Mark Griffin

24 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many property factors have applied to join the Scottish Property Factor Register in each year since 2011.

Answer · Paul McLennan: Due to a change in the system used to record applications to the Scottish Property Factor Register, information on the number of property factors who have applied to join the Register in each year since 2011 is not available.However, the number of registered …

25 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the out-turn report for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme between 2022 and 2024 will be published.

Answer · Paul McLennan: The Out-turn report for the 2022-23 Affordable Housing Supply Programme was published on 17 January 2025.https://www.gov.scot/publications/affordable-housing-supply-programme-out-turn-report/As stated in the answer to question S6W-32145 on 18 December 2024, t…

25 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish in full the report of the review of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme; if (a) so, when and (b) not, whether it plans to publish the review’s conclusions, and, if so, when.

Answer · Paul McLennan: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-29131 on 4 September 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…

24 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it anticipates will be made available from the Learning Disability Support Fund to the Scottish Assembly over the next three years.

Answer · Maree Todd: The total amount available in the LDSF fund is £1,625,000 running from October 2025 to March 2028. The Scottish Assembly has submitted an application for funding. Applications are currently being considered and successful applicants will be notified in …

24 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of any changes to the funding criteria for the Learning Disability Support Fund, which will operate from October 2025, for organisations such as the Scottish Assembly and the leadership framework that it operates.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Learning Disability Support Fund aims to sustain and support organisations working directly with people with learning disabilities in Scotland to build a more inclusive society, reduce inequality and provide opportunities for fulfilling lives.Funded work …

24 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to the Scottish Assembly, which supports people with learning difficulties to access services, in each of the last five years.

Answer · Maree Todd: Details of funding provided to the Scottish Assembly from the Scottish Government’s Mental Health budget over the last five years are as follows:2020-212021-222022-232023-242024-25£0£132,836£184,736£209,600£214,313In additi…

20 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, what its response is to the Shelter Scotland report, In Their Own Words: Children’s Experiences in Temporary Accommodation, and what its position is on whether children living in such accommodation are having their best interest rights upheld, as per the UN Convention on the Right…

Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government shared its response to the Shelter Scotland report, In Their Own Words: Children’s Experiences in Temporary Accommodation with the Scottish Parliament on 4 March 2025. Parliamentary Question S6T-02391 refers, which can be accesse…

7 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will accelerate plans to amend the rent adjudication framework to remove the ability of the rent officer or tribunal to determine a rent that is higher than that requested by the landlord, in light of the ending of the temporary restrictions on rent increases from Ap…

Answer · Paul McLennan: The Housing (Scotland) Bill includes provisions to remove the ability of the rent officer or tribunal to determine a rent that is higher than that requested by the landlord.Ministers have no plans to seek to accelerate the current timescales of the bill, howe…

7 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations in Shelter Scotland’s report, In Their Own Words: Children’s Experiences in Temporary Accommodation, how it will ensure that local authorities receive long-term funding and the appropriate guidance to accelerate the delivery of social housing,…

Answer · Paul McLennan: Increasing housing supply is key to reducing levels of homelessness. In 2024-25, we made additional funding of £40 million available to local authorities, taking investment in affordable housing to almost £600 million. 80% of the additional fundin…

11 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many rural housing burdens have been issued each year since 2003.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.However, I have contacted the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland who maintains the property registers in Scotland. They have searched the registers and identified 783 titles that narrate a rural housing …

11 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many bodies designated as a rural housing body under section 43 (6) of the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 have issued rural housing burdens, broken down by year.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.However, I have contacted the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland who maintains the property registers in Scotland. They have searched the registers and identified 783 titles that narrate a rural housing …

11 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which organisations have become rural housing bodies each year under section 43(6) of the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The following organisations were prescribed as rural housing bodies in the following years. Please note that there is no requirement to notify Scottish Ministers when a rural housing body is wound up or ceases to operate.2004Albyn Housing Society LimitedBarra…

11 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties have had a rural housing burden applied to their title deeds in each year since 2003, broken down by (a) council tax band and (b) local authority area.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. However, I have contacted the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland (the Keeper) and they have been able to provide some of the information. The breakdown by each year the rural housing burden was applied …

10 Feb 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the current average waiting times are for a neurodevelopmental assessment and a speech and language therapy assessment for children and young people in NHS Lanarkshire and in Scotland as a whole.

4 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure the sustainability of cultural facilities in the Central Scotland region, in light of Creative Scotland's decision not to award multi-year funding to Cumbernauld Theatre, which has been reported as being "heartbreaking".

