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-03469

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 29 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-01541 by Shona Robison on 10 August 2021, whether a full response has now been received and, if so, whether it will provide an update on the information provided.

Further the government’s answer to question S6W-01541 by Shona Robison on 10 August, my officials have now received a complete response from members of the Building Standards (Fire Safety) Review panel.

Of those responses:

1 member of the 2018-19 panel (21 members) and 3 members of the 2020-21 panel (26 members) had a role in designing BS 8414; and
1 member of the 2018-19 panel (21 members) and 3 members of the 2020-21 panel (26 members) have worked for organisations that carry out BS 8414 fire tests on behalf of commercial sponsors.

Question reference: S6O-00316

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a report from Falkirk Council that states that the average cost of building a new affordable home is set to rise to £240,000, from £144,823 in 2014.

Question reference: S6W-03434

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 01 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 27 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how regularly it will publish statistics on the use of its recently announced grant funding for tenants in rent arrears, which show the number of (a) grants given, (b) households supported and (c) tenancies maintained.

We have worked closely with CoSLA and others to develop this fund. Local authorities will report progress with administering the Tenant Grant Fund to the Scottish Government, on a quarterly basis. This means the first official reports from local authorities on their use of the Tenant Grant Fund, will be available early next year. In the meantime, we will remain in close contact with CoSLA to ensure that this new grant fund reaches those in need.

Question reference: S6W-03435

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 01 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 27 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund is due to close to new applicants.

Question reference: S6W-03433

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 01 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 27 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it is aligning the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund with its recently announced grant funding for tenants in rent arrears.

The £10m Tenant Grant Fund is part of a package of measures available to local authorities to prevent homelessness, alongside other support such as Discretionary Housing Payments and advice on maximising income. The grant will co-exist alongside the £10 million Tenant Hardship Loan Fund and be open to eligible private and social tenants.

As there is no one single solution, both the loan and grant can provide support to different people in different circumstances, to assist them during the pandemic recovery period.

The Grant is available for local authorities, who can consider all the circumstances and support available, to pay rent arrears for those most in need with the aim of preventing homelessness and creating sustainable tenancies.

In comparison, the Loan fund will continue to offer loans responsibly to applicants who can demonstrate that they can afford to make future loan repayments spread over a number of years. The loan is not suitable for all but, where it is, the interest free terms and long repayment period can help tenants who are struggling but not necessarily at risk of losing their tenancy, to get back on their feet.

We want people to access the most appropriate form of support for them and encourage tenants in difficulty to seek advice and assistance on their housing circumstances as soon as possible.

Question reference: S6W-03521

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it distributed through the Housing Infrastructure Fund in each year from 2016-17 to 2020-21, also broken down by grant or loan funding type.

Question reference: S6W-03245

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 8 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many Registered Social Landlords have applied to it to raise their rents by over (a) 5% and (b) 10% in each of the last five years, and how many applications were approved.

While it is up to individual social landlords to strike the best balance between rent levels and meeting the housing needs of local communities, rents for social rented homes should not be set without regard to the importance of affordability for tenants. The Scottish Government therefore considers the proposed rents for Registered Social Landlord social rented homes at the point of first let as part of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme grant assessment process

Applications from Registered Social Landlords for grant funding to deliver projects through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme at tender stage contain information on any projected rent levels at the date of completion which are more than 5% above the relevant social rent benchmark published by the Scottish Government.

Information on the number of tender applications which were approved which contained Registered Social Landlord projected rent levels at the point of completion which exceeded the relevant social rent benchmark by more than 5% began to be collected in 2018-19 as follows:

	Projected rent levels more than 5% and up to 10% above benchmark		Projected rent levels more than 5% and also more than 10% above benchmark		Projected rent levels more than 10% above benchmark
	Number of Registered Social Landlords	Number of tender applications approved	Number of Registered Social Landlords	Number of tender applications approved	Number of Registered Social Landlords	Number of tender applications approved
2018-19	12	14	5	7	4	4
2019-20	7	7	8	9	4	5
2020-21	7	10	4	7	7	11

At tender stage, the estimated completion dates of the above projects were as follows:

Estimated project completion dates for applications containing projected rent levels which were more than 5% and up to 10% above benchmark

Estimated project completion dates for applications containing projected rent levels which were more than 5% and also more than 10% above benchmark

Estimated project completion dates for applications containing projected rent levels which were more than 10% above benchmark

