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We will come back with that.

It is May 2025.

The business and regulatory impact assessment will look at the impact on the sector. That will probably be more of an issue for developers that have sole responsibility for the remediation of a building, because that will be the bigger cost, whereas the levy will be a contribution to a bigger pot. We have talked about the £10 million threshold for developers that sign up for the remediation of their buildings, because we understand the position of SMEs that might not have the wherewithal to do that, as it would not be viable. That is why we landed on the £10 million figure.

There were arguments for this to be done on a UK basis, because some of the developers are UK developers and we felt that that would have made more sense, but we are past that point. Inevitably, the levy—whether in England, Wales or here—was never going to be able to cover all the costs of remediation; the public purse was always going to have to make a significant contribution.

Obviously, the levers that we have are the ones that we have. The levy will make a contribution but, without a doubt, we will need a line of sight of capital provision for remediation over the next few years to ensure that it is adequate and at a level and of a trajectory to meet the required SBA outcomes and remediation work. There is a significant requirement on the public purse but, at the end of the day, all Governments have to step in when it comes to building safety and public safety.

I want people to have their buildings remediated and to be able to move on with their lives as soon as possible. However, getting it right is also important, as is Stephen Lea-Ross’s point about freeholders. If there is a single freeholder, as is the case in England, it is much easier to get agreement. However, in Scotland, there might be 100 home owners in a building and they must all be in agreement. That requires a different process, and the legislation will really help to push forward with SBAs when there is no agreement.

Yes, of course—

Those are similar issues to those that have been raised by the sector in England. Just last week, I had a meeting with a number of people who are involved in the sector and I would say, as I said then, that we are talking about orphan buildings for which there are developers who have responsibility. We would expect them to get on and remediate and meet the cost of that.

There is then the question of who pays for the remediation of buildings where no developer can be identified. It is not fair for that cost to fall on taxpayers and the public purse. It will, of course, require an element of funding from the public purse, and we have set out that we will meet our obligations there. However, a contribution from the sector is important, given that those buildings will require remediation.

We have set out an indication of what revenue we think that the order will raise in line with what the UK Government has anticipated that it will raise, and whatever it raises will be only a contribution to the overall costs of orphan buildings. It will not meet the entire cost; it is a contribution. It is about balance. It is not unfair to ask the sector to make a contribution, as the public purse will make a contribution to the remediation of buildings where there is no developer that can take responsibility for them.

That is my top-line response. I can understand the issues raised, but our approach is about putting in place a proportionate response.

It will be in year 4.

So it might be an overestimate, but that is the case for good reason.

Thank you very much, convener, and thanks for inviting me to give evidence and for being so accommodating on the timing so that I could attend the Finance and Public Administration Committee meeting earlier.

The Scottish Government, along with local authorities and public sector bodies across Scotland, faces a very challenging fiscal environment. My statement to Parliament on 3 September outlined some of those challenges and highlighted the difficult decisions that we are taking to achieve financial balance this year.

The 2025-26 Scottish budget will also be challenging. The £22 billion shortfall in the UK public finances, as outlined in the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s statement at the end of July following the Treasury’s spending audit, will undoubtedly result in a difficult UK budget on 30 October. That will have significant implications for the Scottish budget, which will result in difficult decisions having to be taken.

Despite the severe financial challenges that are faced and the worst-case-scenario autumn statement last November, the local government settlement this financial year provided record funding of more than £14 billion to local authorities—a real-terms increase of 2.5 per cent—and local government received an increased share of the funding that was at ministers’ disposal. Independent analysis by the Scottish Parliament information centre confirms that local government’s share of the discretionary Scottish budget is not only higher in 2024-25 than it was in 2023-24 but higher than it was in 2013-14.

Through the Verity house agreement, we renewed our commitment to a relationship with local government that is based on mutual trust and respect, and we agreed to seek new ways of working together to ensure that the people of Scotland receive the high-quality public services that they expect and deserve.

The first year of the Verity house agreement has seen positive progress being made in the implementation of the agreement’s principle. Most notably, £1 billion was baselined into the local government 2024-25 settlement. Councils now have more powers and opportunities to raise their own revenue through, for example, the visitor levy, the workplace parking levy and changes to the council tax treatment of properties, and there is the joint delivery of pay uplifts to at least £12 an hour for children’s social care workers and childcare workers.

I remain committed to continuing to make progress against our shared priorities in partnership with local government and to ensuring that we work collectively to deliver sustainable public services across Scotland. I look forward to engaging with members today and answering any questions that the committee may have.