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Esme Clelland, do you want to add anything?

You have all touched on the issue of resourcing in relation to the size of some planning authorities and their recruitment and retention issues. Resourcing of planning departments has been a major concern, which we have heard from nearly everyone who has given us written views and evidence. What can be done to tackle the issue? Do any of you have views about the potential ring fencing of planning fee income? The idea has been mooted that that could support, assist or strengthen some of that work.

It would be good to get a flavour of where you stand on that proposal, because resourcing is a problem. There is a need to maintain and retain staff, and there is a need to ensure that authorities have the calibre of staff who are able to do what is expected of them in the required timescale. As I said, everyone who has given us views has expressed concern about that, so it is obviously a major problem for the sector and for the industry.

When local development plans were proposed, people felt enthusiastic about them. They thought that that was the right way forward, and they were quite involved in and elated by the whole process. As we have progressed, concerns been raised about the slow progress in producing many of those plans. When taking evidence, we have had reports that many plans are rejected when they get to the gate check that was put in place as an attempt to manage the plans.

How can we ensure that the adoption of those new plans is accelerated? There was enthusiasm about putting them together, but it seems that there are some issues when the plans get as far as the gate check and they do not necessarily progress. People then wonder what the point was and ask where they should go from there. How can we try to ensure that there is better acceleration of the process?

As you identify, if planning takes longer to achieve, the applicant has to progress that, which can be costly. It now takes much longer for an application to progress than it did in the past. If there is only a handful or a minimum number of people in a planning department, it is virtually impossible to deal with all the applications—depending on the amount—in a regular timescale.

Esme Clelland, do you have anything to add?

That suggests that there might have been a misinterpretation of what was planned or what was expected from the execution of those plans. What support and training do you give? You said that there are things that might well happen in the future, but it is important to give the planning authorities confidence to start with. When something is rejected, people have not achieved their goal or ambition within the timescale, which can knock them back. Fife might well have been, as you said, the guinea pig in that process, but its overall experience might not have been an exciting one, given that it did not work for it; others have since felt the same. There is a need for some support to give planning authorities the aspiration to achieve. They want to get their plans together—they need those plans—but if they cannot do that within the timescale, that can sour the whole process.

Thank you.

The purpose of amendment 256, in the name of Pam Gosal, is to gather data on how the bill will affect the rental market and to make that data public. During an evidence session, the Minister for Housing commented:

“Data will be an important aspect of rent controls and of determining what comes through on a local basis, as well as nationally... What levels of investment are coming through for mid-market rent, build to rent and other forms of investment in the housing sector?”—[Official Report, Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, 10 September 2024; c 7.]

That is why the amendment provides for Scottish Government ministers to collect data that would be published annually. That would include:

“(a) average rental levels, broken down by—

(i) local authority area, and

(ii) number of bedrooms,

(b) the total number of evictions,

(c) the number of rental properties available on the housing market at the time of reporting,

(d) the total level of rent arrears.”

Of course, ministers would be free to add any other information that they felt appropriate. Data collection is key when measuring the effects that policies have on the public. If the proper data is not in place, we will not know whether the policy is causing more harm than good. Therefore, I ask members to support the amendment.

Good morning. The BBC has described current Ofcom quotas as complex, and it acknowledges that it is possible for a project to qualify as Scottish even if it only has a production office located here. In relation to the Scottish quota, how can Ofcom ensure that commissioning by the BBC and Channel 4 delivers unambiguous economic and creative growth in Scotland for the next decade?

There will be changes to BBC and Channel 4 production costs and production quotas as a result of the Media Act 2024, which will have an impact on how things are managed. How will Ofcom ensure that PSBs continue to work with producers in Scotland under the new regime?

It was about ensuring that you look first at the Scottish production companies and their crews, writers and directors to make sure that they get the opportunities.