Tag: Green MSP Lorna Slater

End of rent protections will punish households in Edinburgh, says Green MSP

The Scottish Government’s decision to end renter protection will harm households and families in Edinburgh. says Lorna Slater the Scottish Green MSP for Lothian region. 

The protections, which ended this week, were introduced by the then Green Minister Patrick Harvie following the year long rent freeze. This mechanism potentially allows rent increases to be limited to no higher than 12% if a tenant applies to a rent officer for a decision. 

The Scottish Government had said the system would support the transition away from the rent freeze and to the forthcoming system of Rent Control Areas, avoiding a ‘cliff edge’ for renters and protecting them from excessively large increases. 

The cost of renting a two bedroom home in Scotland’s capital is £1,358, which is an increase of 14% since 2010. 

Lorna Slater MSP said: “Households and families all over the citywill be getting notices hiking up their rents with little chance to appeal. Meanwhile rogue landlords will be celebrating in the knowledge that they are no longer being constrained.

“It doesn’t need to be like this. The Scottish Government can stop it. The protections that the Scottish Greens secured can be extended, offering renters supporters from the most predatory landlords. 

“People in Edinburgh have already seen their costs soaring and this decision will only make that worse and will make further price hikes inevitable. 

“All parties agree that we are in a housing emergency. The last thing we should be doing is allowing rents to be increased without limit. 

“We need a robust and permanent system of rent controls that can support renters and offer protection and stability. 

“Homes are for living in, not for profiteering. We need fundamental change if we are to ensure everyone in the city and beyond has a warm, comfortable and affordable place to call home.” 

Lorna Slater adds her name to SELECT’s Wall of Support as backing for recognition for electricians continues to grow

Green Party co-leader also joins 25 other politicians backing motion congratulating trade body on 125 years of fighting for the profession

Scotland’s largest construction trade association, SELECT, continues to draw cross-party support for its activities in its 125th year, with another prominent MSP publicly supporting its campaign for protection of title for electricians.

Scottish Green Party co-leader and former Minister for Green Skills, the Circular Economy and Biodiversity Lorna Slater is the latest politician to add her name to the campaigning trade body’s Wall of Support.

Showing her support with a virtual ‘brick’, the MSP for Lothian Region said: “Currently within Scotland, due to a lack of regulation anyone can claim to be an electrician and carry out electrical work without proper qualification or oversight.

“The installation of electrical work by unqualified or inadequately trained individuals is a major safety concern and risks potential harm to people and businesses.

“I therefore welcome SELECT’s campaign for the regulation of the electrical industry and to make electrician a protected title to aid the protection of the people and the profession.”

Ms Slater – who was born in Canada and worked in Scotland as an engineer in the renewables sector – has also joined 25 MSPs from across the political divide who have backed the recent tabling of a special motion in the Scottish Parliament, congratulating SELECT on representing the electrical industry since 1900.

The motion was lodged by Monica Lennon, Labour MSP for Central Scotland, who also singled out the ongoing contribution of SELECT and its members to renewable technology and apprenticeships and training.

Other MSPs now backing it are the SNP’s Karen Adam, Clare Adamson, Colin Beattie, Stephanie Callaghan, Kenneth Gibson, Bill Kidd, Gordon MacDonald, Fulton MacGregor, Ruth Maguire, Stuart McMillan, Kevin Stewart, Michelle Thomson and David Torrance.

Conservatives Jeremy Balfour, Miles Briggs, Murdo Fraser, Craig Hoy, Edward Mountain, Annie Wells and Brian Whittle have also added their support, along with Labour’s Jackie Baillie, Foysol Choudhury, Alex Rowley, Paul Sweeney, Mercedes Villalba and Independent John Mason.

SELECT Managing Director Alan Wilson said: “As we celebrate our 125th anniversary as the world’s oldest electrical trade body, it is gratifying to see our ongoing work being supported by such a large cross-section of politicians.

“We very much welcome Ms Slater’s expression of solidarity for our campaign for regulation of the electrical industry. It has been a long, hard road but we will continue to focus all our efforts in bringing it to a successful conclusion.

