Parliamentary questions
Mark Griffin
2,186 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
29 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) unique households, (b) advice interactions, including advice provided to customers during telephone or email advice discussions and (c) low-income, potentially fuel-poor clients who were offered support Home Energy Scotland (i) has had capacity to support and (ii) has actual…
Answer · Patrick Harvie: Please find data below for Home Energy Scotland advice interactions. Prior to 2013, fuel poverty was not a separate focus for advice services. Specific fuel poverty advice services figures are only available from 2013. 2013-14 2013-14 2014-15 2014-15 20…
29 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the details of each (a) question raised and (b) answer given, at each of the Building Scotland (Amendment) Regulations 2022 - Online Q&A Sessions, which ran from 27 June to 3 August 2022.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The questions asked and the answers provided, during each of the Building Scotland (Amendment) Regulations 2022 - Online Q&A Sessions, were recorded and have now been collated and organised according to topic within a summary document. This document is curre…
29 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10165 by Shona Robison on 19 August 2022, how many buildings over 11 metres it estimates are affected by combustible cladding.
Answer · Shona Robison: As part of the cladding remediation programme we will take a building-by-building approach to assess and gather this information to create a central register. This will include buildings over 11 metres. We expect the majority of buildings to be low risk and r…
29 Aug 2022 · 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, what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding funding for the removal of combustible materials in Scotland, and on what dates any suc…
Answer · Shona Robison: Officials are engaged in regular discussion with Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities colleagues on a number of matters including the block grant expenditure and the possibility of further funding for cladding remediation. The Inter Ministeria…
29 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-09619 by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022, how many buildings to date have been remediated by developers across Scotland, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Shona Robison: Data on developer led remediated buildings is not held by the Scottish Government.
29 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10165 by Shona Robison on 19 August 2022, what (a) assessment, (b) feasibility studies and (c) survey activity it has conducted to determine the number of buildings of 11 metres and over that will require (i) assessment for and (ii) remediation of c…
Answer · Shona Robison: The work of the cladding remediation programme will gather data as it progresses with Single Building Assessments. This information will be used to build a reliable register of information as set out in the Ministerial Working Group on Mortgage Lending and cl…
24 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it still plans to deliver the first half of its affordable housing programme, including at least 38,500 homes for social rent, by 2026-27, as first outlined in Housing to 2040 and expanded in the Scottish Government and Scottish Green Shared Policy Programme.
Answer · Shona Robison: Housing to 2040 outlined that we would focus the first five years (up to 2026-27) on delivering 50,000 homes and the latter five years (up to 2031-32) on delivering a further 50,000 homes. The overall target includes at least 70% for social rent to be deliver…
24 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to ensure the delivery of the social homes it has committed to provide, including how it will overcome any challenges to doing so.
Answer · Shona Robison: £3.6 billion of funding is being made available in this Parliamentary term towards the delivery of affordable homes providing the certainty and assurance that the housing sector needs to plan and deliver the ambitious affordable homes programme. We are aware…
24 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to bring forward compulsory sale orders for (a) vacant and (b) empty properties, and, if this is the case, what its timescale is for doing so.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6O-01331 on 7 September 2022. The answer to the Oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliaments website, the Official Report can be viewed at: https://archive2021.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness…
24 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to incorporate use of existing housing stock in order to meet its social homes target, and how many purchases of existing stock are forecast to be made in each year to 2032.
Answer · Shona Robison: Use of existing stock, whether purchased on the open market or rehabilitated, has and will continue to have a role in delivering affordable homes towards the target in line with strategic local priorities. We do not hold forecasts to 2032. Local authority Str…
24 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has a Housing to 2040 delivery plan.
Answer · Shona Robison: Housing to 2040 is Scotland’s long-term strategy for housing and is designed to be agile and adaptable to 2040. A governance process has been established to support sector-wide delivery of the strategy, recognising the crucial roles of stakeholders across the…
24 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether Housing to 2040 remains its housing strategy.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to S6W-10636 on 20 September 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-committees/wri…
23 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the reported rise in insolvencies among small and medium house builders is having on the affordable housing supply programme development pipeline.
Answer · Shona Robison: We are not aware of any current difficulties affecting the immediate development pipeline related to insolvencies. We are unable to quantify the impact that the reported rise in insolvencies among small and medium house builders is having on the affordable ho…
23 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many small and medium house builders involved in the affordable housing supply programme have become insolvent in the last year, and how many projects this has affected.
Answer · Shona Robison: One small contractor, actively involved in the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, went into liquidation in the last year during the course of delivering a 15 home project.
