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-01292

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 July 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how its affordable housing subsidy will respond to the shortages of materials and price increases that were recently reported by the Federation of Master Builders.

The Affordable Housing Supply Programme housing subsidy is flexible and is able to respond to the challenges reported recently by the Federation of Master Builders. In this respect, the amount of grant funding that individual projects require continues to be a decision for Registered Social Landlords and local authorities which – as part of the application process – are required to self-certify that the grant that they are requesting is the minimum necessary to allow a project to proceed once homes are designed and tender prices have been received. The amount of grant requested is then compared with the applicable Affordable Housing Investment Benchmark to determine how the funding application will be assessed. Projects that can be delivered with grant funding at or below the relevant benchmark follow a streamlined application and approval process, with projects which are seeking grant funding in excess of the relevant benchmark following a more detailed value for money assessment.

Question reference: S6W-01293

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 July 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Social Housing Tender Price Index will take account of the shortages of materials and price increases that were recently reported by the Federation of Master Builders.

Question reference: S6W-01242

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will carry out a review of the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing Two, in light of research by Changeworks suggesting that it would reduce the total percentage of households in fuel poverty from 38% to 29%.

Question reference: S6W-01473

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-01476

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-00774

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many applicants to the Tenant Hardship Loan have not passed the (a) affordability check, (b) credit check or, (c) both.

When an application to the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund is received an initial affordability assessment is performed, based on estimates of income and expenditure provided by the applicant. Where affordability is not shown the application is not credit checked. Applicants can ask for an appeal of the affordability assessment.

As at 21 June there were 8 applications that failed the affordability check and a further 4 applicants that unsuccessfully appealed the affordability assessment.

There were 254 applications which failed to reach the minimum credit score and a further 142 applicants who unsuccessfully appealed the credit score check.

Question reference: S6W-00773

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00072 by Shona Robison on 27 May 2021, whether it will provide an update on how many tenants have received loans from the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund, broken down by the (a) private and (b) social sectors, including registered social landlords and local authority landlords.

Question reference: S6W-00775

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00071 by Shona Robison on 27 May 2021, whether it will provide an update on the total value of loans made under the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund scheme, broken down by local authority area.

A breakdown of these awards by local authority area is not currently gathered although this information is collected at application entry level and is as follows:

Number of applications per local authority
Local authority	Total	Social	PRS
Aberdeen City	46	18	28
Aberdeenshire	26	13	13
Angus	9	1	8
Argyll & Bute	5	3	2
Clackmannanshire	11	8	3
Dumfries & Galloway	18	5	13
Dundee City	51	18	33
East Ayrshire	43	20	23
East Dunbartonshire	2	0	2
East Lothian	11	3	8
East Renfrewshire	3	1	2
Edinburgh, City of	120	22	98
Falkirk	24	7	17
Fife	48	13	35
Glasgow City	164	68	96
Highland	22	3	19
Inverclyde	13	6	7
Midlothian	10	3	7
Moray	12	5	7
North Ayrshire	29	9	20
North Lanarkshire	44	15	29
Orkney Islands	2	2	0
Perth & Kinross	41	21	20
Renfrewshire	28	3	25
Scottish Borders	10	2	8
Shetland Islands	2	0	2
South Ayrshire	29	7	22
South Lanarkshire	49	16	33
Stirling	8	4	4
West Dunbartonshire	24	12	12
West Lothian	37	20	17
N/A	10	1	9
Total	951	329	622

Question reference: S6W-00772

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government which contractor carries out the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund (a) affordability and (b) credit checks, and how much it has cost to (i) operate, and (ii) administer the fund.

The Tenant Hardship Loan Fund is operated and administered on behalf of the Scottish Government by Energy Savings Trust (EST), using a variation of an existing contract. EST carry out affordability checks based on the income and expenditure information provided by the applicant. Initial credit scoring is undertaken by Credit Safe which is powered by TransUnion. Applicants can appeal the credit scoring and in this process a separate credit score is obtained from Credit Karma. This ensures that any error in the original credit check does not impact final decision-making.

All costs associated with operation and administration of the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund are with EST. These costs form part of a wider contract and are commercial-in-confidence, although these can be shared in confidence with the Finance and Constitution Committee where appropriate.

Question reference: S6W-00770

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 9 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to consult on providing same-sex married couples with a right to modify previously issued wedding schedules and certificates to use the term "groom".

Individuals who intend to marry can currently choose to be designated in the register of marriages as either ‘bride’ or ‘bridegroom’ or they can choose that no designation be entered for them in that register. An extract from the marriage register (a marriage certificate) reflects the content of the register of marriages.

Under the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965, the statutory registers of births, deaths and marriages may be altered only where authorised by that, or another Act. Corrections to these registers are permitted in limited circumstances, such as when a clerical error is identified or, in the case of the register of births, a decree of parentage has established a child’s father.

As I confirmed in my answer to the member’s question S6W-00609, the Registrar General for Scotland and the Scottish Government will, when time permits, write to key stakeholders to seek their views on what changes may be required to the marriage notice form for future couples. The answer to question S6W-00609 provided on 22 June 2021 is available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

We have no plans, in advance of that work, to consult on changes to the legislative arrangements for correcting the register of marriages.