Shona Robison: The Scottish Government will publish its response to the consultation on the draft Licensing Order and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) for short-term lets ahead of laying the draft Licensing Order in November.
Shona Robison: Our proposed licensing scheme will assist in ensuring that short-term lets are safe and used for lawful purposes. Police Scotland is represented on the Short Term Lets Stakeholder Working Group and has expressed concern about some short-term lets being used for criminal purposes. Residents and community groups have also raised concerns with the Scottish Government.
Shona Robison: On 8 January 2020, Mr Stewart, the then Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning, emphasised the importance of the safety of visitors, hosts, neighbours and local residents in his statement to the Scottish Parliament. This was the rationale for introducing the policy and that remains the case. It has also always been the intention to give local authorities further powers under the licensing scheme to tackle other issues arising from short-term lets.
Our licensing scheme proposals deliver national consistency on safety standards, and autonomy for local authorities to add further conditions in response to local needs and concerns.
Shona Robison: Draft guidance for local authorities on overprovision is set out in chapter 3 of the Licensing guidance part 2: supplementary guidance for licensing authorities, letting agencies and platforms . Paragraphs 3.37 to 3.41 explain how overprovision policies interact with control areas.
Shona Robison (01/10/2021): The Scottish Government’s position is that the short-term let licensing legislation does not contradict the Provision of Services Regulations, the Human Rights Act 1998 (The First Protocol, Article 1), nor The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Article 17). The Scottish Government’s position is that the development of the legislation for the short-term lets licensing scheme is in line with the Better Regulation Agenda. The Scottish Government expects local authorities to adhere to the Scottish Regulators’ Strategic Code of Practice when developing their short-term lets licensing procedures and policies.
Before any government legislation is laid at the Scottish Parliament, government lawyers carry out robust analysis to ensure that it is competent. or the licensing legislation, that includes ensuring that the Licensing Order is made within the parameters and powers of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.
The Scottish Government is in the process of carefully reviewing the responses to the third public consultation on our proposals, which closed on 13 August 2021, with a view to making any further necessary revisions to the licensing legislation.
Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03027 on 1 October 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
Answered by Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03027 on 1 October 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
Answered by Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03027 on 1 October 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
Shona Robison: Guidance for local authorities on establishing control areas and the reasons and evidence they need is set out in chapter 2 of Planning circular 01/2021: short-term let control areas .
Shona Robison: The Scottish Government fully supports the police, local authorities and the court services to take appropriate and proportionate action to tackle antisocial behaviour. We expect all relevant authorities to use the powers available to them to deal with antisocial behaviour.
Shona Robison: Draft guidance for local authorities on overprovision is set out in chapter 3 of the Licensing guidance part 2: supplementary guidance for licensing authorities, letting agencies and platforms. The guidance will be revised and updated working with stakeholders, once the legislation is finalised.
Shona Robison: Our proposed licensing scheme will assist in ensuring that short-term lets are safe and used for lawful purposes. Police Scotland is represented on the Short Term Lets Stakeholder Working Group and has expressed concern about some short-term lets being used for criminal purposes. Residents and community groups have also raised concerns with the Scottish Government.
Shona Robison: We have no plans to review the Antisocial Behaviour Notices (Houses Used for Holiday Purposes) (Scotland) Order 2011 at this time. However, we are always open to listening to the police, local authorities, the court services and communities to see how we can improve the approach being taken to tackle antisocial behaviour for the benefit of all communities.
Shona Robison: An Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) was published on 10 December 2020 in our 2020 consultation report on proposals for a licensing scheme and planning control areas for short-term lets in Scotland. The ICIA can be found at: Short-term lets – licensing scheme and planning control areas: consultation analysis – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Shona Robison: Short-term lets can offer people a flexible and cheaper travel option, and have contributed positively to Scotland’s tourism industry and local economies across the country. However, we know that in certain areas, particularly tourist hot spots, high numbers of lets can cause problems for neighbours and make it harder for people to find homes to live in. The Scottish Government considers regulation of short term lets to be vital in balancing the needs and concerns of residents and communities that have been raised with us, alongside wider economic and tourism interests.
The revised draft Licensing Order was published for consultation on 25 June 2021. Table 1 in the consultation paper sets out details of the changes that have been made to the Licensing Order.
