Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for ��˿�� to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-24927

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 12 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24275 by Kevin Stewart on 5 August 2019, whether the meeting with Glasgow City Council took place as scheduled on 2 August 2019 and, if so, whether it will provide the information that was requested.

The first voluntary review meeting between officials from Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council took place as scheduled on 2 August 2019. The next meeting took place on Friday 30 August.

As outlined in my reply to question S5W-24275 the review is not a Scottish Government intervention and findings will be reported to the Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership.

The remit of the review is to identify areas for improvement and it will be for the review team, taking account of its initial findings and subsequent actions, to determine the process to be followed including what information is required for the purposes of the review.

Question reference: S5W-24930

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 12 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24281 by Kevin Stewart on 5 August 2019, in light of the meeting with Glasgow City Council that took place, whether the findings of the voluntary review by the council will be made public, and what duty there will be on the Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership to act on the findings.

Two meetings have now taken place between Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership and Scottish Government officials to progress on addressing the failure to accommodate. These meetings took place on 2 and 30 August 2019.

The purpose of the review, which the Council has agreed to undertake with Scottish Government, is to identify improvements that will assist Glasgow City Council in meeting its legislative duty to homeless households. As this is a voluntary review being undertaken in partnership between the Health and Social Care Partnership and the Scottish Government, there is no duty to act on its findings and the decision, including making the findings public will be that for the Partnership. However, like all local authorities, Glasgow has a duty to provide temporary accommodation to all homeless households.

Question reference: S5W-24929

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 12 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24281 by Kevin Stewart on 5 August 2019, in light of the meeting with Glasgow City Council that took place, how a voluntary review will seek to address any problems that the council has in fulfilling its homelessness duty.

The voluntary review will allow Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership to work with Scottish Government to better understand what lies behind the statistics showing an increase in the number of people presenting as homeless that are failing to be offered temporary accommodation in Glasgow. Through its findings the review team will look to identify issues and propose actions for improvement to Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership.

Question reference: S5W-24931

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 12 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24279 by Kevin Stewart on 5 August 2019, what the timeframe is for introducing standards for temporary accommodation.

When temporary accommodation is needed, it is important that it is of good quality. A consultation on improving temporary accommodation standards has recently closed and we are currently undertaking analysis of the responses. We will set out later this year our next steps in developing a legally enforceable standards framework. In the meantime we will include new advisory standards for temporary accommodation in the refreshed Code of Guidance due to be published in November.

We also announced on 3 September in the Programme for Government, that we will legislate to extend the Unsuitable Accommodation Order to all households experiencing homelessness this parliamentary year and that the Order will come into force this parliamentary term, by May 2021.

Question reference: S5O-03559

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to improve the Glasgow-East Kilbride train line.

Question reference: S5O-03478

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish a national development plan for crofting.

Question reference: S5W-24275

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the current voluntary review of Glasgow City Council’s homelessness provision, whether it will set out the remit of the review and what specifically will be reviewed; which stakeholders will be involved; what the review timeframe is; when the findings will be published, and what plans it has for following these up.

The final details of the voluntary review into the reasons behind the increased numbers recorded by Glasgow City Council as failing to be offered temporary accommodation are currently being developed by Scottish Government in partnership with Glasgow City Council officials. A first meeting is planned for 2 nd August. The review is not a Scottish Government intervention and findings will be reported to the Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership for improvement purposes.

Question reference: S5W-24277

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of its Homelessness in Scotland: 2018 to 2019 homelessness statistics on 26 June 2019, for what reason there has been a 2% increase in the number of households assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness since 2017-18.

The increase in the number of households assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness since 2017-18, is likely due to the increase in the number of applications over the same period. The number of homeless assessments has increased broadly in line with the number of homeless applications, which increased by 3%. While the number of applicants assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness has increased, the proportion of all assessment decisions assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness has stayed within one percentage point for the last 5 years (82%-83%).

Question reference: S5W-24278

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of its Homelessness in Scotland: 2018 to 2019 statistics on 26 June 2019, what action it is taking to address the 2% increase in households containing children in temporary accommodation since 2017-18.

While temporary accommodation provides an important safety net in emergency situations, we want the time anyone has to spend there to be as short as possible. That is why we have agreed jointly with COSLA to support local authorities to transition to a system of rapid rehousing and Housing First by default, ensuring that people facing homelessness are supported back to a settled home that meets their needs as soon as possible.

When temporary accommodation is needed, it is important that it is of good quality which is why in 2017 we legislated via the Unsuitable Accommodation Order to reduce the time that families and pregnant woman stay in unsuitable accommodation from 14 to 7 days therefore providing extra support for families and children.

We are working with all 32 Local Authorities through their Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans which set out how each local authority intends to implement and transition to a rapid rehousing and Housing First approach to reduce the amount of temporary accommodation being used and the length of stay in there. Implementation of these plans began in April 2019 and the Scottish Government has made £24m available to support implementation over the next 3 years.

We have also undertaken in-depth analysis on the reasons behind increases in the number of children staying in temporary accommodation which showed variations across local authority areas. A key element of the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan is an assessment of the local housing market and as part of that, each local authority should consider the accommodation they have available to house families with children.

Question reference: S5W-24280

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication if its Homelessness in Scotland: 2018 to 2019 statistics, how it is engaging with the City of Edinburgh Council given that it accounts for 69% of breaches of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order in 2018-19.

Following the publication of our biannual homelessness statistics in January I wrote to City of Edinburgh Council about their breaches of the Order and subsequently met with them to discuss the circumstances around the breaches and the plans they have in place to ensure that unsuitable accommodation is not used going forward. I have written again to them following the publication of the full year statistics and requested a further meeting to discuss the progress they have made and explore what further they can do to ensure breaches do not occur again.

We launched a consultation on improving Temporary Accommodation Standards on 22 May which seeks views on extending the Unsuitable Accommodation Order to all homeless households. The consultation asks questions on whether sanctions should be introduced when local authorities breach the order.