Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-17857

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 24 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to monitor the resilience of the modular homes sector in Scotland, in light of the reported closure of UK modular housing factories by Legal & General, Swan Housing Association, Countryside, and Urban Splash House.

The Affordable Housing Supply Programme supports delivery of homes across various methods of construction, including modular, but the factories the member mentions are not part of that.

Modular construction is one of a range of offsite methods used to build new homes in Scotland. It has been used in the delivery of affordable and private homes across the country in urban, rural and island locations.

Question reference: S6W-17714

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 24 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16047 by Paul McLennan on 21 March 2023, for what reason the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group meeting did not take place on (a) 30 March 2023 and (b) 20 April 2023 and when it is next due to meet.

The Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group (HPSG) meeting on 30 March was postponed as the SNP leadership election result was announced on 27 March 2023 and it was not clear at that point who would have responsibility for housing and homelessness policy.

While we had provisionally rescheduled the meeting for 20 April 2023, it was agreed that a further reschedule to 23 May would be appropriate to allow the Minister for Housing time to be fully briefed on his new portfolio and to meet with Councillor Chalmers, co-chair of HPSG.

The last HPSG meeting took place on 23 May 2023 and was chaired by the Minister for Housing.

Question reference: S6W-17715

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 19 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of Warmer Homes Scotland installations required the removal of asbestos.

Asbestos removal was introduced as a measure available through the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme from 1 April 2019. The following table give the total number of asbestos removal measures that have been completed and the proportion in relation to the total number of Warmer Homes Scotland applications.

	Total asbestos removal measures completed	Total completed applications	% proportion of applications
01-04-2019 – 31-03-2023	740	17,300	4.3%

Question reference: S6W-17713

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 19 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on (a) how many and (b) what proportion of public buildings contain asbestos, broken down by sector.

This information is not held centrally by Scottish Government as the management of asbestos in buildings is a reserved matter for the UK Government and the Health and Safety Executive.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17711 on 19 May 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-17711

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 19 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it keeps a central register of buildings containing asbestos.

This information is not held centrally. NHS Health Boards hold that information for NHS facilities as they are the responsible body for managing their estate. Local authorities are required to keep an up-to-date record of the location of asbestos in their school buildings.

The management of asbestos in buildings is a reserved matter for the UK Government and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has UK wide responsibility for enforcement of the legislation and regulations. The HSE is carrying out a statutory, five yearly, review of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. Part of the work includes estimates about the number of premises containing asbestos. HSE has also given a commitment that future research will include obtaining better information on the number of business premises containing asbestos.

Question reference: S6W-17716

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 19 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether Home Energy Scotland grants and loans provide funding for removal of asbestos during retrofit.

Grants and loans accessed through Home Energy Scotland offer a range of funding options to support households install energy efficiency and heating measures such as insulation or heat pumps. The removal of asbestos is not a measure eligible for grant or loan funding.

We recommend that householders seek quotes for energy efficiency improvements from an accredited installer registered with TrustMark. Accredited installers are expected to establish whether asbestos is or may be present before installing energy efficiency improvements (PAS2030:2019).

Installers must be accredited and deliver work to the PAS2030:2019 standard as part of the fuel poverty programmes funded by the Scottish Government. Fuel poor households may therefore receive help with part or all of the costs of asbestos removal where required through our Warmer Homes Scotland (WHS) Scheme and Area Based Schemes (ABS).

Question reference: S6W-17712

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 19 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has done to consider any (a) costs and (b) benefits of establishing a central register of buildings containing asbestos.

The management of asbestos in buildings is a reserved matter for the UK Government and the Health and Safety Executive. Scottish Government has no plans to establish a central register of buildings containing asbestos in Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17711 on 19 May 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-17710

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 19 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to public authorities to remove any asbestos from their buildings.

The Scottish Government recognises the hazard of asbestos and the risks to health that it poses. However, asbestos is only dangerous when disturbed and advice from the Health and Safety Executive is that asbestos should remain in-situ providing it is in “Good” condition and even where damage is minor it should still be encapsulated rather than removed. The Scottish Government does not provide support to public authorities to remove asbestos from their buildings as it is their statutory duty under UK Government legislation to manage issues relating to asbestos affecting their estate.

Question reference: S6O-02266

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-17723

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12690 by Shona Robison on 13 December 2022, whether the (a) review and (b) modelling are complete, and whether the recommendations have been developed and stakeholders have been consulted on any proposed changes.

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