Shona Robison: (a) Stakeholder concerns in respect of the guidance are included in the minute of the third meeting of the Working group in May 2021: Short Term Lets Working Group papers and minutes: May 2021 – gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . The draft guidance published on 25 June 2021 reflects many of the suggestions made at the Working Group meeting and in correspondence. The draft guidance will be considered further by the Working Group.
(b) The revised draft Licensing Order was published for consultation on 25 June 2021. Table 1 in the consultation paper sets out details of the changes that have been made to the Licensing Order.
Shona Robison: Short-term lets can offer people a flexible and cheaper travel option, and have contributed positively to Scotland’s tourism industry and local economies across the country. However, we know that in certain areas, particularly tourist hot spots, high numbers of lets can cause problems for neighbours and make it harder for people to find homes to live in. The Scottish Government considers regulation of short term lets to be vital in balancing the needs and concerns of residents and communities, alongside wider economic and tourism interests.
Guidance for local authorities on overprovision is set out in chapter 3 of the Licensing guidance part 2: supplementary guidance for licensing authorities, letting agencies and platforms .
In considering whether there is or would be overprovision in any locality, licensing authorities must have regard to:
We have set out in guidance for local authorities that the data which licensing authorities use to evidence overprovision should be drawn from reliable sources, for example using data from their licence schemes.
Ivan McKee: There are an estimated 1,460 guest houses on the valuation roll according to the most recently available Scottish Assessors data. This is likely to be an under-estimate however as it excludes properties on the council tax system. Information on the type of premises which hold an alcohol license is not held centrally.
Shona Robison: The Scottish Government considers regulation of short term lets to be vital in balancing the needs and concerns of residents and communities with wider economic and tourism interests. Mr Stewart, the then Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning, announced in January 2020 that regulation of short-term lets would include a licensing scheme. The remit of the Short-Term Lets Stakeholder Working Group established in February 2021 is to refine the licensing legislation and develop guidance.
The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, the Scottish Bed and Breakfast Association, Airbnb and the UK Short Term Accommodation Association favour a registration scheme. The Scottish Government has valued their contributions to the Working Group and is disappointed that they have decided not to continue to participate. The Scottish Government is committed to getting this important legislation absolutely right and monitoring its implementation.
Shona Robison: The assumptions behind, and calculations of, the average indicative fees for a short-term lets licence are set out in section F and Annex A of the draft Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment published for consultation on 25 June 2021. These fees are Scotland-wide average fees for application for a three year licence; the actual fees charged for any given application may be higher or lower, depending on the way each local authority implements its licensing scheme and the circumstances of the application. The total revenue from fees must not exceed the costs of the scheme in each local authority. Chapter 4 of our draft guidance for licensing authorities, letting agencies and platforms provides further detail on setting licence fees: Short term lets – licensing scheme part 2: supplementary guidance for licensing authorities, letting agencies and platforms – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Shona Robison: Short-term lets can offer people a flexible and cheaper travel option, and have contributed positively to Scotland’s tourism industry and local economies across the country. However, we know that in certain areas, particularly tourist hot spots, high numbers of lets can cause problems for neighbours and make it harder for people to find homes to live in. The Scottish Government considers regulation of short term lets to be vital in balancing the needs and concerns of residents and communities, alongside wider economic and tourism interests.
The draft Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment published for consultation on 25 June 2021 estimates average, indicative fees in the range £223 and £377 for a three year licence. These estimates are based on full cost recovery.
The actual levels of fee are up to local authorities and are likely to include higher and lower tiers. The total revenue from fees must not exceed the costs of the scheme in each local authority.
Shona Robison: The figure of 32,000 short-term lets quoted in our BRIA relates to Airbnb listings, and is taken from our independent research on the impact of short-term lets on communities, which was published in October 2019: Short-term lets – impact on communities: research – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
The research was based on data provided by InsideAirbnb, dated May 2019. Of the 32,000 Airbnb listings across Scotland, 69.2% were entire homes, 30.3% were private rooms, and 0.4% were shared rooms.
We do not have a breakdown of these listings by type of premises. Our licensing scheme will provide data on the types of short-term let and premises being used in Scotland.
