Parliamentary questions
Mark Griffin
2,186 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
26 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specific housing delivery targets and key performance indicators will be assigned to the new housing agency, More Homes Scotland; what increase in annual housing completions it anticipates will result from its establishment; when policy development work on this commenced, and what s…
Answer · Mairi McAllan: We are investing a record £926 million in 2026-27 as part of up to £4.9 billion funding over four years to help deliver 36,000 affordable homes, providing safe, warm homes for up to 24,000 children. More Homes Scotland is in its design phase, so s…
26 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many staff the new housing agency, More Homes Scotland, is expected to employ at establishment; how many are anticipated will transfer from existing public bodies or the core Scottish Government; what governance arrangements are proposed for the agency, including whether it will…
Answer · Mairi McAllan: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43954 on 11 March 2026. 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-committees…
20 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025, whether temporary accommodation will be included as part of the regulations to set deadlines for landlords to fix damp and mould hazards (Awaab’s Law).
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The draft Investigation and Commencement of Repair (Scotland) Regulations 2026, if agreed by Parliament, will apply to all accommodation provided under a private residential, Scottish secure or short Scottish secure tenancy. This means that Awaab’s Law …
17 Feb 2026 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding it provides to support research into finding a cure for motor neurone disease.
11 Feb 2026 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to authors documenting local history.
9 Feb 2026 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that police stations across Lanarkshire, including in Bellshill, will be closed permanently to the public or have their hours reduced from 1 April.
2 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what cost per unit it has assumed for new-build homes in its outline plan to deliver 36,000 homes as part of the draft Budget 2026-27, broken down by tenure type.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Draft Scottish Budget 2026-27 confirmed that, having supported the delivery of 141,000 affordable homes since 2007, we will invest £926 million next year, to maintain progress towards our target of delivering 110,000 by 2032 - with at least 70% for …
27 Jan 2026 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to COSLA’s statement that the draft Budget 2026-27 “represents a very poor settlement for local government which fails to address the financial situation being faced by councils across Scotland".
7 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding commitments are being considered for clinical research on motor neurone disease (MND) in the 2026-27 Scottish Budget.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Within the Scottish Government, funding of Health and Care Research comes under the remit of the Chief Scientist Office (CSO).CSO funds research projects via its Translational Clinical Studies (TCS) Committee and the Health Improvement, Protection and Service…
1 Dec 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26978 by Paul McLennan on 7 May 2024, how (a) much funding has been spent through the National Acquisition Programme and (b) many social homes have been delivered in each local authority area in each year since it was first announced in June 2023.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The National Acquisition Programme was announced in June 2023 to support the purchase of existing homes for use as affordable housing. Initially, £60 million was allocated for 2023-2024 to be delivered through local authority Resource Planning Assumptio…
4 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much money it has directly invested in its place-based investment programme (a) in each year since 2021 and (b) since April 2021, also broken down by how much has been attracted to the programme from private sources.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The Place Based Investment Programme as launched in 2021 includes funding allocated directly to local authorities, delivery of the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund and support for Clyde Gateway Urban Regeneration Company (URC).a) The total funding delivered is…
4 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of (a) local authority and (b) registered social landlord homes meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The performance of social landlords is monitored by the independent Scottish Housing Regulator and not the Scottish Government.However, the most recent report from the Scottish Housing Regulator showed that the number of homes that meet Scottish Housing Quali…
29 Oct 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it anticipates to be the baseline figure for its ambition towards all-tenure housing delivery of a 10% increase in housebuilding each year over the next three years.
