the problem. Is it 95 per cent or less than 2 per cent? I am not saying that that is not an issue, but we have to focus, first and foremost, on the most urgent cases.

I hope that the updated survey will give us a more accurate figure. I mentioned that Covid did not allow us to go into people’s properties to see the conditions. Once we get the results of the survey in 2024, which was carried out during 2022, we will have a more accurate reflection of where that issue sits than we had a couple of years ago, when only external investigations were taking place.

At the moment, we have the Scottish housing quality standard. We have discussed how it is measured, but there is an onus on local authorities, private landlords and RSLs to look at it.

As for the new housing standard, I would point out that the housing to 2040 strategic board has met once, and the new standard is being brought forward by the Government as part of that. Work is being progressed on it, and we will report back to the committee on it. It is a matter of engaging with stakeholders, and it is certainly one of the issues that will be raised in the meeting that we are planning to have.

We have talked before about the Parliament looking at an all-tenure standard, and work is being progressed on that. However, I think that, as far as the standards are concerned, it would be worth coming back to the committee at a later stage on the issue. Progress is still at an early stage, and feedback from stakeholders will be incredibly important in developing the policy and taking it forward.

There are a number of things in that regard that we have talked about this morning, one of which is the information that is out there. There is also the reporting issue. A key thing that struck me this morning was the collaborative approach that the CIHS and the regulator are taking with the Government to ensure that we are all working together, because it is really important that we join the dots in relation to this.

Another important issue that we need to look at is the all-tenure standard. As far as the housing to 2040 strategic board is concerned, stakeholder involvement at an early stage will be incredibly important in developing such things.

Going back to Mr Coffey’s point about taking a timeous approach, I think that stakeholders will certainly discuss that issue. We and the regulator have talked about what she will be doing with her guidelines, and we will be working very closely with other bodies as they develop their own thoughts.

The charter was reviewed just last November, and I think that, at the time, the stakeholder feedback was that things were going relatively well. I am encouraged by the reports that are being made, because the more that people report these things, the more that we will be aware of the prevalence of damp and mould. However, it is an on-going process; the charter will obviously be reviewed on an on-going basis. As I said, the feedback that we got from the previous consultation was that things were going quite well.

Of course, this is all about meeting the Scottish housing quality standard, which needs to be in place but which nevertheless provides some flexibility in the charter. As I said, the charter will be reviewed on a regular and on-going basis, but the feedback that we got from stakeholders was that things were going relatively well. That was just last November, or six to nine months ago, so that feedback is still relatively new.

I picked that up from Callum Chomczuk in the previous session and from others during previous committee meetings. My officials and I can take that away and consider it. We have talked about the private rented sector, RSLs and council housing, and so on. There is an element of how we can standardise information. I have taken that away from the evidence that the committee has heard, and I will speak to my officials and come back to you.

It comes back to the point that you mentioned before, convener. If, in certain circumstances, people feel that there is no support, they tend not to look for it. We need to see how we can be more proactive in providing our support—that is an important part of looking at this issue.

Thank you, convener. It is good to be back, but it is weird to be sitting at this side of the table, having been a member of the committee.

Good morning, and thank you for inviting me to speak about this important topic. I am grateful to all those who have contributed to the discussion thus far. I watched most of the earlier session this morning.

The tragic death of Awaab Ishak in Rochdale in 2020 has highlighted the issue of damp and mould in housing. No one should lose their life as a result of their home not being fit for purpose, and it is right that we consider what further actions we can take together here in Scotland to ensure that that never happens again.

The quality of housing has improved over a number of years due to this Government’s action. The Scottish house condition survey shows that disrepair to critical elements of the home reduced by 9 percentage points between 2012 and 2019. It also found that more than 90 per cent of homes have no damp or condensation.

The introduction of the Scottish housing quality standard in social housing in 2012 and the strengthening of the repairing standard for the private rental sector show our commitment to making improvements. However, we recognise that there is much to do to make sure that we continue to eradicate the remaining poor-quality housing in Scotland. I know that we will talk about the scale of the issues later.

We heard witnesses at the committee meeting on 2 May talk about the impact of living with damp and mould. They said that damp and mould can negatively affect all parts of people’s lives, including their physical and mental health, social connections, employment and education. We must keep that in mind as we move forward.

The Scottish Government takes the safety of tenants very seriously, and it is committed to tackling disrepair in housing and ensuring that good maintenance is given a high priority. Everyone should have a warm, safe and affordable home. Access to good-quality housing is the focus of our “Housing to 2040” strategy, and it is a vital part of our drive to secure economic growth, promote social justice, strengthen communities and tackle inequality.

