All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 491 contributions
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 25 April 2023
Mark Griffin
My experience is that, quite often, asset transfers happen almost as a last resort, when there is a proposal to close a facility and the local community does not want to lose it. Your comment is helpful.
Are we doing enough to build capacity in communities and to support them to get involved in decision making? How are we supporting existing infrastructure, and what role do community councils have in community planning? I ask Councillor Heddle to respond first.
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 25 April 2023
Mark Griffin
Thanks, minister.
Councillor Heddle, do you have anything to add? Are you able to point to anything that shows that the nation is more empowered than it was when the 2015 act was passed?
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 25 April 2023
Mark Griffin
Are you able to set out how the Government feels that local planning authorities should balance the policies and proposals that they consult on and develop locally with potential competing interests or clashes with NPF4? How do you expect planning authorities to resolve those issues? You talked about the guidance that you plan to release to supplement NPF4. When might that be released?
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 25 April 2023
Mark Griffin
Minister, do you have anything to add to that?
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 18 April 2023
Mark Griffin
Does Nigel Sellars have any knowledge of that?
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 18 April 2023
Mark Griffin
That level of detail is really helpful. Do you or your members have any indication of any properties in which residents are finding that increased premiums, before remediation happens, are simply unaffordable, and are some buildings going uninsured?
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 18 April 2023
Mark Griffin
I will go to Alastair Ross first. How, since Grenfell, has the insurance industry adapted to provide home owners or tenants with affordable insurance in buildings that are clad with potentially combustible materials? Are there different approaches to different parts of the UK, or is the insurance industry acting in a regimented way across the piece when it comes to providing insurance for home owners or tenants?
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 18 April 2023
Mark Griffin
I have no comments, but I will declare an interest in relation to the private residential tenancies and assured tenancies regulations as I am the owner of a private rented property.
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 18 April 2023
Mark Griffin
I have a final question for you, Alastair, because you touched on your experience of working on the Welsh stakeholder group. On the process of cladding remediation—rather than assessments and everything that goes before that—where are we in Scotland in comparison to England and Wales? I know that Wales already has a number of schemes in operation, including the pact with developers, loans and different funds. Where are we on progress on actual remediation of the problem?
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 18 April 2023
Mark Griffin
I have a question for Calum McQueen and Nigel Sellars. Do surveyors and fire safety assessors still have difficulties getting indemnity cover for their work, or has that got a bit easier since we last covered that topic a year ago?