Parliamentary questions
Mark Griffin
2,186 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
20 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on agreeing the specification for single building assessments in relation to cladding remediation.
Answer · Paul McLennan: The Single Building Assessment (SBA) is a risk-based approach to assess and culminate in a report on the risk to human life (directly or indirectly) created or exacerbated by the External Wall System (EWS) in multi-residential domestic buildings which may inc…
20 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20984 by Paul McLennan on 15 September 2023, whether it will provide details of the evidence that indicates that the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 is working as intended.
Answer · Paul McLennan: The Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 (the Act) requires the Scottish Ministers to prepare and maintain a public register of all property factors and to consider whether a property factor is a fit and proper person to be registered as a property factor. U…
20 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Justice Committee’s inquiry in 2013 and the Scottish Government’s response to it, for what reason it has not yet published the voluntary code of practice on dismissing and replacing land-owning maintenance companies.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government is preparing a Voluntary Code of Practice on dismissing and replacing land-owning land maintenance companies. I acknowledge that there has been a considerable time elapsed since the decision to bring forward a voluntary code of practi…
20 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering the ability of developers to pay for cladding remediation works using profit-based thresholds, and, if so, at what level any such thresholds will be set.
Answer · Paul McLennan: It is right that developers make a contribution to remediating buildings that they developed, where they are able to do so, and we recognise that this contribution should be proportionate to profit. In England and Wales developers over £10m profit threshold h…
20 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on any discussions that it is having with developers regarding their ability to pay for cladding remediation works.
Answer · Paul McLennan: We are working through our financial support options at pace to define how we can support those developers who cannot afford to pay in full for their remediation liability. We are committed to ensuring that our approach is proportionate to a developer’s abili…
20 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what mechanisms it is considering for making a determination in instances where there is disagreement over whether cladding remediation works are within scope following a single building assessment.
Answer · Paul McLennan: The Single Building Assessment (SBA) report will detail any risk to human life that is (directly or indirectly) created or exacerbated by the building’s external wall cladding system, and what work (if any) is needed to eliminate or mitigate any risk of that …
20 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to finalise the specification for single building assessments in relation to cladding remediation before the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill is debated at stage 3.
Answer · Paul McLennan: The specification for single building assessments is in development and is due to be published by the end of May 2024. I will write to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee once there is an updated position regarding the specification. Timings…
18 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what eligibility criteria it plans to employ for new applications to the reopened Independent Living Fund.
Answer · Maree Todd: The principles that will govern access to the reopened Independent Living Fund, recommended by the Co-Production Working Group, are set out on the Independent Living Fund Scotland website, at https://ilf.scot/news-post/update-re-opening-ilf-in-scotland/
18 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the average award level will be for new applications to the reopened Independent Living Fund.
Answer · Maree Todd: Based on the recommendations of the Co-Production Working Group, the maximum award for new recipients of the Independent Living Fund has been set at £330 per week. Historically awards have tended to be substantially lower than the maximum. However, the Indepe…
18 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what financial modelling it has carried out to calculate its cost basis projection for reopening the Independent Living Fund (ILF) Scotland 2015 Fund.
Answer · Maree Todd: The budget of £9m for 2024-25 has been set on the basis of up to 1,000 disabled people receiving awards of up to £330 per week. The budget takes account of awards for new recipients phasing in over the course of the year, and makes allowance for the additiona…
18 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on what date it anticipates it will reopen the Independent Living Fund to new applicants.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Independent Living Fund reopened to new applications at the start of April 2024. Following a period of systems and process testing with initial applications, ILF Scotland expect to open to online applications by late April. ILF Scotland expect to start ma…
18 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of the phased approach that it plans to take to reopening the Independent Living Fund.
Answer · Maree Todd: We have committed £9m in 2024-25 to offer up to 1,000 new applicants access to the Independent Living Fund. This initial funding takes into consideration that applications will be received and assessed over the course of the year, so that new awards will phas…
18 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of any estimates, analysis or modelling that it has for the reopening of the Independent Living Fund.
Answer · Maree Todd: Based on £9 million of funding available in 2024-25, Scottish Government and ILF Scotland worked together to develop indicative options based on varying threshold sums and maximum award levels for consideration by the Co-Production Working Group. The group pr…
18 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many new applications to the reopened Independent Living Fund it estimates will be received.
Answer · Maree Todd: Up to 1,000 new applicants will be offered awards in 2024-25. The actual number of applications received will be monitored by ILF Scotland and Scottish Government.
18 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been committed to reopening the Independent Living Fund to new applicants in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26.
