Graham Simpson

13 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many self-build homes have been completed in each of the last five years.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government does not collect data on the number of self-build homes completed. Information is collected from local authorities on the number of private-led housing completions relating to single-plot sites, and this is provided in the following t…

13 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of housing approvals in each of the last five years have been for self-build homes.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government does not collect data on housing approvals for self-build homes. The answer to S5W-12726 on 27 November 2017 provides the estimated numbers of self build completions over the last five years. All answers to written parliamentary que…

13 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many new home approvals in each of the last five years have been for self-build homes.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government does not collect data on new home approvals for self-build homes. Individual authorities record planning application approvals, however this will not include the method of delivery.

13 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it is undertaking in response to reports that more than 2,700 more people died in the winter months of 2016 and 2017 compared to summer months.

Answer · Shona Robison: A seasonal increase in deaths is seen each winter in Scotland, across the UK, and across Europe. Previous research has shown Scotland to be about average for Europe in terms of its seasonal increase1. The long-term trend in the seasonal increase in mortality…

24 Oct 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is helping small businesses to access superfast broadband.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: As a result of our intervention through the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme, over 800,000 homes and businesses across the whole of Scotland, that would not otherwise have been connected, are now capable of accessing fibre broadband. How…

5 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the (a) Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure and (b) Energy Performance Certificate to incorporate Scotland-specific building performance data.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government currently have no plans to review the Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure (RdSAP) or the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) to incorporate Scotland-specific building performance data. The current RdSAP already includes Scotla…

5 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers the Energy Performance Certificate to be appropriate for stone-built properties, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are appropriate for the assessment of stone-built buildings. EPCs are produced using the UK Government National Calculation Methodology (NCM) that conforms to the requirements of the Energy Performance of Buildings Dire…

5 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it can ensure that there will be a supply chain of professional accredited assessors for traditional buildings; how it will assess their accreditation standards, what steps it is taking to ensure that training and qualifications are developed to establish a qualified workforce to sup…

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government is committed to improving the energy efficiency of all types of buildings across Scotland as part of Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP). A key element of SEEP will be to ensure that we have a workforce with the right skills,…

5 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that lessons learned from failing energy retrofit remedies to traditional buildings are made available to homeowners and assessors.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: In projects across Scotland, our ‘HEEPS’ Area Based Schemes programme is delivered by local authorities, and our Warmer Homes Scotland scheme is delivered by Warmworks throughout Scotland to a range of properties. Warmworks, local authorities and their agents…

5 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will put measures or exemptions in place in energy efficiency legislation to ensure that (a) important heritage, (b) listed and (c) pre-1919 buildings are protected from inappropriate adaptations.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government is committed to improving the energy efficiency of all types of buildings across Scotland as part of Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP) and we will publish a routemap on the future direction of the programme next year. The …

20 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many private high-rise blocks in each local authority area have combustible cladding.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety sought information from all 32 local authorities on the use of Aluminium Composite Cladding (ACM) on private high rise domestic buildings. No ACM was identified in 31 local authorities. Glasgow City C…

20 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) housing association, (b) local authority and (c) private sector-run (i) sheltered and (ii) very sheltered homes there are.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The answers to each part of the question have been given, where possible, in the following paragraphs. (a) Figures on sheltered housing provided by housing associations are not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The Scottish Housing Regulator collec…

14 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce incentives for the construction industry to encourage innovation.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government is committed to encouraging a higher take-up of innovation and to ensuring this happens more widely across the business base, in all places and sectors. As regards to the construction sector, we have provided funding, via the Scottish…

14 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration was given to construction manufacturing when preparing its Programme for Government, and for what reason it did not include this as a focus for legislation.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government recognises that construction industry is a core sector of the Scottish economy, and continues to work collaboratively with the industry and its leaders. We are using all levers at our disposal to maximise investment and support economi…

14 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding what proportion of the construction industry workforce in Scotland is formed of migrant labour.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: An estimated 7,000 migrants were employed in the Construction sector in Scotland in 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics’ Annual Population Survey 2016, and the Scottish Government warmly welcomes them and values the contribution they make to…

14 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it is investing into research on the offsite construction sector.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government recognises the potential for the development of offsite construction (OSC) in Scotland as a way to improve quality, energy efficiency and build rate. Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise currently support constructi…