I was therefore delighted to hear the national landlord representatives in the previous session talking about how seriously they take the issue of damp and mould in housing. That has been exemplified by the excellent guidance that the social sector produced in February this year, which makes it clear that responding to damp and mould primarily or initially as a lifestyle problem is inappropriate and ineffective.

The statutory guidance for the private sector on the updated repairing standard issued by the Scottish Government in March this year sets out private landlords’ responsibilities on dealing with damp and mould. The Scottish Government will continue to work with stakeholders to strengthen the guidance that is available for landlords and to ensure that tenants are able to escalate their concerns to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland housing and property chamber, where needed.

As the Minister for Housing, I am determined to ensure that we continue to make progress in improving Scotland’s housing, including eradicating the serious issue of damp and mould.

Thank you again for inviting me along today. I look forward to your questions.

There are a number of issues. Callum Chomczuk from CIH talked about the issues that social landlords currently face. I think that he mentioned three elements: the retrofitting agenda, existing repairs and, most important, the affordable housing supply programme.

One of the key things—I have already met the City of Edinburgh Council and Glasgow City Council about this, and I plan to meet as many local authorities as I can in the next months—is to try to understand the individual circumstances. Obviously, the affordable housing supply programme is an important part of delivery, because local authorities have to comply with the new standards to ensure that there is no damp or mould.

As we know, it is a struggle to address the issues around construction inflation, which is around 20 per cent, and interest rates are also causing an issue. Yes, we must increase what we are doing around the affordable housing supply programme—there is no doubt about that—but we need to get a greater understanding of all the local authorities. Certainly, the meetings that I have had with the City of Edinburgh Council and Glasgow City Council in the past week or so have given me a greater understanding, which is important.

On other schemes, other funds are available, including the social housing net zero heat fund, which local authorities can use. It is about getting an understanding of local authorities and exactly where they sit. The affordable housing supply programme is incredibly important, but we need a greater understanding of where each local authority sits, and we need to measure the impact of what they are doing in their individual circumstances.

There are a number of points to make. One is that it depends on where you are in the country. That is an important aspect, and that is why it is important for me to get around as many local authorities as I can. As I said, I had a chat with Glasgow City Council just last week. That council and the City of Edinburgh Council raised that issue. However, it is important to go to authorities in the Highlands, for example, which might have a completely different view in the context of where they are.

One of the key things to know—this might not be known; I suppose that it is about getting the message out there—is that local authorities can make representation as a third party. Therefore, it is about trying to understand how local authorities interact with tenants and residents on that.

Another key thing that I have talked about is the organisations that are out there that can provide support. Annie Wells may know that I was a councillor for 15 years. I interacted with Shelter a number of times on those issues. It was helpful, as was the citizens advice bureau. The other organisation that can help is the Scottish Association of Law Centres. Those organisations were very helpful.

I go back to the point that Callum Chomczuk from CIH made. I suppose that there is more understanding of the issue. One of the key challenges for the Scottish Government, through debt and welfare agencies, and for local authorities is to make sure that the information about support is out there for tenants.

The housing and property chamber is probably less adversarial, but even just saying to somebody that they are going to the First-tier Tribunal would probably put them off. There are previous examples that showed that that did put people off.

For me, it is about trying to ensure that there is a support mechanism for tenants, because as soon as people see the word “tribunal”, they automatically back off. It is about working with the debt and welfare agencies and local authorities to make sure that they get the message out. That is incredibly important. As I said, I knew people who backed off in my 15 years as a councillor. I saw examples of that.

As I said, we are trying to work at that. That is part of the reason why I am trying to go around as many local authorities as possible. I am trying to understand where they sit and what we can do. A one-size-fits-all approach will not suit everybody. We need to understand how we can support the smaller and the more remote local authorities as well as the big ones in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen and so on.

It was quite important that we saw in some of the feedback that came through that there can be complex issues around damp and mould. There is already guidance out there—a briefing that went out on 1 March was referred to—and that continues. That issue merits further discussion. I think that we heard that from the witnesses this morning. I have meetings with CIH and the regulator coming up, and we will probably discuss that.

At the moment, the tolerable standard sets out what the housing should be. It should be free from damp and mould. Specific definitions can be quite complex, but I think that satisfactory guidance is out there at the moment. Witnesses in this morning’s evidence session were tentative in their answers on that.

Does Naeem Bhatti have anything to add in that regard?