A BAN on tenant evictions is being considered to be expanded across Scotland, the newly appointed Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery has said.

John Swinney told MSPs on Thursday evening that further protections for those renting accommodation are under consideration following the end of an outright ban on evictions. 

He was responding to an urgent question in Holyrood, after Green MSP Ariane Burgess had told the chamber that “evicting vulnerable people who have been unable to work or earn during the pandemic is deeply unfair. 

“As a minimum, we need to keep the eviction ban in place for as long as restrictions remain,” she said.

Glasgow Labour MSP Paul Sweeney reiterated the financial challenges facing tenants, reminding the government that it has a legal responsibility to prevent homelessness.

With all measures expected to end in September, Mr Swinney told MSPs that it would be “an area that we continue to keep under close consideration as we look at our continued navigation out of, and recovery from, Covid-19.”