- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 29 August 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking to deliver new employment support schemes, in light of reports of an estimated 150,000 long-term unemployed people in Scotland.
Answer
Latest information from the Annual Population Survey (April 2022 to Mar 2023) shows that there are 28,300 people in Scotland who are unemployed for 12 months or more and therefore are long term unemployed.
Through No One Left Behind, we are transforming the employability system to be more responsive in meeting the needs of people and adapting to rapidly changing labour markets. The number of people starting support through No One Left Behind has continued to increase year on year, from 2,818 in year 1 (April 2019 – March 2020) to 17,667 in year 4 (April 2022 – March 2023).
From 1 April 2024, following the end of referrals to Fair Start Scotland in March 2024, employability support for disabled people and those at risk of long-term unemployment will also be provided through No One Left Behind. This is a key step to simplify the employability system in line with ambitions set out in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation to eradicate structural barriers to labour market participation. Learning and evaluation continues to underpin our ambitions. The Implementation Evaluation of No One Left Behind and the Young Person’s Guarantee was published on 10 August, which offers valuable insight on how we continue to build upon the strengths of local delivery and good practice.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 August 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many defibrillators have been provided to schools in Scotland, and what percentage of secondary schools have received defibrillators, both broken down by local authority area.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold the information you request regarding defibrillators in schools.
You may wish to contact Scottish Local Authorities individually for information they may hold. The Scottish local government page of the Confederation of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) has contact information for these: https://www.cosla.gov.uk/councils .
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 August 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 25 August 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to (a) the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme, (b) Area-Based Schemes and (c) Home Energy Scotland in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answer
In the 2022-23 financial year, the final outturn allocations to the schemes were as follows:
- Warmer Homes Scotland - £42.5 million
- Area Based Schemes - £41.7 million
- Home Energy Scotland - £22.4 million
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 07 August 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don on 24 August 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £60 million, which was a commitment in its 2022-23 Programme for Government, has it invested to renew play parks.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children across Scotland can access high quality play opportunities in a range of settings. Through play, children and young people can explore the world around them in a creative and engaging way. It is important for their growth, development and wellbeing.
The Scottish Government has delivered funding of £20 million in the first three years of the play park renewal programme. Distribution and allocation of the remaining funding has been agreed with COSLA and we have written to all local authorities confirming their funding allocation until 2026 as per the table:
2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | Total |
£5,000,000 | £5,000,000 | £10,000,000 | £15,000,000 | £25,000,000 | £60,000,000 |
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 August 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 18 August 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its report, Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group: Final Report and Recommendations, what budget the additional £2 million in 2023-24 for local authority rapid rehousing transition plans is being allocated from.
Answer
Since 2019-20, local authorities have been allocated an annual share of £8 million from the Ending Homelessness Together Budget to support the implementation of their rapid rehousing transition plans. The additional £2 million in 2023-24 for rapid rehousing transition plans has also been allocated from the Ending Homelessness Together Budget.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 August 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 18 August 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its report, Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group; Final Report and Recommendations, whether the additional £2 million allocated in the 2022-23 financial year for rapid rehousing transition plans is new money.
Answer
Since 2019-20, local authorities have been allocated an annual share of £8 million from the Ending Homelessness Together Budget to support the implementation of their rapid rehousing transition plans. This is in addition to £2 million allocated in 2018-19 from the same budget for each local authority to develop a rapid rehousing transition plan, and £5 million in 2020-21 from the Winter Plan for Social Protection to help mitigate the negative impacts of the pandemic.
The additional £2 million allocated in 2023-24 for rapid rehousing transition plans is new money. No additional rapid rehousing transition plan funding was made available in 2022-23.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 August 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 August 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its report, Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group: Final Report and Recommendations, how it will measure the success of any actions it has taken.
Answer
Homelessness in Scotland is a statistical bulletin published by the Scottish Government twice a year. This data provides quantitative evidence across a number of issues for homeless households, including applications, assessments, temporary accommodation and outcomes. We will use the annual and interim Homelessness in Scotland statistics as the key measure of the success of initiatives to reduce the number of households and length of time spent in temporary accommodation.
We will also work with the sector on the potential to develop an additional monitoring framework to provide more up to date data in between these statistical publications, balancing the need for information with the pressures on landlords.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 07 August 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 16 August 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to widen the eligibility criteria for the Tenant Grant Fund.
Answer
The eligibility criteria of the Tenant Grant Fund was extended in September 2022 to enable local authorities to use the fund to prevent homelessness for households who had built up more recent arrears, including as a result of the cost of living crisis. National monitoring of this fund was completed in June of this year.
Any local authorities with remaining funds are no longer limited to the criteria of the fund, and can use any remaining monies in ways that best meet the needs of tenants in their area.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 August 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 16 August 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its report, Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group: Final Report and Recommendations, what specific work it plans to undertake to increase the number of homes being changed from temporary to permanent homes.
Answer
The Scottish Government considers the conversion of temporary to permanent accommodation an effective measure to increase the number of social homes. We encourage local authorities to ‘flip’ a tenancy wherever the property is in the right location, and of the right size and type to meet the household’s requirements. Large scale flipping of tenancies can be particularly effective in areas where the greatest pressures in temporary accommodation are experienced.
In our response to the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group recommendations, we said that we will work with COSLA, the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations to develop national guidance to encourage more effective stock management by the end of this year.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 August 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 16 August 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its report, Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group: Final Report and Recommendations, what specific additional interventions it will make as part of its urgent action to reduce the number of void properties in the social sector.
Answer
As set out in our response to the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group recommendations, there are a number of reasons a property can become void. We will therefore work with each local authority, starting with the areas facing the greatest temporary accommodation pressures, on the solutions to accelerate void processing that are right for them.
We are in discussions with the Scottish Housing Regulator, the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, the Glasgow West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations, COSLA and Shelter to agree what changes could be made in the next two to three years that would reduce the turnaround time for vacant social homes. We will confirm specific actions in due course, once agreed.