Parliamentary questions

Mark Griffin

2,186 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

14 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the requirement for affordable housing in each of the next ten years.

Answer · Shona Robison: Housing to 2040 is Scotland’s first ever long-term national housing strategy and makes clear our ambition to deliver 100,000 affordable homes by 2031-32, 70% of which will be for Social Rent. Local authorities as the statutory housing authority are responsib…

14 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statistics in the publication, Homelessness in Scotland: 2020 to 2021, how many children were in each household that was reassessed as being homeless in each year since 2015-16, also broken down by which of the periods of between one and five years they were previously as…

Answer · Shona Robison: The following tables show a breakdown of the number of children in households reassessed as homeless within one year, between one and two years, between two and three years, between three and four years and between four and five years for the years 2015-16 to…

14 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what powers it will devolve to local authorities to help them meet climate change targets, in response to calls made at the International Net Zero Local Leadership Summit.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is committed to working closely with local authorities on the shared national endeavour to tackle the global climate emergency by achieving net zero emissions by 2045, recognising that local climate action is crucial to achieving our n…

14 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many Home Energy Scotland Private Rented Sector Landlord Loan applications have been received in each local authority area in each of the last five years; how many loan offers it has subsequently made, and how many of these offers were not taken up.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Private Rented Sector Landlord (PRSL) Loan was launched in April 2020. The following table shows the total number of applications received, the total number of offers made and the total number of expired offers. These figures represent the total number fr…

14 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the total value was of the Home Energy Scotland Private Rented Sector Landlord Loan applications that have been received in each local authority area in each of the last five years, also broken down by the total value of the loan offers that (a) it subsequently made and (b) were not…

14 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) number and (b) value was of Home Energy Scotland Private Rented Sector Landlord Loan offers that have not been redeemed in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.

14 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) number and (b) value was of Home Energy Scotland Private Rented Sector Landlord Loan offers it has made in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.

14 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has received regarding how material shortages and increased contractor prices in the construction sector are impacting householders redeeming Home Energy Scotland Loan offers.

Answer · Michael Matheson: No information has been formally received by Scottish Government regarding how much material shortages and increased contractor prices in the construction sector are impacting householders redeeming Home Energy Scotland Loan offers.

14 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of Home Energy Scotland loan offers have expired during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how this compares to the three financial years prior to the pandemic beginning.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The proportion of Home Energy Scotland loan offers that have expired during the Covid-19 pandemic compared to the previous three years is: Year Total Offers Expired loan offers (not accepted) Expired Committed Loan Offers (not accepted) 2021-22 (to end …

14 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many Home Energy Scotland loan (a) applications and (b) offers it has handled during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how this compares to the three previous financial years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The number of Home Energy Scotland Loan applications and offers handled during the pandemic, compared to the three previous years is: Year Total Applications Total Offers 2021-22 – to end of June 890 937* 2020-21 2698 2011 2019-20 2167 1757 2018-…

9 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many households will require financial support to comply with the new fire alarm standards; how much it will cost to provide this; what modelling it used to calculate these figures, and what stakeholders it has contacted to discuss the provision of this support.

Answer · Shona Robison: The presence of working interlinked fire alarms is proven to save lives and is one of the most important investments home owners can make to protect life and property. Regulations setting out this new standard were unanimously approved by the previous Local G…

7 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will continue to provide free COVID-19 lateral flow tests (a) until and (b) after 9 August 2021.

Answer · Maree Todd: On 26 April free lateral flow device (LFD) test kits were made available to everyone in Scotland, for twice-weekly asymptomatic COVID-19 testing via the universally accessible testing offer. In addition to this, free LFD test kits are available through the Sc…

7 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many mid-market rent properties it has subsidised that had a starting rent level exceeding the relevant Local Housing Allowance rate in each of the last five years, also broken down by (a) local authority area and (b) More Homes Division Area Office.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government subsidised a total of 3,595 mid-market rent properties which were completed by Registered Social Landlords between 2016-17 and 2021-22. The following table shows the number which had a starting rent level exceeding the relevant Local H…

7 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Social Housing Tender Price Index will take account of the shortages of materials and price increases that were recently reported by the Federation of Master Builders.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Social Housing Tender Price Index measures the movement in the prices paid by clients to contractors for the construction of affordable housing in Scotland. The index is based on analysing the costs in accepted tenders or agreed prices for housin…

7 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how its affordable housing subsidy will respond to the shortages of materials and price increases that were recently reported by the Federation of Master Builders.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Affordable Housing Supply Programme housing subsidy is flexible and is able to respond to the challenges reported recently by the Federation of Master Builders. In this respect, the amount of grant funding that individual projects require continues to be …

7 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable homes that are due for completion in 2021-22 are subject to (a) delays and (b) cost increases because of the shortages of materials and price increases that were recently reported by the Federation of Master Builders.

