Benefits
About
News
Events
Resources
Forum
Your account

Month: September 2021

Briefing: The Scottish Government’s Programme for Government, 2021-22

Posted on by Melanie Allen

Introduction

  • The First Minister Nicola Sturgeon set out the Scottish Government’s legislative programme for the year ahead[1], entitled A fairer, greener Scotland, the first since the SNP Scottish Government reached a Cooperation Agreement with the Scottish Green Party.
  • While three Bills have already been introduced to the Scottish Parliament following the election back in May, the Scottish Government intend to introduce a further 12 Bills (including the annual Budget Bill) over the course of the parliamentary year.
  • The Programme for Government also includes a number of Bills, consultations, spending commitments, and regulations which will be taken forward later in the parliamentary session.
  • The First Minister outlined some major public service reforms, including the establishment of a National Care Service and support for NHS recovery, but also funds for increased housebuilding, as well as addressing the climate crisis through becoming a net zero nation. However, many of these were widely trailed or mentioned during her speech last week when welcoming the Scottish Greens into government.
  • While noting that her immediate priority was to lead Scotland towards Covid recovery, the First Minister reaffirmed her commitment to hold a second independence referendum, Covid-permitting, before 2023 and confirmed that the government would restart work on a detailed prospectus for independence.
  • In response, the opposition criticised the focus on independence above recovery as well as the paucity of ambition contained in the Programme for Government.

Bills and Headline Announcements

The Scottish Government will introduce the following 12 Bills in 2021/22:

Annual Budget (No.1) Bill Gender Recognition Bill
Bail and Release from Custody Bill Good Food Nation Bill
Coronavirus (Compensation for Self-isolation) Bill Miners’ Strike Pardon Bill
COVID Recovery Bill Moveable Transactions Bill
Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Bill National Care Service Bill
Fox Control Bill Non-Domestic Rates COVID-19 Appeals Bill

Relevant Programme for Government Announcements:

Short-Term Let Regulation

  • There was no mention of short-term let regulation in the Programme for Government but the Scottish Government have previously announced that the laying of their licensing regulations before parliament would be delayed until November 2021.

 Tourism

  • The document notes that the “tourism sector, along with the hospitality sector, is globally recognised as having been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. Effective recovery will be vital in ensuring the sector can be a force for good in the local and national economy – through fair work, sustainable jobs, and value for communities – and place Scotland as a world leader in responsible tourism.”
  • The Scottish Government will support the recommendations of the Tourism Recovery Taskforce, including a £25 million portfolio of projects in 2021‑22, and consider the best approach to future years.
  • They will maintain their investment of over £6m annually in the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund.
  • Develop Scotland’s tourism infrastructure, in both urban and rural areas, investing £10m in initiatives like the Inverness Castle Project and Lossiemouth East Beach footbridge, and improving rural hotel facilities
  • Refresh and reinvigorate successful Brand Scotland activity, building on existing campaign activity, to enhance Scotland’s international reputation and the country’s position as an attractive place to live, work, study, visit and do business.
  • Review Air Passenger Duty rates and bands ahead of the introduction of the devolved Air Departure Tax to ensure that the policy aligns with climate change goals.
  • There was no mention of a tourist tax or levy in the Programme for Government.

Housing

  • Deliver 110,000 energy efficient, affordable homes by 2032 –– at least 70% of which will be in the social rented sector and 10% in remote, rural and island communities.
  • Develop a Remote, Rural & Islands Housing action plan, to meet the housing needs of, and retain and attract people to, those communities, backed by at least £45m as part of the overall affordable housing supply programme funding in this parliamentary session

Business Support

  • Maintain the Small Business Bonus Scheme for the lifetime of the Parliament.
  • Maintain the Business Growth Accelerator (BGA) and Fresh Start Reliefs for the duration of this Parliament.
  • Extend the 100% NDR relief for properties in the retail, leisure, aviation and hospitality sectors for all of 2021-22.
  • Introduce a Non-Domestic Rates COVID-19 Appeals Bill to prevent the inappropriate use of material change of circumstances provisions in the non‑domestic rates legislation in relation to COVID‑19, or COVID‑19 restrictions.

More generally, health, social care, inequalities, and the environment appear to be the main thrust of the prospectus, with the economy further down the list of priorities, partially reflecting the influence of the Scottish Greens in the Cooperation Agreement.

Some of the main headline announcements in the Programme for Government include:

  • Launching a new NHS Recovery Plan backed by more than £1bn of targeted investment to address backlogs and provide £10bn for the NHS estate;
  • Consult on the creation of a National Care Service;
  • Remove dental charges for all;
  • Supporting a world‑changing agreement at COP26 and implementing the first Just Transition Plan for the energy sector;
  • Bringing about a “green transport revolution” through decarbonising public transport and providing free nationwide bus travel for those under 22;
  • Providing a new system of “wraparound” childcare before and after school and during the holidays;
  • Develop work on a Minimum Income Guarantee and a pilot to introduce a four-day working week;
  • Provide £1bn of targeted investment for Covid-19 recovery;
  • Begin work on a National Infrastructure Company;
  • Launch a 10-year National Strategy for Economic Transformation in the autumn, alongside a new National Challenge Competition which will provide up to £50m to projects with the greatest potential to transform Scotland’s economy; and
  • Provide £3.5bn to provide additional affordable homes, 70% for social rent.

