Mark Griffin

12 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what modelling it has undertaken to consider the potential effect of the expiry of restrictions on evictions, in relation to (a) eviction rates and (b) any increase in (i) staffing costs, (ii) staff workload and (iii) requirements for temporary accommodation, should there be an increase …

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government publishes Homelessness in Scotland statistics on an annual basis, which provides trends for key aspects of homelessness in Scotland including homelessness applications, assessments, the use of temporary accommodation and outcomes. The …

12 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether research has been conducted into the potential impact on average rental costs of the expiry of the rent cap, under Part 1 and Schedule 1 of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The latest Private Sector Rent Statistics for Scotland show how rents charged by private landlords in Scotland have been rising for more than a decade, and are yet more evidence of the importance of taking action to make rents more affordable. There is no o…

12 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether rent officers working for Rent Service Scotland will use new benchmarks to assess rent increase proposals from landlords, after the expiry of the rent cap.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23845 on 11 January 2024. 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…

12 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed what additional support for tenants regarding housing costs and eviction protection may be needed between the expiry of the rent cap, under Part 1 and Schedule 2 of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022, and the commencement of any permanent r…

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 was introduced to provide additional protections to tenants through the worst of the cost of living crisis, and we have always been clear that the measures are timebound and temporary. Prior to the in…

12 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are being considered to counter the potential impact on eviction rates of the expiry of restrictions on evictions.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The emergency Cost of Living (Tenant Protection)(Scotland) Act 2022 placed a temporary pause on the enforcement of evictions to help to reduce the negative impacts on the health and wellbeing of tenants caused by being evicted and/or being made homeless durin…

12 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the underoccupancy rate has been for each of its offices in each month since January 2019, also broken down by location.

Answer · Shona Robison: The data set available which can be used to calculate occupancy levels for Scottish Government (SG) core buildings has been developed into a table format for years 2020 - 2024. This information can be obtained from The Parliaments Information Centre Bib numbe…

12 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken to consider the number of (a) affordable, (b) social and (c) private homes that could be delivered on Scottish Government land should the estate be rationalised.

Answer · Paul McLennan: No analysis has been carried out in respect of housing or other specific future land uses for unquantifiable potential surplus land and estate disposals. The Scottish Government is required by the Scottish Public Finance Manual to demonstrate best value. In d…

7 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many times the Housing to 2040 Strategic Board has met since its inaugural meeting in March 2023.

Answer · Paul McLennan: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23762 on 19 December 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…

7 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many more times the Housing to 2040 Strategic Board must meet in the year up to its first anniversary on 22 March 2024 to meet the commitment for the board to increase the number of times it meets from two to three times a year.

Answer · Paul McLennan: In line with its commitment to meet three times a year, the Housing to 2040 Strategic Board has met two further times (29 June and 25 October) since it first met on 22 March 2023.  

4 Dec 2023 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to protect local authorities from the risk of bankruptcy.

4 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the £50 million fund announced on 19 December 2020 to bring vacant and derelict land back into use has been used to invest in new affordable housing.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The low carbon Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP) has invested £6,258,299 into projects which include new low carbon affordable housing as part of their project proposal. This is 23% of the total £26.7 million of funding which has been allo…

4 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the £50 million fund announced on 19 December 2020 to bring vacant and derelict land back into use has been allocated to date.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: To date, the low carbon Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme has allocated £26,732,792 to 33 projects bringing persistent vacant and derelict land back into use.

4 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many hectares of vacant and derelict land have been brought back into use as a result of the fund that it announced on 19 December 2020.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The low carbon Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme has invested in 33 projects bringing back just over 112 hectares of persistent vacant and derelict land back into use.

27 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it spent on the consultation for a Fairer Council Tax.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The cumulative cost of the Fairer Council Tax Consultation is £48,039.52. This relates only to the cost of publishing the Fairer Council Tax consultation, and the cost of an independent third party to analyse the consultation responses.  

27 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff members have been involved in the preparation, delivery, and collating of responses to the consultation on a Fairer Council Tax, and what the (a) staffing cost and (b) number of staff hours spent on the consultation process has been.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government does not hold information which breaks down the staff cost, or staff time, that was committed to the delivery of the Fairer Council Tax Consultation. The Council Tax Team and Local Taxation Unit, and analysts that supported the delive…

27 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what rate of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax is paid by non-resident house buyers.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The rates and bands of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) apply equally to UK resident and non-UK resident buyers.  

27 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20670 by Paul McLennan on 11 September 2023, whether it will provide an update on the dates on which the Innovative Finance Steering Group (a) has met and (b) plans to meet in (i) 2023 and (ii) 2024, and when it expects to publish the high level upd…

Answer · Paul McLennan: The Innovative Finance Steering Group last met in December 2022. There are no formal meetings of the Group currently planned. The further operation of the group will be reviewed following the budget.

