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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 11 August 2025
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Displaying 760 contributions

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Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 19 September 2023

Dr Pam Gosal MBE

Could I ask one more quick question please, convener?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 19 September 2023

Dr Pam Gosal MBE

Do you want to comment, Gerry?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 19 September 2023

Dr Pam Gosal MBE

Thanks, convener, and thank you for that answer, Sean. Scottish councils have failed to recruit workers for one in four jobs overall, and we have heard from all three witnesses that underfunding is the biggest challenge that local government is facing. Funding is being cut to the bone and that is leading to cutbacks in service provision as well as strikes over pay and conditions. It is obviously becoming increasingly difficult to make those jobs look attractive. Are they more unattractive, especially in relation to job security, to people who are looking for jobs? What impact is that having on skills shortages and on local government鈥檚 ability to deliver on its priorities?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 19 September 2023

Dr Pam Gosal MBE

Does Johanna Baxter want to respond?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 19 September 2023

Dr Pam Gosal MBE

I am quite happy to ask this next question to the director of councils, if that is okay鈥攐r do you want me to ask it here?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 19 September 2023

Dr Pam Gosal MBE

Okay. I was just saying that because of time. No worries.

In the past, the committee has heard about the disproportionate impact that the overall reduction in local authority personnel has had on council departments, particularly in planning and building standards. Upcoming legislation proposed by the SNP-Green Government, including the new build heat standard and the short-term lets licensing scheme, will undoubtedly lead to an influx of applications to such departments. Are the relevant departments adequately staffed and resourced to deal with an increase in workload without there being any adverse impact on other stakeholders?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 12 September 2023

Dr Pam Gosal MBE

Thank you. I was going to ask about building warrants. Do you anticipate the council having any other involvement with those regulations? We have spoken about planning and building warrants. Will councils be expected to do more of anything else, or to do it differently?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 12 September 2023

Dr Pam Gosal MBE

I will touch on what Fionna Kell said about the significant impact on the supply of homes.

We have a housing emergency and the Scottish Government is failing to meet its target of building 50,000 affordable homes. It is also estimated that only 500 heat installers operate in Scotland. That compares with 8,700 registered engineers who are qualified to work on boilers. Are you concerned about鈥攜ou touched on this鈥攖he impact of the regulations on new builds, especially affordable homes?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 12 September 2023

Dr Pam Gosal MBE

Good morning. I am a Conservative MSP for the West Scotland region and a committee member.

Ariane, I have declarations to make. Should I do so later on?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 12 September 2023

Dr Pam Gosal MBE

This is my other question, convener. Minister, you have just spoken about planning permission. Obviously, local authorities are under a lot of pressure. What impact do you anticipate that this workload will bring to bear on councils? Has an impact assessment been done on that workload? If councils are unable to keep up with the applications, what impact will that have on the implementation of the policy and, more broadly, on house building?