Seòmar agus comataidhean

Through the work of the Construction Leadership Forum (CLF) which I chair the Scottish Government is keen to see renewed focus on construction quality, including regulatory compliance, which will improve life-cycle value to clients and productivity of the industry.

The CLF meets bi-monthly with trade union, construction industry and government representatives collaborating on driving progress on the Construction Recovery Plan, which contains a range of practical actions to support the sector. As part of the transformation sub group of the CLF, work is ongoing on an action to gather and disseminate lessons from construction quality improvement initiatives and issue guidance on maintaining focus on construction quality and regulatory compliance during economic downturn. Another action is to establish the infrastructure to take forward and accelerate the work of the Construction Quality Improvement Collaborative.

We are working with the UK Government to explore how the proposed New Homes Ombudsman scheme provided for in the UK Building Safety Bill could operate in Scotland. We will continue this engagement to try to achieve a scheme that works for Scotland and respects the devolution settlement to ensure that buyers can purchase new-build homes with confidence and be assured that any problems relating to quality will be resolved effectively and efficiently.

In relation to the Building Standards system and to improve compliance with the building regulations, a consultation on proposals on the introduction of a new Compliance Plan Manager role, the definition of high risk buildings and penalties and enforcement was issued on 11 November 2021 and closed on 9 February 2022. Raised standards in this respect would be to ensure buildings meet the minimum building regulatory standard.

Further advice can be obtained from consumeradvice.scot which is a free consumer helpline funded by the Scottish Government.

It is the statutory responsibility of local authorities to manage their school estate. The precise details regarding the number of spaces where this approach has been used to manage specific ventilation issues is not held by the Scottish Government.

There is no such proposal.

As was made clear in the letter to the Committee, an undercut of a door was only one element of the example set of remedial measures used to illustrate the appropriate level of overall additional funding that might be needed to tackle problematic spaces. The other elements that formed part of the example were temporary use of an air cleaning device and installation of small mechanical ventilation units.

Local authorities are fully aware that they should undertake any remedial work in line with Scottish Government guidance on ventilation and expert input.

Yes, every learning, teaching and play space in Scotland was assessed by local authorities last term.

However, we and our local authority partners recognise the importance of continuing this work and guidance has been updated to advise that every learning, teaching and play space should be monitored at least one full day every week.

The example scenario used to generate overall costings for the up-to-£5m funding was developed with input from the Scottish Futures Trust, and drew on the costings that had already been developed for the Business Ventilation Fund with input from the expert Covid-19 Ventilation Short Life Working Group.

As was made clear in the letter to the Committee, an undercut of a door was only one element of the example set of remedial measures used to calculate the up-to-£5m fund. The other elements that formed part of the example were temporary use of an air cleaning device and installation of small mechanical ventilation units.

Inclusion of the potential for a door undercut in the example is fully in line with expert advice. This makes clear that undercuts (small gaps at the bottom of a door) allow air pressure to be equalised on each side of the door, to ensure that additional force on one side does not make the door difficult to open. This includes cases where the pressure increase caused by mechanical ventilation systems – another key element of the example scenario – could impair the normal safe operation of a door. It was for this reason that this element was included in the example scenario.

The Scottish Government currently has no initiatives specifically designed to support the growth of the Build to Rent sector. Any Build to Rent development proposals are considered through the planning system taking into account relevant issues and impacts.

The Department for Education has undertaken a review of air cleaning devices likely to be suitable for use in schools, and associated costs, to support a centralised procurement strategy. This information was therefore utilised to assist in building up our cost assumptions.

Only a small number of local authorities in Scotland have to date chosen to utilise air cleaning devices, in a very small number of problematic spaces as a temporary measure.

The foremost reason for us enhancing ventilation during the COVID-19 pandemic is to ensure schools are as safe as possible for children, young people and staff.

However, we are aware that good air quality should also contribute to enhancing children’s cognitive function of learning in education environments.

Discussions are ongoing regarding the proposed distribution of the Financial Transactions available for 2022-23. We plan to continue to support the Open Market Shared Equity scheme, but allocations have not yet been agreed for the full use of these funds.

Tourism, planning and housing officials have worked closely together on the development of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022 and Town Country Planning (Short-term Let Control Areas) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022. The policy area taking the lead will depend on the specifics of each case.

However, generally the short-term lets policy team within the Directorate for Housing and Social Justice are responsible for matters relating to the short-term lets licensing scheme and control area regulations, which fall within my portfolio remit.

The overall responsibility for tourism businesses and tourism strategy remains with the tourism policy team within the Directorate for Economic Development, which fall within the remit of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy.