- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what financial modelling it has carried out to calculate its cost basis projection for reopening the Independent Living Fund (ILF) Scotland 2015 Fund.
Answer
The budget of £9m for 2024-25 has been set on the basis of up to 1,000 disabled people receiving awards of up to £330 per week. The budget takes account of awards for new recipients phasing in over the course of the year, and makes allowance for the additional operational costs to Independent Living Fund Scotland for processing and assessing applications and supporting new recipients.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what eligibility criteria it plans to employ for new applications to the reopened Independent Living Fund.
Answer
The principles that will govern access to the reopened Independent Living Fund, recommended by the Co-Production Working Group, are set out on the Independent Living Fund Scotland website, at
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 2 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Justice Committee’s inquiry in 2013 and the Scottish Government’s response to it, for what reason it has not yet published the voluntary code of practice on dismissing and replacing land-owning maintenance companies.
Answer
The Scottish Government is preparing a Voluntary Code of Practice on dismissing and replacing land-owning land maintenance companies.
I acknowledge that there has been a considerable time elapsed since the decision to bring forward a voluntary code of practice on dismissing and replacing land-owning maintenance companies.
Unfortunately, due to other pressures, work has not progressed on the voluntary code of practice as anticipated.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 28 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether the specification that it is considering for single building assessments, in relation to cladding remediation, is limited to external cladding systems on buildings, or whether it is giving consideration to internal systems and fixtures being within scope.
Answer
The Single Building Assessment (SBA) is a risk-based approach to assess and culminate in a report on the risk to human life (directly or indirectly) created or exacerbated by the External Wall System (EWS) in multi-residential domestic buildings which may include a commercial premises, constructed or refurbished between 1 June 1992 and 1 June 2022, 11 metres and over in height and incorporating a form of external wall cladding system. The SBA includes a FRAEW (Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls) which requires that a building is assessed holistically, and for that reason, the SBA will also include a Fire Risk Assessment of the common parts of the building to the level of detail deemed required by the Fire Engineer / Assessor. The level of risk acceptance for any building in scope is tolerable risk. The recommendations identified by the Fire Engineer or Assessor within the SBA report which are deemed necessary to eliminate or mitigate risk to human life (directly or indirectly) created or exacerbated by the EWS will form the remediation scope.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 28 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on agreeing the specification for single building assessments in relation to cladding remediation.
Answer
The Single Building Assessment (SBA) is a risk-based approach to assess and culminate in a report on the risk to human life (directly or indirectly) created or exacerbated by the External Wall System (EWS) in multi-residential domestic buildings which may include a commercial premises, constructed or refurbished between 1 June 1992 and 1 June 2022, 11 metres and over in height and incorporating a form of external wall cladding system. The SBA includes a FRAEW (Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls) which requires that a building is assessed holistically, and for that reason, the SBA will also include a Fire Risk Assessment of the common parts of the building to the level of detail deemed required by the Fire Engineer / Assessor. The level of risk acceptance for any building in scope is tolerable risk. The recommendations identified by the Fire Engineer or Assessor within the SBA report which are deemed necessary to eliminate or mitigate risk to human life (directly or indirectly) created or exacerbated by the EWS will form the remediation scope.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 27 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to finalise the specification for single building assessments in relation to cladding remediation before the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill is debated at stage 3.
Answer
The specification for single building assessments is in development and is due to be published by the end of May 2024. I will write to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee once there is an updated position regarding the specification.
Timings for Stage 3 of the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill will be agreed by Parliament in due course.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 21 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of an accredited qualification and registration programme for Additional Support Needs assistants.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 21 March 2024
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 14 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with North Lanarkshire Council to improve the school estate.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 14 March 2024
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many recipient organisations of an Empowering Communities Programme grant award were dissolved before their grant was paid, in each of the last five years.
Answer
Of the grants delivered within the Empowering Communities Programme there has been one organisation that dissolved in 2020-21 during the period of their grant award and one that entered into dissolution process in the final year of their grant award period in 2021-22.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Friday, 23 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 6 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what the competing work priorities are that have resulted in the planned publication of the Scottish Housing Market Review in January 2024 being suspended.
Answer
The Scottish Housing Market Review, a quarterly publication which collates a range of previously published statistics, was suspended in January 2024 due to a number of competing work priorities, which included analytical work related to the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act as well as other legislative commitments.
The next edition of the Review is due to be published in April 2024, and will include analysis of data released in both Q4 2023 and Q1 2024.