Opposition Response

  • The Scottish Conservatives Douglas Ross accused the First Minister of placing independence above jobs and Covid recovery.
  • Anas Sarwar of Scottish Labour attacked the lack of boldness and ambition in the Scottish Government’s plans, calling it a “tired and rehashed programme.”
  • Lib Dem Leader Alex Cole-Hamilton chose to focus on mental health waiting times, seeking answers as to how the Scottish Government intended to clear the backlog.

[1] The Programme for Government for 2021-22 can be viewed in full here: https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy-plan/2021/09/fairer-greener-scotland-programme-government-2021-22/documents/fairer-greener-scotland-programme-government-2021-22/fairer-greener-scotland-programme-government-2021-22/govscot%3Adocument/fairer-greener-scotland-programme-government-2021-22.pdf

Highland Council Publishes Concerns about STL Legislation

Posted on by Fiona Campbell

Highland Council have released a statement on the draft Short-Term Let Legislation:

A response to the Scottish Government from The Highland Council seeks clarification on the Government’s proposals for licensing of short term lets.

Highland Councillors are to discuss the local authority’s response to the Scottish Government’s Short Term Lets consultation on draft Licensing Order and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) tomorrow, 31 August 2021, at the meeting of the Communities and Place Committee.

Short term lets can bring substantial economic benefits to communities but they can also have negative aspects in reducing availability of residential housing and in some circumstances, disturbing residents.

The Council has engaged on the issues around Short Term Lets with the Scottish Government since it set up its panel on the collaborative economy in 2017. The Council responded to the Government in August 2019; September 2020; to the Scottish Parliament on their call for views in January 2021 and again to the Scottish Government on the Licensing Control Order by the deadline of 13 August 2021.

The Government have published legislation on introducing Control areas to manage high concentrations of secondary letting in areas where it can affect availability of residential housing. The Council are aware of the pressures in areas of the Highlands due to short term lets and are considering options for a framework policy on Control areas.

The recent consultation was on the proposed licensing  of short term lets and it outlines changes the Government have made to the proposed Licensing Order following the previous consultation include: bothies; excluded tenancies; temporary exemptions; overprovision; public register; energy efficiency and energy performance certificates; insurance; and the definition of ‘short-term letting activity’.

Key matters raised in the response were officers’ concerns regarding the ‘overprovision’ rationale and the timescale for gathering evidence for an Overprovision Policy Statement by October 2022. Clarification has been requested as this will require Highland Council to carry out site visits and monitor compliance and enforcement on around 10,000 premises in the region.

The new regulations will have significant resource implications for the Council in terms of Planning, Licensing and Environmental Health. When the Licensing Order is brought into force the Council will have a duty to establish a licensing scheme for short-term lets in the area.

See the news release.

The Communities and Place Committee highlight two main concerns:

  • officers are concerned that the introduction of overprovision is confusing as the purpose would appear very similar to Control Areas.
  • officers are concerned over the timescale for gathering evidence for an Overprovision Policy Statement by October 2022.

Read the Committee Notes.

 

BETTER REGULATION AGENDA AND THE REGULATOR’S STRATEGIC CODE OF PRACTICE

Posted on by Fiona Campbell

The ASSC engaged the respected legal firm Burness Paull LLP in Summer 2021 to provide expert comment on the Scottish Government’s short-term let regulatory plans and their arguments are set out below.

We consider that the draft Order creates a regulatory framework that is manifestly inconsistent with the Scottish Government’s Better Regulation Agenda [18] and the principles of regulation being proportionate; consistent; accountable; transparent and targeted only where needed

Furthermore the draft Order creates a framework that is inconsistent with the Regulator’s Strategic Code of Practice to which local authorities as regulators must have regard under Section 5 (5) of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 in exercising any regulatory functions.

In particular we consider that the draft Order would effect breaches of the Code in the following manner:

Clause 2 of the Code: Regulators should pursue a positive enabling approach in their pursuit of outcomes, which contribute to ‘sustainable economic growth’. [Section 4 and 5, Paper 2: Draft Licensing Order] demonstrate the drastic economic consequences that will inevitably result from the new regulatory proposal.

Clause 2 of the Code. Regulators require to be committed in their decisions, actions and policies to the five principles of better regulation: regulation should be transparent, accountable, consistent, proportionate and targeted only where needed. However, as has been outlined above, the ASSC considers the entire framework to be disproportionate, potentially inconsistent in its application between regulators (e.g., local authorities) and that, without empirical data, seeks to regulate distinct sections of the self-catering industry in a blunt and blanket manner manifestly failing to target its regulation at genuine, identified issues.

Clause 3 of the Code requires Regulators to be enablers to help support businesses to grow sustainably. The draft Order for all of the aforementioned reasons cannot meet this objective it will stifle rather than support small businesses in this sector. This regulatory framework would also force regulatory decisions to be taken in a manner that is entirely inconsistent with many of the principles in this clause including:

  • minimising business compliance costs, where possible, by reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and delays;
  • helping those they regulate to design simple and cost-effective compliance solutions to improve confidence and day to day management control.