Andy Wightman

10 Dec 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it will do to further protect tenants over the festive period who may be facing eviction.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: We are doing all we can to support tenants to remain in their homes whilst the pandemic continues to risk people’s health and have already taken a range of action to support this. Given the relaxation of rules with regards to the mixing of households over th…

17 Nov 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it collects data on the settings where COVID-19 is being transmitted within each local authority and, if so, whether it will publish this.

26 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what specific steps it has taken to inform homeowners of the changes introduced by the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 (Tolerable Standard) (Extension of Criteria) Order 2019 since January 2019, and when it took these steps.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Following the changes to the tolerable standards, announced in March 2018, there was significant media coverage. The changes were further reported as they passed through Parliament, and the regularly updated online Q and A has been available since March 2018.…

14 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment by the Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning on 8 January 2020 that “we will review the tax treatment of short-term lets to ensure that they make an appropriate contribution to the communities that they operate in” (Official Report, c.37), what progr…

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we prioritised preparing the statutory instruments for the licensing scheme and short-term let control areas so that they can be considered by the Scottish Parliament in this session and deferred the review of the t…

8 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment made by the Lord Advocate in April 2018 regarding raising proceedings against companies and Scottish limited partnerships for failure to comply with their statutory duties to provide information to Companies House, what progress there has been and whether there…

7 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) applications, (b) offers and (c) loans have been made through the Private Rent Sector Landlord COVID-19 Loan Scheme.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: As of w/e 28 August there were (a) 87 applications (b) 37 offers (c) 36 loans have been made Of the applications not progressed to a loan offer, this is due to the applicant not being eligible for the loan or choosing not to continue the application proce…

7 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how many applications to the Private Rent Sector Landlord COVID-19 Loan Scheme have cited (a) tenants facing difficulty in paying rent and (b) inability to find a new tenant as a reason for loss of rental income.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: As of 28 August there were 28 applications for properties that were occupied (tenants facing difficulty paying rent); 57 applications for void properties (inability to find a new tenant due to the impact of covid) and 2 applications where the rental property …

7 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the data in the High Rise Inventory on the construction and fire safety of high-rise domestic buildings was collected by (a) Capita and (b) ScotXed.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: It is not possible to distinguish the data collected by Capita from that returned via the ScotXed system. The data collected by Capita was used to pre populate the database when it went live. Local Authority Building Standards departments then completed retur…

7 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost was of the initial data collection exercise by Capita for the High Rise Inventory on the construction and fire safety of high-rise domestic buildings.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Following the fire at the Grenfell Tower Block, the Scottish Government commissioned an inventory of the design of high rise housing accommodation in Scotland. Only one bid was submitted from Capita. This met the agreed tender requirements and the contract wa…

7 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to communicate the availability of the rent adjudication service offered by Rent Service Scotland, in light of 0.0001% of households in the private rented sector reportedly having used the service over the last two years.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: All relevant Private Residential Tenancy (PRT) related documentation produced by the Scottish Government provides information to tenants on the rent adjudication process. We also recently introduced a new ‘Know Your Rights’ page at the beginning of every PRT…

7 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has granted permission for any mid-market rents for units funded through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme to exceed the mid-point of market rent levels for the relevant Broad Rental Market Area.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: All mid-market rented units funded through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme must meet rental affordability criteria at project approval and at first let. The Scottish Government has not given permission for any units to exceed the mid-point of market r…

7 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been paid out in loans to date through the Private Rent Sector Landlord COVID-19 Loan Scheme, also broken down by local authority.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: A total of £133,235.96 has been paid out as of w/e 28 August. A breakdown of pay-outs to individual local authorities is not currently held although figures breaking down applications by local authority area are available and are as follows:   Applications …

24 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to end the risk of homelessness faced by domestic abuse victims who are seeking to exit a joint tenancy under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: We have convened a working group, co-chaired by Scottish Women’s Aid and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Scotland, to consider what actions are needed to prevent homelessness for women and children experiencing domestic abuse. This includes exploring…

22 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with the evaluation of the Small Business Bonus Scheme, and when the results will be published.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government accepted the Barclay Review recommendation to review the Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) and, in June 2019, commissioned the Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI) to carry out an independent review of the scheme. Due to the coronaviru…

