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One of the key things—I do not think that we have referred to it—is the energy efficiency standard for social housing 2—EESSH2. At the moment, it comes back to the local authorities and the LHEES, which is incredibly important. Let us take my local authority area, East Lothian, for example. There is a lot of rural housing there, so how do we ensure that there are systems that do not exacerbate damp and mould? Through the LHEES, we will ask what technology is relevant for each place. It might be the same for all tenements in Glasgow, for example. Part of the work on the LHEES, which is due out by the end of the year, will focus on what technology is relevant in particular parts of the country.

You asked about climate and rural issues, and we have been talking about tenements in Glasgow. The LHEES will be an incredibly important part of what each local authority is doing and will set out what technology will be used.

The latest house condition survey had figures for each local authority. I will bring in Darren Knox on that in a second. Edinburgh did not come high on that list, but that is not to say that it is not an issue now, because that survey took place in 2019.

As I said, I am trying to get around as many local authorities as possible, and you and I have met to discuss housing issues in Edinburgh. I will be meeting the City of Edinburgh Council every four to six weeks to talk about broader issues, and this issue will be part of those discussions. There has been discussion about engagement with Edinburgh through the regulator, and I imagine that I will pick up that issue with the regulator.

I will bring in Darren Knox if there is anything that he wants to add. Miles Briggs and I will meet on a regular basis about the issues in Edinburgh, and I will discuss them with the council. I am more than happy to keep up the discussions on damp and mould and other issues.

That is an important point. Talking about the private rented sector and the social rented sector, rather than the owner-occupied sector, the prevalence of damp and mould was 12 per cent in the social rented sector and 12 per cent in the private rented sector.

We have talked about what we are doing in the social rented sector, but how we engage with the private rented sector is important. The Scottish Government issued a new repair standard in March 2023, which provided statutory guidance for private landlords on dampness and mould, among other things. The social rented sector has come together and has taken a lead on the issue, and I will have meetings with other stakeholders in the private rented sector to talk about it.

I encourage the private rented sector to work towards good practice. That will be key in order to establish what support the private rented sector needs from the Scottish Government. For me, a lot of it comes back to the information that can go out to residents and tenants, which is key. Sometimes, it is easier for the social rented sector to share information with, say, 6,000, 7,000 or 8,000 tenants, whereas the private sector is different—probably more diverse.

The house condition survey mentions condensation and mould, but I should say first of all that the prevalence of those things is coming down. For example, the prevalence of condensation has come down from 11 per cent in 2011 to 8 per cent in 2019, which is quite a difference. Similarly, the prevalence of mould dropped from 12 per cent to 9 per cent—or from 290,000 homes to 230,000. I also point out that, according to the survey, less than 2 per cent of homes were affected.

This comes back to the duty on local authorities to go out and do that work themselves, as we have been talking about this morning. Indeed, they have the moral authority to do so. I cannot recall who said it, but people have been trying to do tenant surveys to find out more about the matter. I know that we will probably come on to how we resource that later on in the committee’s questions.

The Scottish Government works collaboratively with the CIH and local authorities on establishing the cause and extent of the problem. Is it 95 per cent or less than 2 per cent? I am not saying that that is not an issue, but we have to focus, first and foremost, on the most urgent cases.

I hope that the updated survey will give us a more accurate figure. I mentioned that Covid did not allow us to go into people’s properties to see the conditions. Once we get the results of the survey in 2024, which was carried out during 2022, we will have a more accurate reflection of where that issue sits than we had a couple of years ago, when only external investigations were taking place.

At the moment, we have the Scottish housing quality standard. We have discussed how it is measured, but there is an onus on local authorities, private landlords and RSLs to look at it.

As for the new housing standard, I would point out that the housing to 2040 strategic board has met once, and the new standard is being brought forward by the Government as part of that. Work is being progressed on it, and we will report back to the committee on it. It is a matter of engaging with stakeholders, and it is certainly one of the issues that will be raised in the meeting that we are planning to have.

We have talked before about the Parliament looking at an all-tenure standard, and work is being progressed on that. However, I think that, as far as the standards are concerned, it would be worth coming back to the committee at a later stage on the issue. Progress is still at an early stage, and feedback from stakeholders will be incredibly important in developing the policy and taking it forward.

