I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of members’ interests.

It is expected that, this afternoon, the City of Edinburgh Council will declare a housing emergency, following a call from Shelter Scotland. Will the Scottish Government now accept that there is a housing emergency in our capital city, and will the First Minister look at targeted solutions and investment to increase housing supply in Edinburgh?

We will, of course, watch proceedings at City of Edinburgh Council very closely. There is simply no getting away from the real challenge that City of Edinburgh Council faces in relation to housing. That is why the Government has a very good track record of not just building houses, but building socially affordable houses. From April 2007 to the end of June 2023, we delivered more than 123,000 affordable homes, more than 87,000 of which are for social rent, including 22,994 council homes. We are the party that also ended the right to buy, which has protected an estimated 15,500 social homes. Sarah Boyack will also be aware of the measures that the Government has taken to control rent.

We will continue to liaise with City of Edinburgh Council, as we would with other local authorities, to see what assistance we can provide to deal with the real and significant challenges that it faces in relation to housing.