2018-19

2018-19: 1 project

2019-20: 6 projects

2020-21: 7 projects

2018-19: 1 project

2019-20: 4 projects

2020-21: 2 projects

2019-20: 4 projects

2019-20

2019-20: 1 project

2020-21: 4 projects

2021-22: 1 project

2022-23: 1 project

2020-21: 5 projects

2021-22: 3 projects

2023-24: 1 project

2019-20: 1 project

2020-21: 1 project

2021-22: 2 projects

2023-24: 1 project

2020-21

2021-22: 3 projects

2022-23: 7 projects

2020-21: 1 project

2021-22: 3 projects

2022-23: 3 projects

2020-21: 1 project

2021-22: 1 project

2022-23: 7 projects

2023-24: 2 projects

Information is not available on any applications that may not have been approved.

Question reference: S6W-03271

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 8 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its response to the consultation on its draft Licensing Order and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) for short-term lets.

Question reference: S6W-03177

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 8 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of the registered social landlords that have applied to it to raise their rents by over (a) 5% and (b) 10% in each of the last five years.

Applications from Registered Social Landlords for grant funding through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme at tender stage contain information on any projected rent levels at the date of completion which are more than 5% above the relevant social rent benchmark published by the Scottish Government. Information on the Registered Social Landlords’ applications which were approved began to be collected in 2018-19 as follows:

Registered Social Landlords with projects where projected rent levels were more than 5% and up to 10% above benchmark

Registered Social Landlords with projects where projected rent levels were more than 5% and also more than 10% above benchmark

Registered Social Landlords with projects where projected rent levels were more than 10% above benchmark

2018-19

Angus Housing Association, Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association, Cunninghame Housing Association, East Lothian Housing Association, Elderpark Housing Association, Hillcrest Housing Association, Home Group, Kingdom Housing Association, Waverley Housing, West Highland Housing Association, West Lothian Housing Partnership, and West of Scotland Housing Association

Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association, Dunedin Canmore Housing Association, East Lothian Housing Association, Eildon Housing Association, and Glasgow West Housing Association

Cassiltoun Housing Association, Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association, Dunedin Canmore Housing Association, and Fyne Homes

2019-20

Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association, Cunninghame Housing Association, Eildon Housing Association, Hillcrest Housing Association, Kingdom Housing Association, Partick Housing Association, and West Highland Housing Association

Albyn Housing Society, Almond Housing Association, Castle Rock Edinvar Housing, Dunedin Canmore Housing Association, Fyne Homes, Hillcrest Housing Association, Home Group, and Port of Leith Housing Association

Albyn Housing Society, Dunedin Canmore Housing Association, East Lothian Housing Association, and Port of Leith Housing Association

2020-21

Clyde Valley Housing Association, Cunninghame Housing Association, Dumfries and Galloway Housing Partnership, Grampian Housing Association, Kingdom Housing Association, Loreburn Housing Association, and West Lothian Housing Partnership

Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association, Dunedin Canmore Housing Association, Grampian Housing Association, and Hillcrest Housing Association

Bield Housing Association, Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association, Dumfries and Galloway Housing Partnership, Dunedin Canmore Housing Association, Hillcrest Housing Association, Home Group, and

Loreburn Housing Association

Information is not available on any applications that may not have been approved.

Question reference: S6W-03126

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when options 1 and 2 in Scottish Government and COSLA guidance on self-directed support during the COVID-19 pandemic will be withdrawn, and how its experience of the wider use of allowing family members to be employed under self-directed support will inform its future policy.

Original was published July 2020.

Work is currently underway to refresh the guidance, which supports Local Authority and Health and Social Care Partnership staff who assess, approve and administer social work and social care and support (including carer support), and approve Self-directed Support (SDS) budgets.

The SDS Covid-19 Guidance will remain in place for the duration of the pandemic, to be reviewed by Scottish Ministers at the appropriate time.

It is vitally important that we learn from the experiences we have had during the pandemic. We are continuing to work in close partnership with Social Work Scotland and COSLA. We are also engaging with stakeholders via Self Directed Support Practice Network and SDS Collective, to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are at the forefront of any future planning and policy making decisions.

£’m	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	Total
Grant	11.772	8.435	5.034	3.309	6.345	34.895
Loan	7.900			5.999		13.899
Total	19.672	8.435	5.034	9.308	6.345	48.794