6 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason no specific consideration was given to specialist older people's housing in its consultation, Places People and Planning, and whether it will take account of such housing in any future planning legislation.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The recent consultation on the planning system highlighted the need to diversify housing delivery to provide a greater choice and range of housing, including supported homes for the elderly. We consider that the provision of specialist housing for the elderl…

6 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it encourages housing developers and builders to provide suitable options for older people across all tenures, and, in light of the projected increase in the ageing population in future years, what action it is taking or plans to ensure that such options will remain.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government provides a framework for the planning of housing through Local Housing Strategies and Scottish Planning Policy that supports local authorities, who have strategic responsibility for housing within their areas, to determine the range of…

24 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to bring forward a bill to tackle the issue of cars being parked on kerbs, in light of the Footway Parking and Double Parking (Scotland) Bill that was introduced in 2015 but which subsequently fell.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: On 31 March, we launched a consultation entitled' Improving Parking in Scotland', which closed on 30 June 2017 for the general public and 31 August for local authorities and Regional Transport Partnerships. The consultation paper considered how parking is man…

28 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group has met, and when it will next meet.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group has met on: 2 October and 11 December 2013 20 March, 25 June and 29 October 2014 16 February, 21 May,7 September and 19 November 2015 8 February and 22 August 2016 24 January 2017 It also organises a nation…

14 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether a decision has been made on dualling the rail line between East Kilbride and Busby and, if not, when it will be made and by whom.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The next step for promoters is to discuss the proposals with the relevant Regional Transport Partnership, in this case it would be SPT, Strathclyde Passenger Transport who can assess proposals for the rail link in line with local and regional transport priori…

14 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether a decision has been made on electrifying the rail line between East Kilbride and Glasgow and, if not, when it will it made and by whom.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government recognises the benefits that electrification brings in terms of improved journey times and connectivity, as well as environmental benefits and reduced industry costs. The Scottish Government’s investment strategy for the railway netwo…

30 May 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to attract visitors to the 2017 British Transplant Games in North Lanarkshire in July, and what support it is giving to the event.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The British Transplant Games in North Lanarkshire is receiving funding of £24,600 through the EventScotland National Programme. EventScotland, as part of VisitScotland, will work with event organisers to maximise the tourism benefits of the event, with a pa…

28 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many section (a) 30 work notices, (b) 42 maintenance orders and (c) 114 closing orders have been served by each local authority in each of the last five years.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Local Authorities are required, under section 24 of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003, to register any work notices served under section 30 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 in their building standards register. Information on the number of work notices serve…

24 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is implementing the Housing With Care model as a way of reducing delayed discharge.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Integrated Joint Boards are responsible for making local decisions about the health and care needs of patients, to ensure that those who use services get the right care and support whatever their needs, at any point in their care journey. The Scottish Governm…

23 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is helping to expand the role of modern methods of construction in order to meet its target of 50,000 affordable homes.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government supports expansion of modern methods of construction, including off-site construction, which offer real opportunities for the industry to further improve efficiency, standards and to support new skillsets in delivering the homes Scotla…

23 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes meet the Living Home Standard.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Living Home Standard (LHS) is a housing standard developed independently by Shelter and assesses a home’s standard against 39 different attributes. The number of homes meeting the LHS is not held by the Scottish Government. Existing applicable housing st…

17 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much government funding to local authorities has been ring-fenced for additional support needs in schools in each year since 2011.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not provide ring-fenced funding for Additional Support for Learning in schools. Funding is included in the block grant which the Scottish Government provides to all local authorities as part of the annual local government finance …

17 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many new shower facilities have been installed in Scottish stations since Abellio won the ScotRail franchise in 2015.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: No additional shower facilities have been installed since Abellio won the ScotRail franchise in 2015. However, the major stations Aberdeen, Edinburgh Waverley, Fort William, Glasgow Central (High Level) and Inverness all have shower facilities.

16 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to monitor the effectiveness in narrowing the attainment gap of the literacy schemes that have been developed by primary schools.

Answer · John Swinney: The National Improvement Framework provides teachers with nationally consistent data to help inform their professional judgement. In December 2016 and January 2017, we published the percentage of children achieving Curriculum for Excellence levels in aspects …