Miles Briggs

14 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the level of fees that have been applied for various short-term let licence applications in each local authority area since their introduction.

Answer · Paul McLennan: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20573 on 5 September 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-commit…

14 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce land value capture.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: A proportion of land value uplift is already “captured” through national and local taxation. Additionally, existing planning mechanisms such as section 75 planning obligations can be used to secure contributions to, or provision of, infrastructure and afforda…

14 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent from the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund in each year since its creation.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: Since its creation in August 2020 and 31st March 2023 the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund has awarded £52,188,302 in grant funding. The breakdown across financial years can be found in the following table: Financial Year Grant Awarded 2020-21 £8,490,676…

14 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to roll out the Winter Heating Payment to households in 2023-24.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: As part of our ongoing joint programme for delivery, following the launch of the Winter Heating Payment, Scottish Government officials have been working with counterparts at the Department of Work and Pensions to develop a revised timeframe that will allow pa…

14 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have been retrofitted through the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund in each year since its creation, also broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Social Housing Net Zero Heat fund has awarded grant for the retrofit of 11,662 homes since its creation in August 2020 and March 31st 2023. The breakdown across financial years and by local authority can be found in the following table: Local Authority A…

14 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to exempt mid market rent properties from regulations in the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: There are currently no plans to exempt mid-market rent (MMR) properties from the requirements in the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022. As MMR properties are delivered through Registered Social Landlord subsidiary companies and are there…

14 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been raised from short-term let licence application fees in each local authority area since their introduction.

Answer · Paul McLennan: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20573 on 5 September 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-commit…

11 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether adoptees records have been made available via the National Record of Scotland's ScotlandsPeople Centre, and what discussions it has had with adult adoptees regarding making records available via the National Record of Scotland's ScotlandsPeople Centre.

Answer · Angus Robertson: No adoption records have been made available via ScotlandsPeople Centre, nor the ScotlandsPeople website. National Records of Scotland (NRS) continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to provide further reassurance following the removal of index entries t…

9 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review legislation regarding stalking.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government works in conjunction with justice system agencies in monitoring the effectiveness of legislation on an on-going basis. There are no plans for a formal review of the criminal law on stalking at this time.

9 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many kinship carers there currently are in each local authority area.

Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Government does not collect information on the total number of kinship carers in each local authority area. We do, however, hold figures for the number of children who are looked after in kinship care and these are included in the Children’s Soc…

9 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many defibrillators have been provided to schools in Scotland, and what percentage of secondary schools have received defibrillators, both broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government does not hold the information you request regarding defibrillators in schools. You may wish to contact Scottish Local Authorities individually for information they may hold. The Scottish local government page of the Confederation of S…

9 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints of antisocial behaviour in properties have been recorded in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

9 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking to deliver new employment support schemes, in light of reports of an estimated 150,000 long-term unemployed people in Scotland.

Answer · Neil Gray: Latest information from the Annual Population Survey (April 2022 to Mar 2023) shows that there are 28,300 people in Scotland who are unemployed for 12 months or more and therefore are long term unemployed. Through No One Left Behind, we are transforming the …

9 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with further education institutions regarding saving the digital skills academy, CodeClan.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise worked intensively with CodeClan to explore every possible option to secure a sustainable future, including commissioning the support of private sector consultants and considering options involving other public …

9 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many households in Scotland have received support through boiler replacement schemes in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government operated a boiler scrappage scheme from May 2010 to March 2013. Details of the number of boilers replaced through this and other historic schemes funded by the Scottish Government are published on the Energy Saving Trust website . S…

9 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the threshold for paying Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.

Answer · Tom Arthur: Decisions on the future arrangements for Land and Buildings Transaction Tax will be taken in the context of the Scottish Budget.  

9 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on what the reported £86 million of debt accrued by Circularity Scotland was spent on.

