3. To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is supporting renters who are struggling with the cost of living. (S6F-02520)

I am acutely aware of the pressure that renters are facing. I am pleased that the Parliament voted to extend for a final six months, to March, the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022, which continues to provide protection and reassurance to renters by capping private sector rents. That is alongside our agreement with social landlords to keep rent increases this year well below inflation.

Scotland is leading the way in support for tenants. This year, we are making £83.7 million available to local authorities to spend on discretionary housing payments—more per person than is provided in any other United Kingdom nation. That is why I repeat my call to the UK Government to scrap its on-going freeze on local housing allowance rates, which hits hardest those tenants on the lowest incomes.

I, like the First Minister, strongly support our emergency legislation to cap rents and reduce evictions, which was led by Patrick Harvie last year.

I welcome last week’s Court of Session decision to reject a challenge to that legislation. It was said that the challenge fell

“far short of what is required in order ... to demonstrate that the Act disproportionately interferes with the” property

“rights of landlords.”

With that court decision in mind, does the First Minister agree that it is time for landlord bodies to accept the overwhelming need for action to control high rents and improve tenants’ rights, and that they should work constructively with the Government on the housing bill when it is introduced in this parliamentary year?

The First Minister:

I do, and I welcome the court’s decision last week. I want to work constructively with all stakeholders to deliver a system of rent control that works for Scotland. I am pleased that a number of landlord representative bodies are working with us through the private rented sector stakeholder group, and that a range of organisations representing the views of tenants, investors and developers are represented on that group. I am keen that that approach continues as we move towards the bill’s introduction. The Deputy First Minister, Màiri McAllan and I had a good session with our investor panel last week, and it was made clear by that panel that those who want to invest in property and affordable housing will do so in places that have rent controls. We have seen that in Europe.

We are keen to engage with everybody on the issue. No other Government in the UK is as ambitious as this Government is in this area, given our emergency legislation, which comes on top of our 2016 legislation to end no-fault evictions—a move that I know the UK Government is now also considering.

The Presiding Officer:

Ms Adamson, I just want to check: is your supplementary question on this topic?

No.

The Presiding Officer:

Thank you. We will move on to question 4.