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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-23333

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff members have been involved in the preparation, delivery, and collating of responses to the consultation on a Fairer Council Tax, and what the (a) staffing cost and (b) number of staff hours spent on the consultation process has been.

The Scottish Government does not hold information which breaks down the staff cost, or staff time, that was committed to the delivery of the Fairer Council Tax Consultation.

The Council Tax Team and Local Taxation Unit, and analysts that supported the delivery of the consultation, work across a number of aspects of Local Tax policy and their time cannot be disaggregated from other demands. Approximately nine members of staff contributed to this work.

Question reference: S6W-23238

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 8 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what responsibility the Minister for Housing has for the delivery of private housing.

The Scottish Government is defined by three distinct and interdependent missions centred on the principles of equality, opportunity and community: to tackle poverty; to build a fair, green and indeed a growing economy; and to improve our public services. In that context, the Minister for Housing’s specific responsibilities are:

Affordable Housing Supply Programme
Housing to 2040 strategy
homelessness and rough sleeping
cladding remediation
welfare and debt advice
regulation of existing housing systems

Question reference: S6W-23328

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what rate of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax is paid by non-resident house buyers.

Question reference: S6W-23173

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 8 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21271 by Patrick Harvie on 28 September 2023, how many (a) referrals (i) have been processed, and, of those, how many were deemed to be eligible applications and (ii) are still awaiting eligibility checks, (b) assessments have taken place and (c) installations (A) have started (B) have been completed and (C) are booked to start.

Please see the following information as of 1 December.

Question reference: S6W-23200

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it accepted advice from officials to use the £30 million of Barnett consequential funding through the Moving on Fund in a way that recognises housing pressures in the round, rather than looking at support for Ukrainians and homelessness housing needs separately.

Scottish Government wrote to local authorities on 12 September confirming the strategic objective, distribution methodology and individual allocations of the £30 million fund. The distribution methodology, agreed with local authority leaders, is based 50% on the number of displaced people from Ukraine in each local authority area and 50% on the adjusted Strategic Housing Investment Framework (SHIF) indicator formula that is used for distributing homelessness prevention funding.

While there is an expectation that this funding will help councils support displaced Ukrainians into longer-term accommodation and reduce the risk of homelessness, the funding is not ring-fenced, and local authorities are able to exercise full discretion locally to support other groups. This is in line with the Verity House Agreement and recognises that local authorities are best placed to allocate their resources to meet competing demands for their services.

The letter has been published and is available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/ukraine-resettlement-letter-to-local-authorities-about-funding/

Question reference: S6W-23208

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 5 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome was of its review into the Home Owners' Support Fund.

My officials are continuing work on a detailed review of the policies and operating arrangements that underpin the Home Owners Support Fund (HOSF), including detailed analytical work on property thresholds and allowances that has taken more time to develop than originally anticipated. I now expect this work to be concluded by the end of the current financial year.

The scheme continues to be open, and applications remain steady. We are not seeing additional demand for the programme at this time.

HOSF also continues to sit alongside support for advice services and legal aid for homeowners. We continue to support free welfare, debt and income maximisation advice services with funding of over £12.3 million allocated this year. A further £2.3 million is available, through the Scottish Legal Aid Board, to offer direct assistance and legal representation for people at risk of or facing court action connected to debt related eviction or repossession.

This investment provides households across Scotland with a holistic, multi-channel offering, ensuring they are able to access advice and support in a manner which best suits their needs.

In addition, as part of the UK Government’s Mortgage Charter, announced in June this year, the UK’s largest mortgage lenders and the Financial Conduct Authority agreed a set of standards that they will adopt when helping borrowers worried about higher rates.

Anyone who is concerned about the paying their mortgage should contact their lender as soon as possible.

Question reference: S6W-23199

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 5 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it received the advice relating to the European Convention on Human Rights implications of Compulsory Rental Orders and Compulsory Sales Orders; whether it has been refreshed, and whether ministers have begun the "substantial consideration" that officials have suggested.

We have committed to continue consideration of the justification for, and practical operation of, Compulsory Sales Orders in the 2023-24 Programme for Government. Parliament will be informed of the outcome of this work in due course. In the meantime local authorities already have powers to utilise Compulsory Purchase Orders, and we have further committed to reforming and modernising the Compulsory Purchase Order process.

Question reference: S6T-01678

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to protect local authorities from the risk of bankruptcy.

Question reference: S6W-23032

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it financially supports small and medium-sized developers and housebuilders to design and progress planning applications for rural affordable housing plans at an early stage.

Direct funding is not provided to private developers to finance their engagement in the planning application process. The Minister for Housing and I jointly hosted a roundtable on planning for housing on 16 November 2023. Support for small and medium-sized developers and housebuilders to progress through the planning processes in all areas was highlighted, as were matters relating to rural and affordable housing. We are now collating and prioritising suggested actions that can be taken collaboratively to accelerate delivery of more quality homes to create quality places.

Question reference: S6W-23033

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) progress it has made and (b) discussions it has had with the housing sector regarding setting an all-tenure housebuilding target.

Local authorities have statutory responsibility for assessing and evidencing housing need and demand, and setting out through local housing strategies and local development plans the housing requirements for their area. We have committed to delivering 110,000 high quality, energy efficient affordable homes by 2032 and work closely with a wide range of housing partners including local authorities, to ensure the delivery of homes to meet the housing needs of communities across Scotland. The Minister for Housing engages regularly with Homes for Scotland to discuss a wide range of issues and most recently met on 7 November.