Answer · Lorna Slater: Scottish Government does not hold this information. Circularity Scotland Limited (CSL) was established as a private not-for-profit company by the drinks industry to meet its regulatory obligations. The Directors and Administrators of CSL have placed informati…

9 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of fraudulent applications have been detected by Social Security Scotland in each year since it was formed, and how much public money was estimated to be paid in each year as a result of such applications.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland do not make decisions on whether an application is fraudulent. Where fraud is suspected, appropriate investigations would be undertaken and when complete, a report would be made to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal for their cons…

9 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact on future Edinburgh festivals of any reduction in short-term let accommodation.

Answer · Paul McLennan: The Edinburgh festivals are an essential part of Scotland’s yearly calendar and we are confident that the powers granted to the City of Edinburgh Council, and all of the local authorities, to deliver short term let schemes are appropriate to reflect local cir…

4 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light its report, Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group: Final Report and Recommendations, whether the National Acquisition Programme will be targeted at the City of Edinburgh to reduce the reported number of families and children living in temporary accommodation in the city.

Answer · Paul McLennan: All local authorities will consider and assess how much of their 2023-24 resource planning assumptions (RPAs) they target towards property acquisitions.

4 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its report, Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group: Final Report and Recommendations, how it will measure the success of any actions it has taken.

Answer · Paul McLennan: Homelessness in Scotland is a statistical bulletin published by the Scottish Government twice a year. This data provides quantitative evidence across a number of issues for homeless households, including applications, assessments, temporary accommodation and …

4 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its report, Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group; Final Report and Recommendations, whether the additional £2 million allocated in the 2022-23 financial year for rapid rehousing transition plans is new money. 

Answer · Paul McLennan: Since 2019-20, local authorities have been allocated an annual share of £8 million from the Ending Homelessness Together Budget to support the implementation of their rapid rehousing transition plans. This is in addition to £2 million allocated in 2018-19 fro…

4 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its report, Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group: Final Report and Recommendations, what budget the additional £2 million in 2023-24 for local authority rapid rehousing transition plans is being allocated from.  

Answer · Paul McLennan: Since 2019-20, local authorities have been allocated an annual share of £8 million from the Ending Homelessness Together Budget to support the implementation of their rapid rehousing transition plans. The additional £2 million in 2023-24 for rapid rehousing t…

4 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its report, Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group: Final Report and Recommendations, what specific actions it will take with (a) local authorities and (b) registered social landlords to help increase the number of allocations to homeless households.

Answer · Paul McLennan: We are in discussions with the Scottish Housing Regulator, the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, the Glasgow West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations, COSLA and Shelter Scotland to ag…

4 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its report, Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group: Final Report and Recommendations, what specific work it plans to undertake to increase the number of homes being changed from temporary to permanent homes.

Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government considers the conversion of temporary to permanent accommodation an effective measure to increase the number of social homes. We encourage local authorities to ‘flip’ a tenancy wherever the property is in the right location, and of the…

4 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its report, Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group: Final Report and Recommendations, what specific additional interventions it will make as part of its urgent action to reduce the number of void properties in the social sector.

Answer · Paul McLennan: As set out in our response to the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group recommendations, there are a number of reasons a property can become void. We will therefore work with each local authority, starting with the areas facing the greatest temporary …

4 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £60 million, which was a commitment in its 2022-23 Programme for Government, has it invested to renew play parks.

Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children across Scotland can access high quality play opportunities in a range of settings. Through play, children and young people can explore the world around them in a creative and engaging way. It …

4 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to widen the eligibility criteria for the Tenant Grant Fund.

Answer · Paul McLennan: The eligibility criteria of the Tenant Grant Fund was extended in September 2022 to enable local authorities to use the fund to prevent homelessness for households who had built up more recent arrears, including as a result of the cost of living crisis. Natio…

4 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to (a) the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme, (b) Area-Based Schemes and (c) Home Energy Scotland in the 2022-23 financial year. 

Answer · Patrick Harvie: In the 2022-23 financial year, the final outturn allocations to the schemes were as follows:Warmer Homes Scotland - £42.5 millionArea Based Schemes - £41.7 millionHome Energy Scotland - £22.4 million

4 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to the (a) Council Tax Reduction Scheme and (b) Water Charges Reduction Scheme in the 2022-23 financial year.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The 2022-23 Local Government Finance Settlement included £351 million for the Council Tax Reduction Scheme. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, i…