27 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has held at a ministerial level with (a) Scottish Veterans Residences and (b) the Veterans Scotland Housing Group regarding (i) veterans' homelessness and (ii) the impact of the housing emergency on veterans wishing to settle in Scotland; on what dates any such meetings …
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The former Minister for Housing, Paul McLennan MSP, met with representatives from Scottish Veterans Residences on 28 February 2024. This was immediately followed by a meeting with the Veterans Scotland Housing Group. These meetings focused on veterans and hou…
27 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what equality and human rights impact assessments have been carried out regarding the operation of so-called First In, First Out-only waiting lists for children’s neurodevelopmental services.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government is responsible for setting the overall policy direction for neurodevelopmental services, and for working with and funding NHS Health Boards and local authorities to ensure they plan and deliver appropriate local services. It is for loc…
27 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the compatibility of NHS boards operating so-called First In, First Out-only neurodevelopmental waiting lists with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, specifically articles 3, 23 and 24.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government is responsible for setting the overall policy direction for neurodevelopmental services, and for working with and funding NHS Health Boards and local authorities to ensure they plan and deliver appropriate local services. It is for loc…
27 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that children with additional support needs are not subject to indirect discrimination under section 19 of the Equality Act 2010, as a result of so-called First In, First Out-only waiting list policies for neurodevelopmental services.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government is clear that no child or young person should face any form of discrimination when seeking neurodevelopmental support.NHS Boards are expected to ensure that their approaches to service delivery are consistent with national guidance and…
27 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether so-called First In, First Out-only waiting list management for children’s neurodevelopmental services is consistent with section 4 of the Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011, which requires access to services within a reasonable time, taking account o…
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government is responsible for setting the overall policy direction for neurodevelopmental services, and for working with and funding NHS Health Boards and local authorities to ensure they plan and deliver appropriate local services. It is for loc…
27 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that NHS boards’ neurodevelopmental pathways comply with the National Neurodevelopmental Specification, which was published in 2021 and requires needs-led, case-by-case assessment, rather than purely chronological waiting lists.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People sets out the seven standards for all children’s services to support children and young people with neurodevelopmental support needs, including NHS boards and local authorities.T…
27 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the annual report of the Scottish Housing Regulator, which has stated that three local authorities are impacted by a systemic failure of their homelessness services, and a further eight are at heightened risk of such failure.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government’s housing emergency action plan published on 2 September sets out a suite of actions to help address the strategic challenges in providing homelessness services identified by the Scottish Housing Regulator. The plan commits to up…
16 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated in each of the last five years to support construction skills training, broken down by how much of this has (a) been directed through (i) colleges and (ii) training providers, and (b) reached small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the construction …
Answer · Ben Macpherson: The matter raised falls within the remit of Skills Development Scotland (SDS), the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.
16 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all hospitals, including those with a storey at a height above and below the 11m threshold, have been assessed to ascertain whether combustible façade material is present in their external walls, and if so, how many are affected.
Answer · Neil Gray: In June 2017, following the tragic events at Grenfell Tower in London, the Scottish Government requested information regarding the NHSScotland estate, owned or otherwise, in respect of external cladding systems. Health Facilities Scotland issued an email to a…
16 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with NHS boards regarding the use of combustible façade material on hospital buildings, in light of the remediation efforts currently underway at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
Answer · Neil Gray: In June 2017, following the tragic events at Grenfell Tower in London, the Scottish Government requested information regarding the NHSScotland estate, owned or otherwise, in respect of external cladding systems. Health Facilities Scotland issued an email to a…
16 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has engaged with the Association of British Insurers, or other relevant industry bodies, to assess whether there are any insurance implications associated with its current approach to assessing buildings with potentially unsafe cladding as set out in the Single Building A…
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government is aware of the insurance implications associated with multi-residential buildings with potentially unsafe external wall cladding systems. As part of the development of the Cladding Remediation Programme and the associated Housing (Cla…
16 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of the types of combustible façade material used on the estimated 1,020 to 1,200 residential buildings with a height of 11 to 18m that have been identified as possibly requiring remedial work, in light of it having provided a break…
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The figures of 1,020 to 1,200 residential buildings with a height of 11 to 18m are drawn from estimates developed by the Scottish Government and published in June 2025. These were estimates of the approximate numbers of buildings in this category that might r…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a date for the commencement of its proposed review of possession grounds within the private rented sector, and whether third sector organisations will have an opportunity to feed into the review.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Housing (Scotland) Bill introduces a requirement on the Scottish Ministers to carry out a review of the repossession grounds under the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 within 2 years of the day after Royal Assent and lay a report before Par…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to use the powers granted under the Legislative Consent Motion on the UK Government’s Pension Schemes Bill to create pooled investment schemes or “megafunds” similar to the ones allowed in England and Wales, and what assessment it has made of any potent…
Answer · Ivan McKee: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41180 on 28 October 2025. 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-committe…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, following the passage of the Legislative Consent Motion on the UK Government’s Pension Schemes Bill, what next steps it plans to take, and what timeline it envisages for any reforms to the Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The proposed powers in the Pensions Schemes Bill ensure Scottish Ministers maintain parity of powers with the UK Government for the respective Local Government Pension Schemes.Our Programme for Government demonstrates our commitment to encouraging investment …
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with stakeholders regarding the use of powers granted under the Legislative Consent Motion on the UK Government’s Pension Schemes Bill, specifically in relation to any potential consolidation or merger of Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme funds.
Answer · Ivan McKee: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41180 on 28 October 2025. 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-committe…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of contributions held by the Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme funds are invested in Scotland, and how this compares to the rest of the UK and internationally.
Answer · Ivan McKee: This information is not held centrally.