Parliamentary questions
Miles Briggs
4,209 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government to what extent it has explored prototypes for an online registration system, similar to the system paid for and presented to it by former members of its working group on short-term lets.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05400 on 24 January 2022. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusine…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding its plans to regulate short-term lets.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05400 on 24 January 2022. 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-committ…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether there will be any penalties for local authorities that fail to enforce planned regulations on short-term lets, and, if so, what these penalties will be.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05400 on 24 January 2022. 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-committ…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many local authorities have applied to the Scottish Ministers to have an area designated as a Rent Pressure Zone since their introduction.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government has not received any applications for rent pressure zone designation. Our aim is to ensure quality, affordability and fairness for everyone who rents a home and our new draft Rented Sector Strategy consultation, ‘A New Deal for Tenan…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings its ministers have had with bed and breakfast operators regarding plans to regulate their sector alongside short-term lets.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05411 on 24 January 2022. 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-committ…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many bed and breakfasts it estimates will close as a result of the implementation of new regulations for them and short-term lets.
Answer · Shona Robison: The licensing scheme will introduce a system to ensure basic safety standards are being adhered to across short-term let accommodation in Scotland, the definition of which includes bed and breakfast businesses, as well as guest houses. We have met with inter…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what mitigations are in place to ensure that local authorities can safely meet the new duty to inspect short-term let properties in their area.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05400 on 24 January 2022. 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-committ…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact it expects new regulations on short-term lets to have on (a) the supply of affordable homes and (b) tackling Scotland’s reported housing crisis.
Answer · Shona Robison: Our regulatory proposals will give local authorities powers to strike a balance between the needs and concerns of their local communities, with the wider economic and tourism benefits of short-term lets. In certain areas, achieving this balance may require a …
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the data on nationality collected during COVID-19 booster vaccinations will be used, and how this data is recorded on medical records.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Data on nationality is not collected as part of the COVID vaccination programme. We commenced the collection of ethnicity data as part of the vaccination programme in November 2021. This is to help tackle racialised health inequalities. Once this data become…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason a question on nationality was included in the process of receiving a COVID-19 booster vaccination.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Data on nationality is not collected as part of the COVID vaccination programme. We commenced the collection of ethnicity data as part of the vaccination programme in November 2021. This is to help tackle racialised health inequalities. Once this data become…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much financial support it has committed for local authorities to implement its proposed regulations for short-term lets and bed and breakfasts.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05400 on? 24 January 2022. 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…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people to date have not answered the question regarding nationality when having their COVID-19 booster vaccination.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Data on nationality is not collected as part of the COVID vaccination programme. We commenced the collection of ethnicity data as part of the vaccination programme in November 2021. This is to help tackle racialised health inequalities. Once this data become…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to investing in a digital-first system to support local authorities to meet their duty to register, inspect and monitor short-term let properties in their area.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05400 on 24 January 2022. 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-committ…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made to ensure that local authorities are prepared to meet the new duties to register, inspect and monitor short-term lets and bed and breakfasts in their area.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has engaged widely with stakeholders and partners about the introduction of a licensing scheme for short-term let accommodation. Since January 2020, Ministers and or Scottish Government officials have had 13 meetings with representativ…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether a reduction in the number of short-term lets and bed and breakfasts, as a result of its plans to further regulate these types of properties, would be a successful outcome.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05411 on 24 January 2022. 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-committ…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it did not remove bed and breakfasts from regulations for short-term lets when these were introduced.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05411 on 24 January 2022. 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-committ…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much the implementation of its proposed regulations for short-term lets is expected to cost local authorities.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05400 on 24 January 2022. 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-committ…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the causes of Scotland’s reported housing crisis, and whether this is the result of any previous underinvestment in affordable and social homes or an increase in short-term letting.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05407 on 24 January 2022. 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-committ…
21 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered giving local authorities the option of opting out of its plans to regulate short-term lets.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05400 on 24 January 2022. 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-committ…
20 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04783 by Humza Yousaf on 20 December 2021, what the (a) average, (b) longest and (c) shortest waiting time has been for a housebound person to have a home COVID-19 vaccination appointment following one being requested.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: As advised in my previous answer, health boards lead on the local delivery of the vaccination programme and they manage the process for housebound people locally. We therefore do not hold information on average, longest, or shortest waiting times for housebou…
16 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) individuals and (b) families are living in accommodation that is subject to an Unsuitable Accommodation Order, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Shona Robison: Scotland’s strong homelessness rights mean households are placed in temporary accommodation as a legal right, with three quarters of families with children in temporary accommodation housed in social housing. Temporary accommodation should always be a short t…
16 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will update the Parliament on when referral pathways for women outside the breast cancer screening age range will be restored.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Breast Screening Programme Board (BSPB), which oversees breast screening in Scotland, has agreed that the option for women aged 71 and over to self-refer into the breast screening programme will resume once all screening centres are able to offer those ag…
16 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have been taken out of the social rent sector as a result of building safety issues in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not collect or hold this data. Individual social landlords may hold this information for their own housing stock.
16 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many GP surgeries in each NHS board area provide dementia specialist nurse advice services to people with dementia and their families.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Information on how many GP surgeries in each NHS board area provide dementia specialist nurse advice services to people with dementia and their families is not held centrally. Health and Social Care Partnerships are responsible for the design and delivery of …
16 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients who have been discharged from (a) accident and emergency departments and (b) hospitals were (i) of no fixed abode or (ii) designated as homeless, in each year since 1999.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The centrally available information for part (i) is shown in the table below. This shows the number of discharges from acute hospitals where the patient was recorded as having no fixed abode and covers all Local Authorities. Not everyone who has no fixed abod…
16 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in developing services to allow (a) women to freeze their eggs and (b) men to freeze their sperm as part of NHS fertility services.
Answer · Maree Todd: Patients can already store gametes (egg and sperm) through NHS fertility services with informed consent (regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and by law under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (as amended)) under …
16 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact assessment has been undertaken in relation to the decision to halt all installations of energy-efficient oil and liquefied petroleum gas heating systems.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: From 6 September 2021, the Scottish Government funded support schemes Warmer Homes Scotland, Area Based Schemes or Home Energy Scotland Loans have no longer been accepting new applications for oil and LPG boilers. All committed offers for these schemes signed…
16 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many green jobs have been created in each year since 1999.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: There are no official statistics of green job creation in Scotland. However, the Scottish Government has undertaken work to estimate the number of people employed in green jobs in Scotland. A report will be published on the Scottish Government website within …
16 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the reported shortage of bus drivers.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Bus service providers and passenger representatives regularly inform us about the additional pressures placed on the bus industry by the COVID-19 pandemic which are compounded by the ongoing consequences of EU EXIT. We also receive data on driver shortages i…
16 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the introduction of the Down Syndrome Bill to the UK Parliament by Liam Fox MP, what (a) support and (b) provisions it will provide in order to establish a national strategy to improve (i) provision and (ii) outcomes for people with Down syndrome in Scotland.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government wants to improve support and provisions for people with Down’s Syndrome, but also takes a wider view that this should include all people with learning disabilities, and their families. We already have a national strategy in place to i…