Answer · Angus Robertson: The Scottish Government has demonstrated its commitment to the culture sector across Scotland with an increase of £34m in 2025-26 to the culture budget. The largest part of this is an additional £20m for Creative Scotland to provide core funding t…

4 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties bought in the calendar year 2024 were liable for the Additional Dweller Supplement, broken down by (a) the local authority area of the property, (b) properties in the purchase price band of (i) £0 to £100,000, (ii) £100,001 to £200,000, (iii)&n…

Answer · Shona Robison: Revenue Scotland is responsible for the collection and management of Scotland’s fully devolved taxes, including Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT).Management information data from Revenue Scotland regarding the LBTT Additional Dwelling Supplement…

22 Jan 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the uplift in the Scottish Prison Service budget for 2025-26 will be spent on improving the prison estate.

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it expects to have held the first meeting of the employment injury assistance steering group.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government is in the process of establishing a stakeholder group on Employment Injury Assistance which will be comprised of organisations and experts with experience of Industrial Injuries Scheme benefits.Invitations for the Employment Injury Ass…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a summary of the reasons for the continued delay in the transfer of responsibility for delivery of the Employment Injury Assistance in Scotland to the Scottish Government.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government is prioritising longer term reform so that Employment Injury Assistance better meets Scotland’s needs. This is the option which was supported by the largest number of responses to our public consultation held last year.Our work o…

15 Jan 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what policies it is considering to better support the health of premature babies on neonatal units, including the development of a specialised Baby Box.

9 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much non-domestic rates income has been forgone in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25 where Small Business Bonus Scheme rates relief has been claimed for self-catering units, broken down by (i) 100%, (ii) 25% and (iii) 0% (where they were not eligible due to having a number of …

Answer · Ivan McKee: The following tables present the estimated value of Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) relief awarded to self-catering units as at 1 June 2024, broken down in Table 1 by assessor, and in Table 2 by local authority, for properties (unit owners cannot be reliab…

9 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many self-catering (a) units on the non-domestic rates roll and (b) unit owners received Small Business Bonus Scheme rates relief in (i) 2022-23, (ii) 2023-24 and (iii) 2024-25 at (A) 100%, (B) 25% and (C) 0% where they were not eligible due to having a number of properties with a co…

Answer · Ivan McKee: The following tables present the estimated number of self-catering properties receiving Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) relief as at 1 June 2024, broken down in Table 1 by assessor, and in Table 2 by local authority, for properties receiving 100% SBBS, 25%…

9 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average grant rate was for a social new-build property delivered through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) the first half of 2024-25, broken down by (i) local authority and (ii) registered social landlord new builds.

Answer · Paul McLennan: The following table provides the average grant rates for Registered Social Landlord (RSL) and Local Authority social rent new build homes approved through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) between April 2022 and end September 2024.Financial YearR…

9 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its announcement that it will deliver 8,000 new affordable homes in 2025-26, how many of these properties will be (a) social new-builds, (b) acquisitions, (c) other affordable properties and (d) voids brought back into use.

Answer · Paul McLennan: The 8,000 homes figure attached to 2025-2026 funding is an estimate of the equivalent homes that could be supported by the budget in 2025-2026. The 2025-2026 budget will fund the completion of existing project commitments as well as new project approvals, inc…

8 Jan 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the net zero secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding whether unused funds from energy efficiency area-based grant schemes could be reallocated, including to reduce fuel poverty in the coming financial year.

18 Dec 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will improve access to legal aid.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government remains committed to providing legal aid for a wide scope of actions. The draft Scottish Budget includes a proposed further investment of £14.2 million for the Legal Fund in 2025-26 which is an increase of 10% on this year’…

16 Dec 2024 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what consideration the Scottish Government has given to what the potential impact might be on Deaf and Deafblind people of the termination of its contract with Contact Scotland BSL.

13 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its financial plans for the funding of NHS boards to implement the reconfiguration of neonatal services.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government recognises that funding will be required to support Boards to make the transition to a reformed maternity and neonatal service. We are continuing to provide transitional funding to Boards, as we have done for NHS GGC and NHS Lothian si…

11 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Out-turn report for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme between 2022 and 2024 will be published

Answer · Paul McLennan: The Out-turn report for the 2022-23 Affordable Housing Supply Programme will be published early in the New Year. The 2023-24 out-turn report is still in progress and we do not, at present, have an identified publication date.Statistics relating to the progres…

10 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update regarding themost recent estimate of the total government spend to date on claddingremediation.

Answer · Paul McLennan: Further to the answer to question S6W-31787 on 9 December 2024 the Scottish Government will continue to fund assessment and remediation where no linked developer can be identified. The level of financial support that will be needed is determined by the compre…