Shona Robison: Our regulatory proposals will give local authorities powers to strike a balance between the needs and concerns of their local communities, with the wider economic and tourism benefits of short-term lets. In certain areas, achieving this balance may require a reduction in numbers of whole homes offered for short-term lets and local authorities have been given powers through the planning control area regulations to help manage activity in their area. The consultation draft Licensing Order also includes powers to manage overprovision, and licensing requirements should mean that some unsuitable operators and accommodation will also leave the market. We do not have an estimate of how many short-term lets will return to the long-term housing market as this depends on how local authorities use the powers they are being given.
Shona Robison: (a) & (c) The latest set of annual statistics on the number of Long Term Empty Properties and Second Homes, based on Council Tax Base data as at September 2020, were published in the Housing Statistics Quarterly Update in December 2020, and are available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-scotland-quarterly-update/, with detailed local authority level Excel tables covering the period from 1996 to 2020 available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-empty-properties-and-second-homes/. Figures are split into the categories of Long Term Empty Properties and Second Homes, however are not available broken down by housing tenure.
The latest annual figures show that there were 47,333 Long Term Empty properties and 24,466 Second Homes, across all tenures, as at September 2020. In addition, there were 44,143 Unoccupied Exemptions, generally properties which are empty and unfurnished for less than 6 months and exempt from paying council tax.
(b) The Scottish Housing Regulator publish figures on the number of vacant self-contained lettable social housing properties, with most recent data as at end June 2021 available as part of the Covid-19 dashboards at: https://www.housingregulator.gov.scot/landlord-performance/national-reports/covid-19-dashboards, and with previous annual data published as part of annual Charter Data figures for 2014/15 to 2018/19 at: https://www.housingregulator.gov.scot/landlord-performance/statistical-information
The latest Scottish Housing Regulator figures on vacant self-contained lettable social housing stock show that there were 8,886 empty social sector homes (including 5,311 local authority homes and 3,575 housing association homes) as at the end of June 2021. There will always be vacant social housing stock at any point of time as social landlords prepare homes in advance of them being re-allocated. Social landlords, as part of meeting the Scottish Social Housing Charter, strive to provide an efficient and effective management of their housing services. This includes minimising the time houses are empty. Latest published figures from the Scottish Housing Regulator show that the average time to re-let a social housing property in the quarter April to June 2021 was 52 calendar days (an average of 62 days for local authority properties, and 41 days for housing association properties).
Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is proud of our record on delivering, since 2007, more than 102,000 affordable homes, nearly 71,000 of which were for social rent, including more than 16,000 council homes. As the programme for government makes clear, we are committed to delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which 70 per cent will be available for social rent and 10 per cent will be in our remote, rural and island communities.
Delivering on that ambitious affordable homes target would support a total investment package of around £18 billion and up to 15,000 jobs each year. In the four years to 2020, we delivered over 75 per cent more affordable homes per head of population than in both England and Wales, and over nine times more social rented properties per head of population than in England.
Richard Leonard: I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. Back in April 2020, the Auditor General for Scotland told the Government that it must “evaluate the impact of the current programme on housing needs and the economic impact of the investment in affordable housing”.
Shelter Scotland, in its document “Exiting Covid and Tackling Scotland’s Housing Emergency: Shelter Scotland’s 2021 Action Plan”, says that the Government’s programme must be about more than simply the number of housing units completed—it must be about the social impact; moving Scotland’s communities in the right direction; and, first and foremost, reducing social housing need.
Will the cabinet secretary today give a commitment to place before the Parliament an annual housing and social justice report, to include whether housing need has gone up or down; the economic and social impact of the building programme; the state of housing need and access among groups that are all too often marginalised; and measures of wider community benefit and wellbeing?
Shona Robison: Richard Leonard will, I hope, be aware that the “Housing to 2040” strategy talks about many of those issues. Housing is not just about bricks and mortar—it is a core anti-poverty measure, and I very much understand that.
I was asked something along the same lines as Richard Leonard’s question when I attended the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee this week. I said that I would reflect on whether, in addition to the myriad pieces of information that are provided on progress towards the affordable housing targets—there are a lot of statistics, data and reporting—further reports would be of benefit. I do not think that anyone can say that an ambitious target of 110,000 affordable homes, a total investment package of £18 billion and the creation of 15,000 jobs each year is anything other than to be welcomed.
