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I heard you asking earlier this morning about whether properties in that condition should be let out. Obviously, the answer to that should be no. One of the issues that I have taken away from that is the question of where legally we sit on that. I can come back to the committee on that. I think that we have heard about the moral aspect. Should such a property be let out? The answer is no, but I want to take that issue away and check the legality of where we sit and the powers that we have in that regard. I can certainly come back to the committee on that.

Does Naeem Bhatti have anything to add?

At the moment, social landlords have to set out repair timelines in their repairs policy, under the categories of emergency, urgent and routine. You would think that serious cases of damp and mould would be classed as emergency or, certainly, urgent repairs. Tenants in the social sector already have a right to repair scheme, so repairs can be carried out. As part of that scheme, tenants can be entitled to compensation. This morning, the SPSO talked about compensation and reimbursement. The key difference is that damp and mould in a house can impact carpets, wallpaper and curtains, so that issue needs to be picked up.

Part of the discussion this morning was about setting timelines and having a timely response. I will probably investigate that issue further when I meet the regulator and the CIH, because it needs more investigation. As the CIH highlighted this morning, setting out timelines could hold things back, so there needs to be further discussion on the definition of a timely response. The CIH made that point today, and I will certainly discuss it.

The sector is already trying to set out its own guidance—indeed, it did so in February—so it is trying to get ahead of the game in Scotland in that respect.

When I meet the regulator, the CIH and local authorities over the next few months, a key thing for me will be to understand where they sit and to build up that relationship as housing minister. I think, though, that we are already ahead of the game with that. I note that, this morning, the regulator mentioned her review of the guidelines, and I imagine that that will be part of the discussion that I will have with her later this year.

The regulator sits on its own with regard to that issue and does not report to me. That is a key point. Earlier, the regulator talked about indicators for damp and mould. At the moment, it has the necessary powers. I think that it said that it would publish a review in April 2024. I have a meeting with the regulator relatively shortly, and I will ask for a report when the indicators come in in 2024. It would be worth having a meeting about anything that it brings forward.

One key thing that the regulator mentioned was consulting stakeholders. It could take another month or two for it to review the survey results, but it is incredibly important that it consults stakeholders. I noticed that you talked about Edinburgh earlier. It is important that the regulator speaks to a mix of local authorities, not only to your Edinburghs and your Glasgows. As I mentioned to Annie Wells, the more remote local authorities need to be included, too.

There should not be a one-size-fits-all approach to the issue, and the regulator will pick that up. I imagine that I will meet the regulator soon after that report is published. That is for the regulator to take forward.

I think that we have a good understanding. Obviously, the Scottish house condition survey is the main element of that just now. The last one was in 2019, and I think that we heard from witnesses this morning that the next one is due in January 2024. Over the past few years, Covid has had an impact on getting proper surveys done. I know that external surveys were carried out.

Some of the evidence that the committee took this morning from CIH, the Scottish Housing Regulator and the SPSO demonstrates that a real collaborative approach is needed. SHR and CIH mentioned that and the work that they are doing to try to gather information. Local authorities also seem to be doing that. One thing that I took from this morning’s evidence session was that there is now more understanding of the reporting systems and where residents and tenants need to go for help. We have probably seen an increase in some of the figures—that was mentioned this morning—but it is good that tenants now have better understanding of that. The new survey that will come out in January 2024, which is about seven months away, will give us a greater understanding of the situation.

The SFHA made a good point, and that was picked up by the First Minister, who tripled the fund to £30 million to recognise that there is an issue in that regard. That is the broader picture.

We are talking about heating costs, but food costs are also going up, so there is a broader impact. We will be undertaking an evaluation of the effectiveness of the fuel insecurity fund. A key point is that I also have responsibility for debt and welfare advice, so I have had initial meetings with agencies about that. It is about trying to ensure that they have the capacity to deal with the issue. That is an incredibly important issue that I have already raised with them, because we want to ensure that people can access that advice as well as the fuel insecurity fund.

We will evaluate the scheme later on this year. It has had a positive impact so far, but the issue is not going to go away this year. I think that it will continue for a number of years, so we need to support the sector in dealing with it. As I said, the fuel insecurity fund does that, and I have talked before about the net zero energy fund. It is about trying to understand how we can accelerate the programme, because the more houses that are net zero and more energy efficient, the better the housing stock becomes in each area and across Scotland.

I knew that that question was coming because I watched the earlier session and heard you saying that you were going ask it later on.

I will be back in a few weeks’ time to talk about another important issue.

Thanks, convener.

I think so, but I will ask Naeem Bhatti to respond on that. On your previous question, though, I should say that the charter is reviewed every five years, but there are on-going discussions and it is looked at on an on-going basis.

That is a really important point to make. Thanks for that.