A Holyrood committee is to ask the Scottish Housing Regulator to take forward work to deliver a range of improvements to its operations and to provide evidence on progress.

The Scottish Parliament’s infrastructure and capital investment committee, which has been scrutinising the regulatory regime for housing and the regulator’s annual report, took evidence earlier this year. MSPs heard from stakeholders in the social housing sector and met informally with representatives of individual housing associations and tenants’ groups from across Scotland.

The committee also heard directly from the regulator and recently wrote to them outlining key themes that were identified during its evidence sessions.

Jim Eadie MSP, convener of the infrastructure and capital investment committee, said: “The Scottish Housing Regulator is taking forward a number of issues which the committee identified as requiring further development, such as the introduction of an appeals process and how their approach to regulation can be more transparent.

“The committee takes its role in holding the regulator to account extremely seriously and in order to identify progress made on these key issues, the committee will take further evidence in June.”

The committee also considered a petition from Dumfries District Trade Unions Council which raised concerns about the handling of a contract by Dumfries and Galloway Housing Partnership to demolish and rebuild new homes in Dumfries and Stranraer.

On this issue, the convener added: “Whilst we acknowledge the concerns expressed by the Trades Union Council, it is not the role or remit of the committee to investigate individual business decisions or contractual arrangements.

“However, the committee agreed to suggest to the Trades Union Council that it should pursue its concerns in an appropriate way through the Parliament’s Public Petitions process.”