Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-13264

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the median number of days a household spends in temporary accommodation is, broken down by household type.

Homelessness data, which includes information about temporary accommodation placements, is available for all local authorities from 2017-18. The following table shows the median total time in days spent in temporary accommodation for households with homelessness applications that closed in each year from 2017/18 by household type. The figures are based on homelessness applications with at least one associated temporary accommodation placement.

Median total time (days) spent in temporary accommodation, by household type: 2017-18 to 2021-22

Household type	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
All	116	117	116	129	121
Single Person	106	105	106	118	111
Single Parent	134	139	134	160	146
Couple	119	115	117	132	128
Couple with Children	192	194	188	270	211
Other	124	133	129	151	138
Other with Children	166	172	162	190	171

Source: HL1 and HL3 dataset as at 18/08/2022

Notes on tables:

Figures may be based on the total duration of multiple temporary accommodation placements taken up by a household. A complete set of temporary accommodation placement data is not available prior to 2017-18. Figures refer to households with a homeless application that closed in the given year that took up temporary accommodation.

Information on household type is derived from the information on household type as at the time of the original homelessness application, and therefore may not reflect the actual composition of the household whilst in temporary accommodation. "Other" includes households with 2 adults that are not a couple or households with more than 2 adults.

Question reference: S6W-13435

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government which suppliers (a) registered for and (b) attended the Single Building Assessment(s) for Fire Safety in Scotland remote suppliers event, which was held on 14 December 2022.

Question reference: S6W-13265

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) lower and (b) upper quartile number of days a household spends in temporary accommodation is, broken down by household type.

Homelessness data, which includes information about temporary accommodation placements, is available for all local authorities from 2017-18. The following table shows the lower (a) and upper (b) quartile of total time in days spent in temporary accommodation for households with homelessness applications that closed in each year from 2017-18 by household type. The figures are based on homelessness applications with at least one associated temporary accommodation placement.

Lower (LQ) and upper (UQ) quartile of total time (days) spent in temporary accommodation, by household type: 2017-18 to 2021-22

Household type	2017-18		2018-19		2019-20		2020-21		2021-22
Household type	LQ	UQ	LQ	UQ	LQ	UQ	LQ	UQ	LQ	UQ
All	45	239	44	242	45	241	43	276	44	277
Single Person	38	221	37	221	39	225	36	252	37	260
Single Parent	61	265	61	280	60	270	65	326	63	304
Couple	50	223	48	232	47	225	48	282	57	273
Couple with Children	90	373	83	374	79	368	125	483	85	484
Other	62	247	51	253	55	247	49	289	52	297
Other with Children	84	338	93	361	73	352	66	435	68	378

Source: HL1 and HL3 dataset as at 18/08/2022

Notes on tables:

Figures may be based on the total duration of multiple temporary accommodation placements taken up by a household. A complete set of temporary accommodation placement data is not available prior to 2017-18. Figures refer to households with a homeless application that closed in the given year that took up temporary accommodation.

Information on household type is derived from the information on household type as at the time of the original homelessness application, and therefore may not reflect the actual composition of the household whilst in temporary accommodation. "Other" includes households with 2 adults that are not a couple or households with more than 2 adults.

Question reference: S6W-13252

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any new legislation is being considered to help address Scotland-specific cladding issues, and, if this is the case, whether it will (a) incorporate elements from the Building Safety Act 2022 passed by the UK Parliament and (b) be primary or secondary legislation.

Question reference: S6W-13436

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will lay regulations to amend Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 to give effect to the motion S6M-05106 that was agreed, as amended, by the Parliament on 22 June 2022, in advance of the date prescribed in the Local Government Finance Act 1992 of when local authorities are required to set council tax rates for 2023-24.

Work is underway to consider options for changes to Council Tax, reflecting the current circumstances created by the cost crisis. Central to this, the Programme for Government 2022-23 committed to establishing a working group to oversee deliberative engagement on local government funding, including Council Tax.

The Joint Working Group has commenced its work and within its remit has begun to consider the provision of powers to allow local authorities to increase the rate of Council Tax on second and empty homes to support best use of existing housing stock. We will take account of the Group’s conclusions in developing proposals for public engagement and consultation on the matter.

Question reference: S6W-13347

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the proposed £31.3 million allocated to Building Standards in 2023-24 does it plan to spend on (a) the cladding remediation programme (b) a programme of research and professional advice on the building standards system in Scotland and (c) other sources.

Question reference: S6W-13095

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10597 by Shona Robison 20 September 2022, what information it does record about the house builder or construction company once a project is tendered, and how it engages with those SME house builders.

The Scottish Government does not mandate the recording of contractor or housebuilder details within a tender application. If supplied, the information we collect relates solely to the name of the contractor. The Scottish Government has no direct engagement with the contractor as the contractual relationship is between the grant applicant and the housebuilders/contractors. Scottish Government More Homes Division engagement at a strategic level is through industry bodies such as Homes for Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-13094

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many SME housebuilders have been engaged in the delivery of the affordable housing supply programme in each year since 2016-17, and how it analyses the involvement of SME housebuilders in the supply chain on the basis of (a) geography, (b) project type and size and (c) grant recipient.

Question reference: S6W-12769

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the scoping work to assess future housing skills needs and associated provision, that was due to commence in July 2022, has been completed.

Question reference: S6W-13093

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10596 by Shona Robison 20 September 2022, how this information compares with insolvencies since 2007-08.

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