Shona Robison: As I said, the Government has significantly invested in affordable housing, delivering 4,800 homes between 2016-17 and 2019-20 as part of the £3.4 billion affordable housing supply programme, and we have committed to the 10 per cent of 110,000 homes target. We are also committed to developing our remote, rural and islands action plan. Councils are being given significant additional powers to manage particular challenges in communities, such as short-term lets – we will lay legislation scheme for a licensing scheme in November. We are also giving local authorities the power to deal with second homes, if they see that as a problem in their area.
Colin Smyth: Given that the population of rural areas is growing and now accounts for 17 per cent of Scotland’s population, does the cabinet secretary think that the 10 per cent that she referred to of the target of 110,000 homes is going to be adequate? Put simply, that is about 1,000 properties a year. There are big challenges when it comes to labour shortages in rural areas, and access to affordable housing is one of the biggest barriers. Surely we should be planning to build more houses in order to tackle that challenge.
Shona Robison: I see the 10 per cent target as a minimum and, through the rural and remote housing plan, we will get a better sense and more evidence of what the housing need is. I want to take a more strategic approach to looking at housing needs in remote and rural Scotland. We have been relying on community organisations and community responses for proposals, and that can be sometimes quite difficult, because of the complexities. We want to assist communities to analyse and agree housing needs and priorities, and then work with them and local authorities and social landlords to work up plans to deal with those shortages.
Jenni Minto (Argyll and Bute) (SNP): Will the cabinet secretary outline what action is being taken to reduce the impact of the huge increase in short-term lets on the availability of rural housing? That issue is of major concern to those who live in those areas.
Shona Robison: Our licensing scheme will ensure that all short-term lets across Scotland comply with basic safety standards, in order to protect guests and neighbours. Local authorities will have the discretion to add further licence conditions in order to address any local concerns such as littering or the overcrowding of properties. The licensing scheme will provide local authorities with data on the number, type and location of short-term lets in their areas. They can also, of course, designate short- term let control areas if they wish to do so, in order to address pressures that are created by secondary short-term letting. Within a control area, planning permission would always be required to let out a whole home for short-term lets. Finally, the provisions will allow local authorities to manage high concentrations of secondary letting where those affect the availability of residential accommodation or the character of a neighbourhood.
Beatrice Wishart (Shetland Islands) (LD): The shortage of housing is not just a rural issue; it is an island issue. What action is being taken to tackle island housing shortages, which disproportionately affect young people and are a significant factor in island depopulation?
Shona Robison: I very much appreciate that issue, and the remote, rural and island housing plan will absolutely look at the needs of island communities. It can also look at how we use island bonds as part of the response to that. Just this morning, I met with the leader of Shetland Islands Council. We talked about many issues, and the issue that the member raised was one of those that we explored. We will have further discussions about it as we take matters forward.
Shona Robison: Between 2016-17 and 2019-20, the Scottish Government invested more than £400 million through the affordable housing supply programme, including the rural and islands housing funds, in rural and island communities, and delivered more than 4,800 affordable homes in that time. The rural and islands housing funds are described in the Scottish Land Commission’s report on “The Role of Land in Enabling New Housing Supply in Rural Scotland” as “game changers” for community-led housing development.
We have committed to delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which 10 per cent will be in our remote, rural and island communities, backed by at least £45 million.
Liz Smith: I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. However, she is well aware that less than half the £25 million fund that was set aside for rural housing has actually been spent, despite the chronic shortages of affordable housing in many parts of the countryside, and that there has been much faster progress on house building in the central belt than in rural areas. Can she explain why that is the case and what is being done to rectify the situation?
Shona Robison: As I said in my initial answer, good progress has been made in delivering rural housing. I talked about the 4,800 affordable homes that have been delivered in that time. However, Liz Smith will be aware of some of the particular challenges in remote and rural Scotland, such as land availability, community capacity to bring forward proposals and ensuring that those proposals can get from pre-development to the development stage. Those are complex matters, which is why, in recognition that we need to do more, we have committed to developing a rural and remote housing plan that is dedicated to the needs of rural and remote Scotland.
That consultation will talk to communities the length and breadth of Scotland to make sure that we can get it right in every community, even for small-scale developments. That is, of course, backed up by the additional resources that we have made available.