Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Priorities in Session 6
Background
In September 2021 the Committee held a number of evidence sessions to help inform its priorities for Session 6 of the Scottish Parliament. These meetings involved taking evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, COSLA and other key stakeholders. The meeting papers and official reports can be accessed via the links below.
After these meetings, the Committee agreed its broad priorities for Session 6, whilst also remaining conscious of the potential for other, more reactive work to arise.
The agreed priorities were—
• Non-Domestic Rates
• Local Governance Review
• Local Government Elections (with a focus on understanding barriers to participation in local elected politics)
• Post-Legislative Review of the Community Empowerment Act—
o Part 2: Community Planning; and
o Part 9: Allotments
• National Planning Framework (NPF4)
• Housing issues, including—
o affordable housing;
o the implications of increasing material costs and skills shortages as they relate to rural housing;
o costs of retrofitting
o improving housing outcomes for women and children experiencing domestic abuse; and
o the forthcoming rental sector strategy;
o Short-term lets;
o review of the Scottish Social Housing Charter
• Forthcoming legislation including the National Care Service Bill and the Covid Recovery Bill
Tracker Reports
In June 2022, the Committee agreed to produce a report annually reflecting on its work in the preceding year, tracking ongoing work, the Scottish Government’s response to that work and looking ahead to work in the coming year.
The Committee believes that a critical feature of an effective committee is a commitment to follow-up on its inquiries and ensure that the recommendations it has made have been acted upon and progress has been made. The Committee believes that this report is a key element of this follow-up work, allowing it to track its work and in turn hold the Scottish Government to account.
The first tracker report of the session can be accessed here and reflects upon the work of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee in the first year of session 6, It also looks ahead to the Committee’s work in its second year. This report will form a baseline for all future reports and the work highlighted here will be returned to in future reports.
Timetable
Tuesday 21 September
Stakeholder round-table meeting
Tuesday 28 September
Stakeholder round-table meeting