Mark Griffin

20 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the date was of the planned March meeting of the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group, and whether it took place.

Answer · Paul McLennan: The second meeting in 2023 of the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group was scheduled for 30 March. Following the announcement of the SNP leadership contest, this meeting was postponed and rescheduled for 20 April 2023.

17 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which (a) property registers held by Registers of Scotland and (b) other publicly available property registers for which it is responsible, use Unique Property Reference Numbers, and what information it has on whether the same of similar Unique Property Reference Numbers are used in the …

Answer · Tom Arthur: This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland (RoS). She advises me that Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) are used in the following land and property registers held by RoS:Land RegisterScottish Landlord RegisterRegister of Persons Ho…

16 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to S6W-15581 by Humza Yousaf on 16 March 2023, in relation to the £193,000 funding, whether this was funding for (a) 2022-23 or (b) 2023-24; whether it meets all project costs for 2022-23, and whether it includes (i) revenue, (ii) capital and (iii) salary costs.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The costs reported are for 2022-23 and they cover all project costs for that year. Costs are mainly salary related, but they are capitalised as they are part of a capital investment project.

16 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the National Public Energy Agency will be enabled to deliver automatic payments of Warm Home Discount to the Broader Group as part of its function of streamlining and centralising advice, so that those in the Broader Group do not need to apply for the support.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: Scottish Ministers have limited powers to design and implement a separate scheme in Scotland. These require the consent of the UK Government. Previous proposals by Scottish Ministers to increase the value and number of rebates provided to vulnerable household…

16 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the Scottish Assessors Association's data deficiencies are that mean that it cannot pay Warm Home Discount direct to those who have the same circumstances as Core Group 2 in England and Wales, and what assessment it has undertaken of how to overcome those data deficiencies.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Warm Home Discount is a rebate upon energy bills that large energy suppliers are obliged to provide, not a social security payment administered by the Scottish Government. Whilst some powers are provided to Scottish Ministers to design a separate Warm Hom…

16 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the take-up rate of the Warm Home Discount is amongst the Broader Group.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The value of the rebate and total value of the scheme in Scotland was established in regulations approved by the Westminster Parliament. The Warm Home Discount (Scotland) Regulations 2022 (legislation.gov.uk) . Information about the number of rebates provi…

16 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it allocated from the Young Patients Family Fund to each NHS board in 2022-23, and what its proposed allocations are for 2023-24.

Answer · Maree Todd: In 2022-23 the Scottish Government has provided £2,259,987 to NHS Boards as set out in the following table. Health board Allocated funding NHS Ayrshire & Arran 51,173 NHS Borders 3,396 NHS Dumfries & Galloway 23,671 NHS Fife 62,140 NHS Forth Valley…

16 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the Young Patients Family Fund it has spent in 2022-23 to date.

Answer · Maree Todd: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16005 on 25 March 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-committee…

16 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will receive the Young Patients Family Fund expenditure figures from NHS boards detailing expenditure on (a) travel, (b) accommodation and (c) other expenses.

Answer · Maree Todd: We ask for this information as part of routine monitoring of implementation of the Young Patient’s Family Fund and anticipate having this detail available at the end of the financial year. NHS Boards reported spend in these categories for 2021-22 and we are c…

16 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to end any long shift patterns of its staff, in light of the findings of the article published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, Night shift work and risk of aggressive prostate cancer in the Norwegian Offshore Petroleum Workers (NOPW) cohort.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government has reviewed the article Night shift work and risk of aggressive prostate cancer in the Norwegian Offshore Petroleum Workers (NOPW) cohort and notes its findings. As an employer we adopt Fair Work practices and we take the health, s…

16 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11906 by Shona Robison on 18 November 2022, whether it will provide an update on the status of each of the recommendations, broken down by each action from the review in (a) October 2021 and (b) July 2022.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: Of the fifteen gateway review recommendations for the period the question relates to, eleven are complete and four are ongoing. A table has been placed has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (BIB number 64087). The table details the re…

14 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is, regarding any lessons that can be learned regarding cancer prevention in Scotland, to the article, Night shift work and risk of aggressive prostate cancer in the Norwegian Offshore Petroleum Workers (NOPW) cohort, in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government has reviewed the article Night shift work and risk of aggressive prostate cancer in the Norwegian Offshore Petroleum Workers (NOPW) cohort and notes its findings. We strongly encourage all employers to adopt Fair Work practices and …

9 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether any Unique Property Reference Numbers, that are used in the property registers held by Registers of Scotland or any other publicly available property registers for which it is responsible, match across all of the registers, and what information it has on whether these numbers mat…

Answer · Tom Arthur: This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland (RoS). She advises me that Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) are used in the following land and property registers held by RoS:Land RegisterScottish Landlord RegisterRegister of Persons Ho…

9 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which of its property registers use Unique Property Reference Numbers.

