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: S6W-20673

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the monthly reviews of affordable housing supply programme capital spend capacity have identified, and where any money has been redistributed to.

Question reference: S6W-20675

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates it has discussed issues and identified any possible actions with Homes for Scotland in relation to slowing social rented approvals and starts, and what the outcomes of any such discussions were.

Question reference: S6W-20636

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the affordable homes supply programme target was increased to 110,000 in the Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party Shared Policy Programme but did not set a specific revised mid-point target.

Question reference: S6W-20674

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what anticipated financial slippage the affordable housing supply programme has identified for the current financial year.

Question reference: S6W-20668

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many members of staff have (a) resigned and (b) retired from its More Homes Division in each quarter since May 2021, and how many are due to retire in the year to April 2024.

In the following table, the number of resignations and retirements within More Homes Division over the requested period is shown, subject to the following restrictions:

1. Where a value relates to fewer than 5 individuals, that value has been suppressed for confidentiality purposes, represented by [c].

2. Resignations only includes those who resigned from the Scottish Government and its agencies, not those who moved internally.

Quarter ending	Resignations	Retirements
30 June 2021	0	0
30 September 2021	0	[c]
31 December 2021	0	[c]
31 March 2022	0	[c]
30 June 2022	0	[c]
30 September 2022	0	[c]
31 December 2022	[c]	0
31 March 2023	0	0
30 June 2023	[c]	[c]
Total over period	[c]	8

Question reference: S6W-20667

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether its More Homes Division is subject to a recruitment cap, and, if so, when any such cap was put in place and when it is expected to end.

The Scottish Government continually monitors its operations and delivery through the application of effective workforce controls at the organisational level. We prioritise our resources to support the elected government’s agenda, with workforce controls allowing flexibility to deploy resources as required. These controls are routinely monitored and adjusted to respond to the financial position and delivery requirements of the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6W-20669

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) headcount and (b) FTE staffing level was of its More Homes Division in each quarter since May 2021.

The number of directly employed staff with More Homes Division in each quarter since May 2021 is shown in in the following table, for both headcount and full time equivalent (FTE).

Quarter ending	Headcount	Full-time Equivalent (FTE)
30 June 2021	84	79.1
30 September 2021	82	77.0
31 December 2021	77	73.2
31 March 2022	75	71.2
30 June 2022	78	73.9
30 September 2022	75	70.9
31 December 2022	75	70.5
31 March 2023	75	70.5
30th June 2023	71	66.7

Question reference: S6W-20623

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 14 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 31 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many repossessions the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service has recorded in each quarter since April 2018.

Repossession involves the retaking of property when a borrower is in breach or default of a mortgage or loan secured on the property.
‎

The first table shows the number of repossessions registered by the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services since April 2018, split by residential and non-residential and unoccupied property.

		Initiated cases		Disposed cases
Year	Quarter	Non-residential or unoccupied property	Residential property	Non-residential or unoccupied property	Residential property
2018	Apr - Jun	11	416	6	417
	Jul - Sep	14	437	12	381
	Oct - Dec	6	381	10	382
2019	Jan - Mar	7	597	3	405
	Apr - Jun	12	699	3	564
	Jul - Sep	9	511	6	512
	Oct - Dec	8	407	6	396
2020	Jan - Mar	16	542	4	357
	Apr - Jun	1	18	0	8
	Jul - Sep	5	6	17	22
	Oct - Dec	3	13	2	28
2021	Jan - Mar	5	40	4	61
	Apr - Jun	3	85	4	128
	Jul - Sep	5	281	3	205
	Oct - Dec	8	307	2	260
2022	Jan - Mar	13	485	13	356
	Apr - Jun	10	313	5	382
	Jul - Sep	10	370	7	325
	Oct - Dec	10	305	7	334
2023	Jan - Mar	8	326	5	302
	Apr - Jun	11	347	11	304

The second table details the residential repossessions cases disposed by the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services since April 2018, split by disposal type.

			Disposal Type
Year	Quarter	Total residential disposals	Absolvitor	Allowed or granted 1	For pursuer defended	For pursuer Undefended	Decree by default	Summary decree	Dismissed 2
2018	Apr - Jun	417	1	0	34	200	8	1	173
	Jul - Sep	381	1	3	30	197	6	5	139
	Oct - Dec	382	1	1	21	219	11	8	121
2019	Jan - Mar	405	1	1	32	246	5	8	112
	Apr - Jun	564	2	1	25	318	30	20	168
	Jul - Sep	512	1	4	18	296	8	9	176
	Oct - Dec	396	1	3	34	194	8	8	148
2020	Jan - Mar	357	1	5	32	161	4	7	147
	Apr - Jun	8	0	0	0	1	0	0	7
	Jul - Sep	22	1	0	1	3	0	0	17
	Oct - Dec	28	1	0	1	9	0	1	16
2021	Jan - Mar	61	1	0	10	9	0	1	40
	Apr - Jun	128	3	1	8	54	0	1	61
	Jul - Sep	205	0	1	16	88	3	11	86
	Oct - Dec	260	1	1	15	136	2	7	98
2022	Jan - Mar	356	0	0	18	196	4	9	129
	Apr - Jun	382	2	3	15	203	0	5	154
	Jul - Sep	325	5	1	10	176	1	3	129
	Oct - Dec	334	2	2	15	171	2	8	134
2023	Jan - Mar	302	1	4	17	147	2	13	118
	Apr - Jun	304	1	3	19	135	1	7	138

Notes

1. Includes any disposals of 'decree for pursuer'

2. Includes any disposals of 'decree for defender'

Question reference: S6O-02458

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with trade unions to ensure that it includes workers' voices in its policy development.

Question reference: S6W-20626

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 14 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 30 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many evictions the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service has recorded in each quarter since April 2022 as a result of a property being sold by a lender, including where the property is a tenanted property or the landlord's own property.