9 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has not appointed any representatives of private tenants on its private Rented Sector Resilience Group.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The PRS Resilience Group is made up of:Scottish GovernmentShelter ScotlandCitizens Advice ScotlandPublic Health ScotlandScottish Association of LandlordsPropertymarkCOSLAAssociation of Local Authority Chief Housing OfficersGlasgow City CouncilDundee City Coun…

9 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made on its Housing to 2040 strategy, and what the timescales are for completing its consultation and other relevant work.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Work on Housing to 2040 was paused temporarily whilst Scottish Government officials focused on responding to the COVID-19 emergency. That work has now resumed and we are carefully assessing the outputs from the consultation, which concluded on 28 February 202…

8 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last tested its local response arrangements as identified by the report on Exercise Cygnus (page 7, Key Learning 1) on the UK's pandemic response.

Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Government local response arrangements were tested throughout 2019, ensuring all SGoRR response team members were exercised.  

8 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it took to implement the recommendations of Exercise Cygnus on the UK's pandemic response, including the (a) preparation of a methodology for assessing social care capacity and surge capacity, (b) management of excess deaths in the community, (c) mapping of capacity of third …

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Exercise Cygnus in 2016 was primarily a UK Government led exercise and involved frontline services in England. The Scottish Government had limited involvement.

8 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for eviction proceedings have (a) been made to and (b) not yet been decided by the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) since 25 March 2020.

Answer · Ash Denham: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.  

8 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many discretionary housing payment awards have been made by local authorities during (a) March, (b) April and (c) May 2020, and what the total value was of those payments.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Cumulative awards and expenditure for Discretionary Housing Payments in 2019-20 to the end of March 2020 are available in the official statistics publication here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/discretionary-housing-payments-in-scotland-1-april-2019-to-3…

8 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for eviction proceedings have not yet been decided by the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber).

Answer · Ash Denham: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.  

8 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what communications it has had with tenants and tenant organisations that relate to publicising the extension of notice periods for eviction notices from three to six months under the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: To raise awareness of the extended notice to leave and notice of proceedings periods under the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020, the Scottish Government launched a successful eviction rights marketing campaign on 7th April, which reached an estimated 75% of al…

8 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when each Regional Resilience Partnership last ran a pandemic planning exercise, and whether it will publish the results of these.

Answer · John Swinney: All three Regional Resilience Partnerships (North, East and West) participated in the Scottish Government Exercise Silver Swan in 2015. The exercise report and the follow-up report can be accessed via the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe), and wi…

12 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to produce a digital national asset register, bringing together public sector property and land data with socio-economic data.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government has no plans to produce a digital national asset register along these lines.  

12 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-27624 by Kate Forbes on 10 March 2020, which information is specifically "commercially sensitive”.

Answer · Kate Forbes: Information stored on the electronic Property Information Mapping System (ePIMS) which is classed as commercially sensitive includes all information relating to the leases between Scottish Government and its landlords. Lease information includes rent, duratio…

9 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will introduce non-domestic rates relief for small music venues.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: On 18 March 2020, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture announced a package of support worth £2.2 billion to limit the impact of COVID-19 on the business community. As part of this we are providing a 100% non-domestic rates relief for all r…

26 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which organisations ministers have met since November 2019 to discuss the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: Ministers engaged with organisations extensively throughout the consultation and Bill process. Since November 2019, Ministers have met with opposition party MSPs, COSLA and the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, to discuss the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Bill. …

26 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it has used or will use the £4.7 million it received from local authorities under the Business Rates Incentivisation Scheme in 2017-18.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: Under the terms of the Business Rates Incentivisation Scheme local authorities that exceed their non-domestic rate income target retain 50 per cent of that additional income, the remaining 50 per cent is accounted for in the balance of the Non Domestic Rating…

26 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the timeframe is for making the use of the Electronic Property Information Mapping Service (e-PIMS) mandatory for (a) its directorates, (b) its agencies and (c) other public bodies.

Answer · Kate Forbes: Scottish Government use the Electronic Property Information Mapping System (ePIMS) for listing land and building information. Whilst Scottish Government encourages its agencies and non-departmental public bodies to use ePIMS, there are currently no plans to m…

26 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will introduce non-domestic rates relief for small business venues.