Answer · Shona Robison: There are a large number of affordable housing supply programme projects on site at the moment across the country and we are aware that some are subject to delays. My officials are therefore gathering local intelligence through the More Homes Division Area Te…

6 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the Scottish Futures Trust's current role is in the subsidy and provision of build-to-rent homes, and how this differs from its previous role.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) is a partner in a build-to-rent joint venture with Edinburgh City Council called “Edinburgh Living” which is providing mid-market rent properties and market rent homes across the city. To date, more than 250 families have move…

6 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will carry out a review of the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing Two, in light of research by Changeworks suggesting that it would reduce the total percentage of households in fuel poverty from 38% to 29%.

Answer · Shona Robison: The second milestone of Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH2) will help remove poor energy efficiency as a driver for fuel poverty and contribute to achieving our emissions reductions targets. We need to accelerate our ambitions to decarbonis…

6 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will cost registered social landlords to implement the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing Two, and what funding support it will provide toward this.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The second milestone of the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing to 2032 (EESSH2) requires social landlords to ensure their stock meets, or can be treated as meeting, EPC Band B, or is as energy efficient as practically possible, by the end of Decemb…

5 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates the (a) Joint Housing Resilience Chairs Group, (b) Local Government Resilience Group, (c) Private Rented Sector Resilience Group, (d) Social Housing Resilience Group and (e) Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans Sub-group has met since 6 May 2021, and when it will next meet.

Answer · Shona Robison: (a) The Joint Housing Resilience Chairs Group was convened by the previous Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning at his request and were held over the period at the height of the pandemic. The need for specific meetings with the resilience group…

2 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it provides to Build to Rent developers and operators, and from which budget line.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not presently provide funding specifically for Build to Rent developers and operators, and therefore there is no budget line allocated for this purpose.

15 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which contractor carries out the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund (a) affordability and (b) credit checks, and how much it has cost to (i) operate, and (ii) administer the fund.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Tenant Hardship Loan Fund is operated and administered on behalf of the Scottish Government by Energy Savings Trust (EST), using a variation of an existing contract. EST carry out affordability checks based on the income and expenditure information provid…

15 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00071 by Shona Robison on 27 May 2021, whether it will provide an update on the total value of loans made under the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund scheme, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Shona Robison: A breakdown of these awards by local authority area is not currently gathered although this information is collected at application entry level and is as follows: Number of applications per local authority Local authority Total Social PRS Aberdeen City …

15 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applicants to the Tenant Hardship Loan have not passed the (a) affordability check, (b) credit check or, (c) both.

Answer · Shona Robison: When an application to the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund is received an initial affordability assessment is performed, based on estimates of income and expenditure provided by the applicant. Where affordability is not shown the application is not credit checked. …

15 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00072 by Shona Robison on 27 May 2021, whether it will provide an update on how many tenants have received loans from the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund, broken down by the (a) private and (b) social sectors, including registered social landlords and loc…

Answer · Shona Robison: As at 21 June 182 tenants have received, or are in the process of receiving, a loan from the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund, with a combined funding value of £503,148.96. There are a further 7 loan offers in process, with a combined value of £17,470.08 Within the…

15 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to consult on providing same-sex married couples with a right to modify previously issued wedding schedules and certificates to use the term "groom".

Answer · Angus Robertson: Individuals who intend to marry can currently choose to be designated in the register of marriages as either ‘bride’ or ‘bridegroom’ or they can choose that no designation be entered for them in that register. An extract from the marriage register (a marriage…

14 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has established the necessary governance process and a monitoring framework to assess progress towards the vision of its Housing 2040 (H2040) strategy.

Answer · Shona Robison: Housing to 2040, Scotland’s first long-term housing strategy, was published in March 2021 following extensive consultation across the country. The Scottish Government is now working with our partners to develop the detailed plans necessary to deliver the visi…

10 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with relevant public bodies about placing a legal duty on them to prevent homelessness.

Answer · Shona Robison: In our Ending Homelessness Together action plan we committed to developing a new legislative duty on local authorities and wider public bodies for the prevention of homelessness. We commissioned an expert group – the Prevention Review Group - in October 2019 …

10 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional measures to end rough sleeping were brought in as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and which will be continued following the lifting of restrictions across Scotland.

Answer · Shona Robison: No one in Scotland should have to sleep rough and this is a commitment we reiterated in our updated Ending Homelessness Together action plan, published with COSLA in October 2020. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, our priority has been to keep people safe and …

10 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what audit it has conducted to determine the costs and benefits of the duty on public bodies to maximise the receipts from land sales.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) provides clear guidance to public bodies on Property acquisition, disposal and management. There is no reference within that guidance to the …