22 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what responsibility the Minister for Housing has for the delivery of private housing.

Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government is defined by three distinct and interdependent missions centred on the principles of equality, opportunity and community: to tackle poverty; to build a fair, green and indeed a growing economy; and to improve our public services. In t…

22 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome was of its review into the Home Owners' Support Fund.

Answer · Paul McLennan: My officials are continuing work on a detailed review of the policies and operating arrangements that underpin the Home Owners Support Fund (HOSF), including detailed analytical work on property thresholds and allowances that has taken more time to develop th…

21 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it accepted advice from officials to use the £30 million of Barnett consequential funding through the Moving on Fund in a way that recognises housing pressures in the round, rather than looking at support for Ukrainians and homelessness housing needs separately.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Scottish Government wrote to local authorities on 12 September confirming the strategic objective, distribution methodology and individual allocations of the £30 million fund. The distribution methodology, agreed with local authority leaders, is based 50% on …

21 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it received the advice relating to the European Convention on Human Rights implications of Compulsory Rental Orders and Compulsory Sales Orders; whether it has been refreshed, and whether ministers have begun the "substantial consideration" that officials have suggested.

Answer · Paul McLennan: We have committed to continue consideration of the justification for, and practical operation of, Compulsory Sales Orders in the 2023-24 Programme for Government. Parliament will be informed of the outcome of this work in due course. In the meantime local aut…

20 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21271 by Patrick Harvie on 28 September 2023, how many (a) referrals (i) have been processed, and, of those, how many were deemed to be eligible applications and (ii) are still awaiting eligibility checks, (b) assessments have taken place and (c) in…

Answer · Patrick Harvie: Please see the following information as of 1 December. Category Description Number Referrals received This is a count of all referrals received and therefore ‘processed’ by Warmworks since 2nd October 2023. Applications that have failed eligibility check…

16 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the First Minister has responded to the Scottish Occupational Health Action Group's reported proposal for a Scottish Occupational Health Service provision.

Answer · Jenni Minto: As Minister with lead responsibility for Occupational Health, as part of the Health & Social Care portfolio, I responded on 20th November 2023 to the proposal submitted by the Scottish Occupational Health Action Group (SOHAG). Many of the drivers of ill-heal…

16 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing with the UK Government to ensure that the proposed amendments to the UK Renters (Reform) Bill that would make it illegal for landlords and letting agents to apply a blanket ban on renting to people who receive benefits or to families with children can be extended to…

Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government has been working closely with the UK Government to implement the proposed amendments to the Renters (Reform) Bill that would make it illegal for landlords and letting agents to apply a blanket ban on renting to people who receive benef…

15 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) progress it has made and (b) discussions it has had with the housing sector regarding setting an all-tenure housebuilding target.

Answer · Paul McLennan: Local authorities have statutory responsibility for assessing and evidencing housing need and demand, and setting out through local housing strategies and local development plans the housing requirements for their area. We have committed to delivering 110,000…

15 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it financially supports small and medium-sized developers and housebuilders to design and progress planning applications for rural affordable housing plans at an early stage.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Direct funding is not provided to private developers to finance their engagement in the planning application process. The Minister for Housing and I jointly hosted a roundtable on planning for housing on 16 November 2023. Support for small and medium-sized de…

14 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what investigations Consumer Scotland (a) has conducted since it was established and (b) plans to conduct. 

Answer · Tom Arthur: This is an operational matter for Consumer Scotland. I have passed your query to Sam Ghibaldan, the Chief Executive of Consumer Scotland, who will provide an answer to you directly.

7 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what review it has undertaken of the impact of Regulation 6 of the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications) (Scotland) Regulations 2022, which provides planning authorities with the power to levy a surcharge of up to 25% on retrospective applications as a means of recovering the…

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: While we have not undertaken a review of the implementation of the surcharge which may be applied to applications which are submitted where development has been carried out without permission. We continue to liaise with Heads of Planning Scotland to understa…

31 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20967 by Paul McLennan on 14 September 2023, whether it will provide the data that has been returned in response to the question that was added to the HL3 data collection in 2019, asking “if a child is in the temporary accommodation placement", incl…

Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government published data on children in temporary accommodation as returned via the HL3 collection alongside the annual Homelessness in Scotland 2022-23 publication. This can be found in the supporting documents webpage here: https://www.gov.sc…

31 Oct 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what continued engagement it has had with the Scottish Land Commission about its proposal for compulsory sales orders since it first proposed them in August 2018.