23 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-09497 by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022, what steps it is taking to ensure that any scheme can increase in scale in the event of increased financial hardship as a result of increasing interest rates or a recession.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is working on a package of measures in relation to cladding that will provide direct support to homeowners and details will be published in the coming months. We are taking steps to ensure a potential scheme has the appropriate funding…
23 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-09497 by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022, what the scope of the preliminary work is; when the preliminary work began; when ministers requested a proposal be submitted for approval; how many staff have been committed to the preliminary work; which stak…
Answer · Shona Robison: The work to design a potential homeowner assistance scheme is in the discovery phase which involves defining the scope of any potential scheme and evaluating the suitability of existing forms of assistance. This also includes identifying a resilient funding a…
22 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its monitoring shows whether the situations outlined in the Report on the work of the 2021 Affordable Housing Investment Benchmarks Working Group have materialised, and whether it has convened a meeting of the sector to raise benchmarks ahead of the proposed 1 April 2023 uprating…
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is monitoring in line with the Report on the work of the 2021 Affordable Housing Investment Benchmarks Working Group. The situations under which a meeting of the sector should be convened ahead of the planned 1 April 2023 publication o…
22 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many requests it has received from the affordable housing supply sector for an early review of benchmarks in accordance with the scenarios envisaged in the Report on the work of the 2021 Affordable Housing Investment Benchmarks Working Group.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has not received any requests from the affordable housing supply sector for an early review of benchmarks in accordance with the scenarios envisaged in the Report on the work of the 2021 Affordable Housing Investment Benchmarks Working…
17 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it recycles the funding received through sales and tranching up of first-time buyer and Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT) support schemes, and what total amount of funding it has recycled in each year since 2010.
Answer · Shona Robison: Since 2010-11 the Scottish Government has recycled all receipts raised from shared equity sales. Recycled receipts in each year are as shown in the following table. Open Market Shared Equity £m New Supply Shared Equity £m Help to Buy £m First Home Fu…
17 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) gains and (b) losses it has made on its equity shares through the (i) sales and (ii) tranching up of properties purchased through first-time buyer and Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT) support schemes in each year since 2010, broken down by each scheme.
Answer · Shona Robison: We do not hold information centrally on whether income from shared equity investments relates to tranching up or open market sales. Providing the information requested prior to 2017 could only be answered at disproportionate cost. Following a change to the w…
17 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the updated affordable housing supply investment benchmarks will be, in light of the June 2022 reported findings in relation to the Scottish Social Housing Tender Price Index that tender prices rose by 8.3% compared with Q4 2020-21, the highest quarterly growth in the last four year…
Answer · Shona Robison: It is not possible to confirm what the updated set of affordable housing investment benchmarks will be at this point as the current set of benchmarks will be adjusted using the differential between the Scottish Social Housing Tender Price Index for the year t…
17 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking to determine the resilience of the affordable housing supply programme, in light of reported findings in relation to the Scottish Social Housing Tender Price Index that total new work output in Scotland in Q4 2021-22 fell by 9.3% on the previous quarter, and b…
Answer · Shona Robison: We are aware of the global issues affecting construction and their impact on the pace of delivery of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme. The submission of Scottish Social Housing Tender Returns is an important tool in helping inform the Scottish Social H…
17 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many proposed (a) homes and (b) projects included in affordable housing supply programme grant applications that it has received have been (i) below and (ii) above benchmark, also broken down by baseline benchmark type, in each month since the new benchmarks were set.
Answer · Shona Robison: A table showing the number of homes and projects that have been submitted for approval in each month, from 29 October 2021 to 23 August 2022, broken down by baseline benchmark type and whether above, at, or below benchmark has been placed in the Scottish Parl…
17 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many proposed (a) homes and (b) projects included in affordable housing supply programme grant applications that it has agreed to have been (i) below and (ii) above benchmark, also broken down by baseline benchmark type, in each month since the new benchmarks were set.
Answer · Shona Robison: A table showing the number of homes and projects that have been approved from 29 October 2021 to 23 August 2022 using the new benchmarks, broken down by baseline benchmark type for projects and homes which have an applicable benchmark has been placed in the S…
17 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government in which quarter it will publish new affordable housing investment benchmarks, based on the Scottish Social Housing Tender Price Index.
Answer · Shona Robison: Unless evidence starts to suggest that an earlier review of benchmarks is required, the next set of affordable housing investment benchmarks will be published in the fourth quarter of the current financial year. These will then come into effect at the start o…
15 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Home Owners' Support Fund applications it has processed on an exceptional basis where (a) an eviction notice has been served and (b) a trustee intends to force the sale of the property, broken down by each year of the fund's operation.
Answer · Shona Robison: My officials give priority to cases with repossession orders and where a trustee is forcing the sale of a property, the requirement for secured loan payments to be 3 months in arrears will be waived. The Scottish Government does not hold data relating to the …
8 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-09275 by Tom Arthur on 12 July 2022, how many homes are proposed to be built as part of each successful application, and, of those, how many homes will be (a) partly and (b) fully funded.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The following table outlines how many homes are proposed to be built as part of each successful application for the Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP). The VDLIP provides funding to cover capital costs associated with remediating and unbloc…
7 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the HOSFGN/002: Property Thresholds Guidance has been updated for 2022-23 and, if this is not the case, what it estimates (a) the updated property thresholds for the Home Owners’ Support Fund and (b) the number of households with outstanding mortgages with properties under the va…
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10262 on 7 September 2022. The Scottish Government does not hold the data requested. Property thresholds are being considered as part of the review. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are availabl…
7 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last updated the HOSFGN/002: Property Thresholds Guidance for the Home Owners' Support Fund.
Answer · Shona Robison: HOSFGN/002 was published in April 2017. The Home Owners Support Fund property threshold guidance is being considered as part of the current review and will be updated if required.
4 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Home Owners’ Support Fund, what the average processing time has been for (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applications in each of the last six years, and how many applications in each of the last six years took (i) less than one year (ii) one to two years (iii) two to t…
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not collect data in relation to the turnaround of unsuccessful applications. The following table shows the average processing time in months for successful applications during each of the last six years. Year Average Processing …