9 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commission research into private rented sector landlord exits, using the methodology described by BuiltPlace in its February 2023 Market Commentary, dated 1 March 2023, of comparing sale and Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) data by Unique Property Reference Number.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has no plans to commission such research. The BuiltPlace article itself refers to the methodology being “limited in multiple ways”. The Scottish Government set out in response to question on 22 May 2022 how it monitors the size of th…

8 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-14992 and S6W-14994 by Shona Robison on 7 March 2023, whether it will publish (a) the initial recommendations and (b) its response to Freedom of Information request FOI/202300342482, and what its reasons are for not doing so to date.

Answer · Shona Robison: FOI/202300342482 asked for the interim recommendations of the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group, and the date these were received. The response to FOI/202300342482, which included a copy of the interim recommendations, was issued to the requester…

7 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is monitoring whether the average housing association rent increase will be around 6.1% on average across the country in 2023-24, as referred to in the Scottish Government and Housing Associations' Statement of Intent on Tackling the Cost of Living Crisis 2023-24.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: We have worked intensively with social landlords to develop an agreement on below-inflation rent increases for the next financial year. The Scottish Housing Regulator has published details of the rent increases which Scottish social landlords will apply in 20…

7 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which registered social landlords have consulted on an above-average rent increase, as referred to in the Scottish Government and Housing Associations' Statement of Intent on Tackling the Cost of Living Crisis 2023-24.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government does not collect information on what rent increase options individual social landlords consulted their tenants on. The Scottish Housing Regulator report on the rent increases social landlords will apply in 2023-24 Rent increases by Sc…

7 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish in full the data shared with it by individual housing associations on their planned rent increases that "indicates that the average rent increase will be around 6.1% across the country" in 2023-24, as referred to in the Scottish Government and Housing Associations…

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Housing Regulator rather than the Scottish Government is the body which collects data on planned rent increases as part of their role to monitor social landlords performance against the Scottish Social Housing Charter. They have published details…

6 Mar 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the proposed National Treatment Centre in Cumbernauld, scheduled to open in 2026, is expected to begin treating patients.

2 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cladding Remediation Programme Outline Business Case has been (a) started and (b) agreed.

2 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its review of the adaptations system has begun; what the scope of the review is; when the review is expected to conclude and report, and whether it will provide a full list of consultees.

Answer · Shona Robison: The review of the adaptations system has begun. Adaptations are an integral part of support for independent living for older and disabled people. The scope of the review is to identify and overcome the barriers to a streamlined and responsive system where ada…

2 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish an overview of the outcomes achieved for 2022-23 of the work set out in its Housing 2040 strategy, and whether it will consider publishing an annual report on progress made.

Answer · Shona Robison: Housing to 2040 is Scotland’s first long-term housing strategy. It sets out a vision for what housing in Scotland will look like in 2040 and includes a set of principles to guide policy-making. It is supported by a route map for achieving the vision. We are…

2 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the response to the members' business debate on motion S6M-03777 (MND Scotland Report, No Time to Lose: Addressing the Housing Needs of People with MND) by the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government on 21 June 2022 (Official Report, c. 85) that she…

Answer · Shona Robison: I met with Councillor Maureen Chalmers, the COSLA Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing on 22 March. We had a productive meeting and discussed how good practice in providing rapid help for people living with MND can be shared across local authorities. I will a…

2 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has approved the strategic assessment for the National Treatment Centre in Cumbernauld.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The strategic assessment for NHS Lanarkshire’s National Treatment Centre was submitted to the Scottish Government Capital Investment Group (CIG) in November 2022. As with all strategic assessments, this was noted by the CIG, and NHS Lanarkshire have been aske…

2 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it (a) received the request from NHS Lanarkshire and (b) confirmed the 2022-23 funding for the National Treatment Centre in Cumbernauld.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: On 24 February 2023 NHS Lanarkshire informed Scottish Government that they required funding of £193k to support their National Treatment Centre and this funding will be provided as it is an agreed national priority.

27 Feb 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government by how much local authority non-domestic rates bills will increase, following revaluation of public sector properties based on rebuild costs using the 1 April 2022 tone date.

27 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13436 by Shona Robison on 12 January 2023, what the membership of the Joint Working Group is.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The Joint Working Group membership includes the Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party, and COSLA. The core membership of the group is:Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community WealthMinister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenan…

20 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government's Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities regarding any potential impact in Scotland of the proposed legislation that would give the Secretary of State powers to prevent developers from operating freely in the housing ma…

Answer · Shona Robison: Scottish Government has regular meetings with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on cladding remediation. The provisions in the Building Safety Act which impact on the ability of developers to obtain planning approval or building control…

20 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government on 12 May 2022 on cladding remediation, whether it has met the commitment to (a) update the Parliament on any further progress of the Single Building Assessment pilot programme, (b) provid…

Answer · Shona Robison: I provided an update on progress on cladding remediation to Parliament on 2 March and remain committed to arranging a more detailed technical briefing and making a full statement to Parliament at the appropriate time. Information on the Single Building Assess…