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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-21552

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 26 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) social housing, (b) private rented sector and (c) owner occupier properties do not currently have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least band C.

Estimates of the number and percentage of households at each EPC energy efficiency band are published annually in the Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) Key Findings report. The most recent data for 2017, published in December 2018, estimates that 45% of social sector dwellings, representing around 279,000 dwellings, had an EPC energy efficiency rating below C. The equivalent figure in the private rented sector stood at 61% of occupied dwellings (212,000 dwellings), and 62% (930,000 dwellings) for owner-occupied dwellings. These figures are summarised in Table 1.

Table 1: Grouped EPC Band by Broad Tenure in 2017, SAP 2012. SHCS 2017.

	EPC band
	C or above		Below C
	000s	%	000s	%
Owner occupied	561	38%	930	62%
Private rented	135	39%	212	61%
Social sector	347	55%	279	45%

Question reference: S5W-21172

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 1 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-16015 Kevin Stewart on 25 April 2018, when the evaluation of the equity loan pilot will be published.

The evaluation of the equity loan pilot will be published in Spring 2019.

Current data to the end of December 2018 on the pilot scheme is as follows. Total requests for application forms 450. Completed application forms returned 76 of these 30 loans have been offered and the remaining 46 applications are progressing through applicant’s solicitors prior to loan offers being made. The average equity loan value is £14,600 per property, with an average energy efficiency element of £12,400 per property.

It is worth noting that energy efficiency works include elements of repair such as reroofing and other measures to eliminate water ingress. It is also worth noting that as part of the initial referral applicants are given advice on all means of assistance from the Home Energy Scotland network and Care and Repair, this often leads to applicants being referred to other schemes, such as Warm Homes Scotland, better suited to their circumstances.

Question reference: S5W-21171

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 30 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-19556 by Kevin Stewart on 2 November 2018, whether it has taken any enforcement action against letting agents that have been accepted on the Letting Agent Register, and, if so, what.

The Scottish Government has not taken any enforcement action against a letting agent who has been accepted onto the Scottish Letting Agent Register.

Where a registered agent is identified as failing to comply with the Code of Practice for Letting Agents, or any requirement of Part 4 of the 2014 Act, we will seek to engage with the agent in line with our published Monitoring Compliance and Enforcement Framework for letting agents.

Details of this framework can be found at:
https://beta.gov.scot/publications/regulation-letting-agents-monitoring-compliance-enforcement-framework/

Question reference: S5W-21170

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 30 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-19556 by Kevin Stewart on 2 November 2018, whether it has taken any enforcement action against letting agents that have been operating without being on the Letting Agent Register, and, if so, what.

The Scottish Government has taken enforcement action against letting agents that may be operating without registration in line with our published Monitoring Compliance and Enforcement Framework for the regulation of letting agents.

Details of this framework can be found at:
https://beta.gov.scot/publications/regulation-letting-agents-monitoring-compliance-enforcement-framework/

The Scottish Government has issued 54 1st compliance letters, one 2nd compliance letter, and one notification to advise that we are considering refusal of an application.

Question reference: S5W-21169

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 30 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-19328 by Kevin Stewart on 25 October 2018, how many applications to the Letting Agent Register have been received since the 1 October 2018 deadline; how many applications received (a) before and (b) after the deadline have been processed and approved, and how many have been rejected.

87 applications to join the Scottish Letting Agent Register have been received after 1 October 2018 deadline. Of these, 11 applications were not late as the applicant had not yet commenced carrying out letting agency work.

As at 30 January 2019, the number of applications received a) before the deadline and have now been approved is 258; and applications received b) after the deadline that have been approved is 8.

No applications have been rejected but 6 applications have been withdrawn.

Question reference: S5O-02813

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 January 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Lanarkshire and what was discussed.

Question reference: S5W-20633

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 8 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities have applied to it under the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 to designate rent pressure zones in specific areas.

Question reference: S5F-02895

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 December 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 December 2018

To ask the First Minister by how much councils’ core budgets will change under the draft Budget.

Question reference: S5W-20200

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 3 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the mandatory minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) level is for new home completions.

Whilst, under Scottish building regulations, an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is produced for each new home, a minimum EPC rating is not set as a performance target.

Instead, each new home must comply with standards which set both a maximum 'target' carbon emission rate for the dwelling and minimum performance standards for elements such as building insulation and building services, such as heating systems.

Analysis of EPC ratings for new homes completed during 2016 and 2017 indicates that 99.5% of new homes built to the 2010 or 2015 building regulations achieve an EPC (Energy Efficiency Rating) rating of 'C' or better, with over 90% having a 'B' rating.

Question reference: S5W-19553

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that landlords and tenants are made aware of letting agents that are on or have been accepted for the Letting Agent Register but are operating without a dedicated client account or a client money protection policy.