Seòmar agus comataidhean

We agreed at the start of the meeting to take in private the final items on our agenda. As we have no further public business to consider, I close the public part of the meeting.

To some degree, yes, but I am still not that clear on what evidence the target is based on.

If we go back to the original target of 100,000 affordable homes, I really appreciate your adding 11,000 extra rural and island homes on top of that, because those are crucial. You mentioned that the 100,000 target built on the 50,000 target from a previous session of Parliament. Where would we as a committee look to for an understanding of how that number was arrived at? That is still not clear to me.

Good morning, and welcome to the 23rd meeting in 2022 of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee. I ask all members and witnesses to ensure that their mobile phones are on silent and that all other notifications are turned off during the meeting.

The first item on the agenda is to decide whether to take items 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 in private. Do members agree to do so?

Members indicated agreement.

Agenda item 2 is to take evidence on the Scottish social housing charter, November 2022 from the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights, Patrick Harvie. Mr Harvie is accompanied by Michael Boal of the Scottish Government’s social housing charter and regulation team. I welcome Mr Harvie to the meeting.

Before I open up the session to questions from members—if anyone has any questions—I invite Mr Harvie to make a short opening statement.

Thank you for that opening statement and for setting out a range of aspects of this topic. We have a number of questions to take the conversation to a deeper level.

Before I bring in other members, I will lead with the theme of targets, meeting needs and place making. Something that has come up quite a bit in our conversations with stakeholders is the question of how the target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 will be delivered. How was that target set? What evidence is it based on? In what way does it relate to local assessments of need? Is the housing need and demand assessment process fit for purpose in giving us that kind of information?

I will continue the theme of meeting needs. In previous evidence, the committee heard about the challenges of providing the right homes in the right locations. For example, in written evidence, Highland Council said:

“Numbers alone should not be the sole determinant, though they are a useful target or ambition ... Government should be honest enough to question whether a lower but more focussed number may be more appropriate. In short, the right homes in the right place of the right size and right tenure at the right time and for the right people, adapted as required for needs is arguably more appropriate and may lead to a lower total number being more appropriate”.

What is your view of this statement?

We move to rural-focused questions from Miles Briggs.

The fourth item on our agenda today is to take evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government on the affordable housing programme, as part of our pre-budget scrutiny. Shona Robison is joined by Scottish Government officials from the more homes division: Alastair Dee is the area manager; and Colin MacBean is the deputy director.

Before I open the session to questions from members, I ask the cabinet secretary to make a short opening statement.

Thank you. We continue on that theme.

We will move on to theme 2, which is around the financial capacity of social landlords in balancing priorities.