There are a number of things in that regard that we have talked about this morning, one of which is the information that is out there. There is also the reporting issue. A key thing that struck me this morning was the collaborative approach that the CIHS and the regulator are taking with the Government to ensure that we are all working together, because it is really important that we join the dots in relation to this.

Another important issue that we need to look at is the all-tenure standard. As far as the housing to 2040 strategic board is concerned, stakeholder involvement at an early stage will be incredibly important in developing such things.

Going back to Mr Coffey’s point about taking a timeous approach, I think that stakeholders will certainly discuss that issue. We and the regulator have talked about what she will be doing with her guidelines, and we will be working very closely with other bodies as they develop their own thoughts.

The charter was reviewed just last November, and I think that, at the time, the stakeholder feedback was that things were going relatively well. I am encouraged by the reports that are being made, because the more that people report these things, the more that we will be aware of the prevalence of damp and mould. However, it is an on-going process; the charter will obviously be reviewed on an on-going basis. As I said, the feedback that we got from the previous consultation was that things were going quite well.

Of course, this is all about meeting the Scottish housing quality standard, which needs to be in place but which nevertheless provides some flexibility in the charter. As I said, the charter will be reviewed on a regular and on-going basis, but the feedback that we got from stakeholders was that things were going relatively well. That was just last November, or six to nine months ago, so that feedback is still relatively new.

I picked that up from Callum Chomczuk in the previous session and from others during previous committee meetings. My officials and I can take that away and consider it. We have talked about the private rented sector, RSLs and council housing, and so on. There is an element of how we can standardise information. I have taken that away from the evidence that the committee has heard, and I will speak to my officials and come back to you.

It comes back to the point that you mentioned before, convener. If, in certain circumstances, people feel that there is no support, they tend not to look for it. We need to see how we can be more proactive in providing our support—that is an important part of looking at this issue.

Thank you, convener. It is good to be back, but it is weird to be sitting at this side of the table, having been a member of the committee.

Good morning, and thank you for inviting me to speak about this important topic. I am grateful to all those who have contributed to the discussion thus far. I watched most of the earlier session this morning.

The tragic death of Awaab Ishak in Rochdale in 2020 has highlighted the issue of damp and mould in housing. No one should lose their life as a result of their home not being fit for purpose, and it is right that we consider what further actions we can take together here in Scotland to ensure that that never happens again.

The quality of housing has improved over a number of years due to this Government’s action. The Scottish house condition survey shows that disrepair to critical elements of the home reduced by 9 percentage points between 2012 and 2019. It also found that more than 90 per cent of homes have no damp or condensation.

The introduction of the Scottish housing quality standard in social housing in 2012 and the strengthening of the repairing standard for the private rental sector show our commitment to making improvements. However, we recognise that there is much to do to make sure that we continue to eradicate the remaining poor-quality housing in Scotland. I know that we will talk about the scale of the issues later.

We heard witnesses at the committee meeting on 2 May talk about the impact of living with damp and mould. They said that damp and mould can negatively affect all parts of people’s lives, including their physical and mental health, social connections, employment and education. We must keep that in mind as we move forward.

The Scottish Government takes the safety of tenants very seriously, and it is committed to tackling disrepair in housing and ensuring that good maintenance is given a high priority. Everyone should have a warm, safe and affordable home. Access to good-quality housing is the focus of our “Housing to 2040” strategy, and it is a vital part of our drive to secure economic growth, promote social justice, strengthen communities and tackle inequality.

I was therefore delighted to hear the national landlord representatives in the previous session talking about how seriously they take the issue of damp and mould in housing. That has been exemplified by the excellent guidance that the social sector produced in February this year, which makes it clear that responding to damp and mould primarily or initially as a lifestyle problem is inappropriate and ineffective.

The statutory guidance for the private sector on the updated repairing standard issued by the Scottish Government in March this year sets out private landlords’ responsibilities on dealing with damp and mould. The Scottish Government will continue to work with stakeholders to strengthen the guidance that is available for landlords and to ensure that tenants are able to escalate their concerns to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland housing and property chamber, where needed.

As the Minister for Housing, I am determined to ensure that we continue to make progress in improving Scotland’s housing, including eradicating the serious issue of damp and mould.

Thank you again for inviting me along today. I look forward to your questions.