Answer · Maree Todd: A budget of £9m has been committed to reopening the Independent Living Fund in 2024-25. Funding for 2025-26 will be agreed through the annual budget process.
13 Mar 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of an accredited qualification and registration programme for Additional Support Needs assistants.
6 Mar 2024 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with North Lanarkshire Council to improve the school estate.
21 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the competing work priorities are that have resulted in the planned publication of the Scottish Housing Market Review in January 2024 being suspended.
Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Housing Market Review, a quarterly publication which collates a range of previously published statistics, was suspended in January 2024 due to a number of competing work priorities, which included analytical work related to the Cost of Living (Te…
21 Feb 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government to where within the education budget it reallocated any unused funds for teaching bursaries in 2023-24.
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the latest year for which data is available, what the cost was of administering the Empowering Communities Programme, and what the (a) headcount, (b) FTE staff count, (c) total number of staffing hours and (d) total cost of staff salaries was.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We are unable to provide all the information in the form requested. This is because members of staff involved in the administration of the Empowering Communities Programme (ECP) undertake a variety of duties relating to the delivery of Scottish Government bus…
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Empowering Communities Programme grant awards for 2023-24 were paid to organisations in each month since April 2023, also broken down by the (a) recipient organisation and (b) amount of each grant award, and what the total value was of these awards.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Empowering Communities Programme (ECP) comprises two community funding programmes - the Investing in Communities Fund and Strengthening Communities Programme – as well as grants to strategic delivery partners. In 2023-24 222 organisations within the ECP h…
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many recipient organisations of an Empowering Communities Programme grant award were dissolved before their grant was paid, in each of the last five years.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Of the grants delivered within the Empowering Communities Programme there has been one organisation that dissolved in 2020-21 during the period of their grant award and one that entered into dissolution process in the final year of their grant award period in…
6 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20844 by Paul McLennan on 13 September 2023, how many applications from (a) registered social landlords and (b) local authorities have been (i) received and (ii) approved for the National Acquisition Plan since its answer.
Answer · Paul McLennan: The following table shows the number of homes approved from applications received from (a) registered social landlords (b) local authorities since the National Acquisition Programme was announced on 19 July 2023. This information is to 31 January 2024: Natio…
6 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21426 by Paul McLennan on 2 October 2023, whether it will provide updated tables, based on the latest information available.
Answer · Paul McLennan: The following tables shows applications and homes formally approved since 19 September to 31 January, including grant offered split by registered social landlord and local authority in 2023-24. It should also be noted that discussions have taken place to supp…
6 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who the single point of contact is in (a) the Scottish Government and (b) local government for the National Acquisition Plan.
Answer · Paul McLennan: There is no single point of contact in the Scottish Government for the National Acquisition Programme. The programme is part of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme and managed at a local level by More Homes Division Area Teams who work with local authorit…
6 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-24818 by Angela Constance on 5 February 2024, whether it will provide clarification on whether anyone has been convicted of offences under section 56 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 since it came into force.
Answer · Angela Constance: As of 9 February 2024, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Services have confirmed to Scottish Government that no charges have been reported to them under Section 56 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 and there are subsequently no convictions.
6 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the objectives set out in policy priority mandate letter from the First Minister to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, what its position is on whether the the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice is making acceptable progress on the delivery of affordable homes toward…
Answer · Paul McLennan: From 23 March 2022 to end September 2023, 15,765 homes have been delivered towards the 110,000 affordable homes target, of which 12,188 (77%) are homes for social rent. The next set of quarterly statistics, to end December 2023, will be published towards the …
25 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has reportedly not sought the input of the short-term let industry advisory group members regarding the implementation update on short-term let regulations, in light of VisitScotland not enabling meetings to resume since the last meeting in October 2023, and whether it…
Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government has sought views regarding the implementation update on Short Term Let Licensing from the Short Term Let Industry Advisory Group (IAG). The group most recently met with all members in attendance on 19 January 2024 and subsequently shar…
25 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications have been made to each strand of the Home Owners' Support Fund in each of the last 12 months, and how many of those applications have been accepted.
Answer · Paul McLennan: Paul McLennan: During the last 12 months (January – December 2023), 40 new applications were made to the Homeowners Support Fund (HOSF). All applicants to HOSF receive advice from an accredited money adviser who offer holistic services that best meet applica…
25 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has taken to raise awareness of the Home Owners' Support Fund among people struggling with mortgage payments as a result of the cost of living crisis.
Answer · Paul McLennan: Paul McLennan: Homeowners who are concerned about their finances should contact their lender as soon as possible to discuss the options available to help them. HOSF is a scheme of last resort that is offered to home owners who are most in need. The scheme is…