Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
The Committee was established in June 2021. It focuses on:
- local government (including councils)
- the planning system in Scotland
- housing and housing strategy
- building standards
Next meeting
13th Meeting, 2024
Agenda: Decision on taking business in private, Rural and island housing, Rural and island housing
09:30am, 30 April 2024
T4.60-CR6 The Livingstone Room
Get in touch
If you want to get in touch, you can contact Euan Donald, the Clerk for the committee.
Address: The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, EH99 1SP
Phone: 0131 348 5980 Find out about call charges.
Email: [email protected]
X (previously known as Twitter): @SP_LocalGov
If you're appearing as a witness at a committee, take a look at our witness guide for more information.
Members
Members of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Current Members
Ariane Burgess
Convener
Party: Scottish Green Party
MSP for: Highlands and Islands (Region)
Willie Coffey
Deputy Convener
Party: Scottish National Party
MSP for: Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley (Constituency)
Miles Briggs
Member
Party: Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
MSP for: Lothian (Region)
Stephanie Callaghan
Member
Party: Scottish National Party
MSP for: Uddingston and Bellshill (Constituency)
Pam Gosal
Member
Party: Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
MSP for: West Scotland (Region)
Mark Griffin
Member
Party: Scottish Labour
MSP for: Central Scotland (Region)
Gordon MacDonald
Member
Party: Scottish National Party
MSP for: Edinburgh Pentlands (Constituency)
Substitute Members
Colin Beattie
Substitute Member
Party: Scottish National Party
MSP for: Midlothian North and Musselburgh (Constituency)
Maggie Chapman
Substitute Member
Party: Scottish Green Party
MSP for: North East Scotland (Region)
Alex Rowley
Substitute Member
Party: Scottish Labour
MSP for: Mid Scotland and Fife (Region)
Brian Whittle
Substitute Member
Party: Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
MSP for: South Scotland (Region)
Committee work
Current
Building Safety and Maintenance
Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act
Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill
Housing (Scotland) Bill
Housing to 2040
National Care Service (Scotland) Bill
National Planning Framework
Priorities in Session 6
Understanding barriers to participation in local politics
Verity House Agreement and New Deal with Local Government
Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill
Previous
Allotments and the Community Empowerment Act
Community Planning Inquiry: Post-Legislative Scrutiny of the Community Empowerment Act 2015
Coronavirus Recovery and Reform Bill
Non Domestic Rates Coronavirus Scotland Bill
Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2023/24
Regulations on proposals made by Boundaries Scotland
Short-term lets regulations
Future
Future work
At its meeting on 20 June 2023, the Committee agreed a programme of future work. The programme is structured around a set of key themes under each element of the Committee’s remit.
Local Government
At the heart of the Committee’s work on local government is a focus on ensuring that it can be as effective as possible in delivering for the communities it serves and empowering those communities.
This work is connected to the Local Governance Review and New Deal for Local Government, with all other parts of the Committee’s work, linked to these two projects.
In looking at empowering both local government and in turn communities, the Committee will look at the relationship between central and local government, what local government needs to work well and if attitudes should change to ensure that power is devolved to the right levels to provide real community empowerment.
The Committee’s work will focus on the following key themes:
• Are local government and central government working well together as equal partners to deliver on shared priorities and reduce inequalities?
• Does local government have the necessary: clarity on what issues they should deal with and what central government should deal with; certainty of funding; flexibility; and autonomy to work effectively and meet the challenges faced in each local authority area?
• Do we have the right structures in place to allow local government to be effective, maintain services and support its workforce?
• Are communities being empowered and supported to shape their priorities and deliver them?
In pursuing these themes, the Committee will continue to undertake work in relation to:
• The Local Governance Review
• The New Deal for local government
• Understanding barriers to local elected office
• Post-legislative scrutiny of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015
• Community Councils
The Committee will also focus its budget scrutiny this year on the local government budget and more specifically on workforce issues in local government.
In addition, the Committee will consider the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill and will begin work looking at community wealth building.
Housing
The second element of the Committee’s remit relates to housing matters.
Central to the Committee’s work is a focus on ensuring that Scotland has the number of homes needed to meet current and future need and that house building is taking place in the right places and to the right standards.
The Scottish Government sets out its ambitions for housing in Housing to 2040 and the Committee’s scrutiny will focus on the adequacy of that strategy.
The Committee will focus on the following themes:
• Building enough homes or bringing enough homes back into use to meet current and future housing needs
• Building homes with a focus on placemaking
• Creating and sustaining a mix of housing that is financially and physically accessible to all
• Building homes that provide for affordable warmth and zero emissions
• Ensuring that new and existing homes are safe and of a high quality
In pursuing these themes, in the context of Housing to 2040 the Committee will continue to pursue work in relation to:
• the delivery of the affordable housing supply programme
• retrofitting of housing for net zero
• short-term lets
• damp and mould in the rental sector
• cladding
• the Minimum All Tenure Housing Land Requirement and Housing Needs Demand Assessment tool
• the Cost of Living (Tenant Protections) Scotland Act 2022 Regulations
Over the course of this year the Committee also expects to consider the Scottish Government’s climate change plan and a housing bill.
Planning
The Committee’s focus around planning continues to be on the National Planning Framework 4, which came into effect in February 2023.
The Committee has agreed to undertake an annual review to see how it is being translated into local development plans and the extent to which it is achieving its transformational aims.
Correspondence
Committee correspondence
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
A letter from the Minister for Housing, 22 April 2024
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Building Safety and Maintenance and Housing to 2040
A letter from the Minister for Housing, 9 April 2024
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Marches Parades and Static Demonstrations
A letter from the Minister for Victims and Community Safety, 28 March 2024
Official Reports
Official Reports
Meeting date: Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Decision on Taking Business in Private, “Local government in Scotland: Financial bulletin 2022/23”, Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Meeting date: Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Interests, Decision on Taking Business in Private, Building Safety and Maintenance and Housing to 2040
Meeting date: Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Decision on Taking Business in Private, Community Wealth Building, Subordinate Legislation
Meeting date: Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Decision on Taking Business in Private, Interests, Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2, Subordinate Legislation
Meeting date: Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Decision on Taking Business in Private, Subordinate Legislation
Meeting date: Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Decision on Taking Business in Private, Housing to 2040, Subordinate Legislation
Meeting date: Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Interests, Decision on Taking Business in Private, Housing to 2040
Meeting date: Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Decision on Taking Business in Private, Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1, Subordinate Legislation
Meeting date: Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Decision on Taking Business in Private, Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
Meeting date: Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
Reports
Committee reports
A report on subordinate legislation laid to support Part 1 of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 (?the 2022 Act?) coming to an end on 31 March 2024
Report on the Local Authority (Capital Finance and Accounting) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2024
Stage 1 Report on Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill
A report of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee on the general principles of the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill.
Remit
To consider and report on matters relating to local government and planning falling within the responsibility of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and matters relating to housing and tenants’ rights within the responsibility of the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and matters relating to the Local Government Boundary Commission and local governance review and democratic renewal within the responsibility of the Deputy First Minister.