 Good morning, and can I welcome everyone to the 15th meeting of the Local Government and Communities Committee in 2018? Can I remind everyone present to turn off mobile phones and, as meeting papers are provided in a digital format, tablets may be used by members during the meeting? We've got a full house this morning, and I'll apologize and receive from members of the committee and we move to agenda item 1, which is the housing amendment Scotland bill, and the committee will consider this bill at stage 2. I welcome the minister for local government and housing, Kevin Stewart, MSP and his company officials to today's meeting. Our task today is to consider the one amendment that has been formally lodged by the minister. In addition, we are required to formally agree to each provision of the bill at the appropriate point. Only members of the committee are permitted to vote in those proceedings and members should have with them the bill and the marshaled list. As there is only one amendment, there are no groupings. The procedure will be that I will call the minister to move amendment 1 and to speak to it. I will then invite other members of the committee to contribute if they wish before asking the minister to wind up, if required, and to indicate whether they are pressing or withdrawing the amendment. If the amendment is not withdrawn, I will put the question on the amendment. If we are not agreed, I will call a division, which will be concluded by a show of hands. If the result is such a division is a tie, I's convener will then exercise the casting vote. That is the story of housekeeping arrangements and we will get started now. The question is that sections 1 through 2 to 9 be agreed to. Are we all agreed? Can I call amendment 1 in the name of the minister? I can ask the minister to move and speak to amendment 1. I wish to speak to the only amendment for this bill, amendment 1. The amendment introduces a sunset clause that is a time limit of three years on ministers' powers to make regulations under sections 8 and 9 of the bill. It means that those powers will expire three years after the bill has received royal assent. I confirmed in the stage 1 debate that we would introduce the sunset clause to address the concerns that this committee, the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee and stakeholders, in particular UK Finance, raised about the open-ended nature of the powers that sections 8 and 9 will, as the bill currently stands, confer on ministers. By way of background, section 8 of the bill gives ministers the power to make further modifications to the functions of the Scottish Housing Regulator beyond those that the bill makes. Ministers would only exercise the power in section 8 if, when the bill is enacted, the Office for National Statistics were to conclude formally that the changes to the regulator's functions in the bill as passed are not enough to enable it to reclassify RSLs back to the private sector. That event, the power would enable ministers to respond quickly to the ONS's finding and make whatever further adjustments would be required to secure that reclassification. Ministers would only use the power in the circumstances that I have described. In light of discussions that we have had with ONS officials about the bill's provision, it appears unlikely that we will need to use this power. However, it remains a sensible precaution to have the ability to act if we need to. In the event that was necessary, the regulation-making power is subject to the affirmative procedure and so the Parliament would be able to scrutinise any provision being made. Section 9 is different in that we know that we will need to use the power that it confers before ONS can review the classification of RSLs. The power enables ministers to make regulations limiting or removing the influence that local authorities may exert over RSLs through any ability that they may have to appoint officers to the RSL or to exercise certain voting rights. As I said in my stage 1 evidence, convener, we will use the power to make regulations that will specify that local authorities may only nominate up to 24 per cent of the board members of an RSL and that they may not exercise control over RSLs, for example, through powers of veto over an RSL. Subject to the Parliament passing the bill at stage 3, we expect to lay these regulations in September. In the case of both sections, there is no need for a continuing power to make regulations. Therefore, the Government is happy to introduce the sunset clause to reassure the committee and stakeholders that the power will not be open-ended. I trust that that will be acceptable to the committee, and I move amendment 1 and urge members to support it, convener. Thank you very much, minister. Any members wish to contribute to this part of proceedings? Mr Simpson? Just very quickly, convener, just to welcome amendment 1. I welcome the fact that the Scottish Government has taken on board comments from the Delegated Powers Committee and, indeed, this committee and the stakeholders that fully support the amendment. Any other contributions from members? There being no other contributions from members, can I ask the minister to wind up his contributions in relation to the amendments? I think that I have said all I need to thank you, convener. The question therefore is that amendment 1 be agreed to. Are we all agreed? We are. The next question is that sections 10 and 11 be agreed to. Are we all agreed? The final question is that the long title be agreed to. Are we all agreed? Thank you. That ends stage 2 consideration of the bill. Thank you very much, minister. We now move to agenda item 2, which is subordinate legislation, and the committee will consider negative instruments 110 and 115 as listed on the agenda. Those instruments are laid under the negative procedures, which means that their provisions will come into force unless the Parliament votes on a motion to annul them. No motion to annul have been laid, and I invite members to make any comments on the instruments before us. There being no comments from members, I invite the committee to agree that it does not wish to make any recommendations in relation to the instruments. Are we agreed? That is agreed. We now move to agenda item 3, which is the planning Scotland bill, which previously agreed to taking private. We now move into private session.