“We are also very grateful to the MSPs who have backed Ms Lennon’s special motion highlighting just how much SELECT has done to promote the cause of public safety and the contribution the electrical sector makes to it.”

As well as a number of MSPs, other bodies that have contributed a brick to the Wall of Support include the Scottish Joint Industry Board, Unite the Union, Electrical Safety First, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Scottish Association of Landlords, the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group and the Energy Saving Trust. 

SELECT has been campaigning for years with other leading industry bodies, such as the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust and the SJIB to make sure that those who work in the industry do so in a safe and competent manner.

Local Scottish Green MSP urges government to protect renters in Edinburgh

Lorna Slater, the Scottish Green MSP for Lothian, has urged the Scottish Government to support tenants by maintaining protections that are set to expire next month.  

In 2022 the then Green Minister, Patrick Harvie, introduced a temporary cap on most in-tenancy rent increases. Since the end of the cap in March 2024, there has been a temporary rent adjudication system in place, also introduced by Mr Harvie, that has kept rents down for some tenants.  

At the time, the Scottish Government said that the system was to support the transition away from the rent cap to a system of permanent rent controls and to protect tenants from excessively large rent hikes.  

The Scottish Government has said that these temporary restrictions will not be renewed at the end of next month.  

The cost of renting a two bedroom home in Edinburgh is now £1358 which is an increase of 104% since 2010. [1]  

Lorna Slater MSP said: “Rents across Edinburgh have skyrocketed. Renters have paid the price, while private landlords have lined their pockets. And whilst there is legislation on the way to introduce permanent rent controls at last, these won’t come into force until 2027.  

“Right now, renters are protected by temporary controls that were introduced by the Scottish Greens. But these protections are set to expire in a matter of weeks, exposing households across the city to extortionate rent increases.   

“Removing these protections without replacing them would create a cliff edge that risks throwing households and familiesinto financial despair.  

“If the Scottish Government is serious about supporting renters then the least they can do is extend these modest measures to help support renters through the ongoing cost of living crisis.” 

As Fringe returns, Green MSP calls for more support for hospitality workers

With the Edinburgh Fringe opening this week, the government and industry must offer more support to hospitality staff, according to Green MSP for Lothian Lorna Slater, who has submitted a parliamentary motion in support of workers.  

This follows reports from the Unite trade union, which Lorna is a member of, that warned of a “sharp increase of verbal and physical abuse from customers” against hospitality workers. 

The motion notes that Low pay and insecure working conditions were endemic in the hospitality industry prior to the pandemic and calls for employers to introduce proactive anti-sexual harassment policies as well as supporting extra investment in retraining and mental health services and long-term plans to improve incomes and job stability across the sector. 

Scottish Greens MSP for Lothian, Lorna Slater, said: “Nobody should be getting harassed or abused at work, and employers need to support their staff and take steps to ensure that it does not happen again. 

“Many of the people working in our pubs and restaurants are the same young people who have been disproportionately hit by the pandemic in terms of their job prospects, income and mental wellbeing. They are also the ones who are least likely to have been vaccinated against Covid. 

“For far too long, hospitality workers have had to endure conditions and anxiety that would be unacceptable in other industries. Governments and the industry need to step up and support hospitality workers and young people, rather than allowing them to be further punished by this terrible pandemic.” 

Motion text 

That the Parliament notes what it considers concerning reports from the Unite trade union, which warns of a “sharp increase of verbal and physical abuse from customers” against hospitality workers;

believes that low pay and insecure working conditions were endemic in the hospitality industry prior to the COVID-19 pandemic;

understands that many hospitality workers are young workers;

notes the recent Resolution Foundation study that found that, at the end of May 2021, 18- to 24-year-olds were 2.5 times more likely than any other age group to have been out of work or still on furlough, and that more than one in four 18- to 24-year-olds said that they were concerned about finding a job in future due to mental health issues; 

further notes the calls for investment in retraining and mental health services, as well as long-term plans to improve incomes and job stability as part of a new approach to hospitality, and believes that the calls from Unite for extra security for busy venues and proactive anti-sexual harassment policies should be adopted.