- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
-
Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 27 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group: final report and its recommendations.
Answer
The Scottish Government welcomes the work undertaken by the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group, which will inform the Scottish Government's next steps. We are currently considering the report and will work with COSLA and Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group members to respond to the recommendations, prioritising actions that will have the greatest impact on reducing the numbers in temporary accommodation.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 24 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it will introduce updated legislation, incorporating the European Charter of Local Self-Government, for consideration by the Parliament.
Answer
Although the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill is a member’s bill, led by Mark Ruskell MSP, the Scottish Government remains committed to its reconsideration and incorporating the European Charter into domestic legislation as soon as practicable to further strengthen the status and standing of local government in Scotland.
On 12 April 2021 the UK Government referred four provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill to the Supreme Court. The referral also covered two provisions from the Local Self-Government Bill: section 4, which creates an obligation to interpret legislation compatibly with the requirements of the Charter in so far as it is possible to do so, and section 5, which gives courts the power to declare legislation to be incompatible with the Charter. In October 2021 the Supreme Court found the provisions referred within each Bill to be outside the competence of the Scottish Parliament.
Preparation for Reconsideration Stage is well underway and Scottish Government lawyers have been working carefully with the UK Government lawyers on amendments to the UNCRC Bill to address the Supreme Court’s judgment.
The Scottish Government has engaged with Mark Ruskell MSP, during this process to support him in taking his bill forward. Mr Ruskell is in agreement that reconsideration of the Local Self-Government Bill should take place after the UNCRC Bill accordingly.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 20 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) large, (b) small and (c) medium developers are party to the Scottish Safer Buildings Accord.
Answer
The then Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government wrote to the Convener of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee on 27 March 2023 stating that we had not, as yet, reached an agreement with Homes for Scotland and developers on the Scottish Safer Buildings Accord.
Discussions have been positive, and significantly, developers have accepted the principle of developer responsibility. However, developers want to apply a single approach to Building Standards across the UK even when remediating buildings in Scotland. We remain committed to seeking to secure an agreement and thereafter agreeing the legally binding contract to help safeguard residents and I would urge developers to reconsider their position. Developers must adhere to Scots law when operating in Scotland. This is not an issue on which we can compromise.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 20 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Welsh Government regarding the £20 million Welsh Building Safety Developer Loan Scheme, and whether it plans to introduce a similar loan scheme in Scotland.
Answer
We meet regularly with the Welsh Government to discuss Building and Fire Safety issues and the delivery of the Cladding Remediation Programme. The safety of residents and homeowners in buildings with potentially unsafe cladding is our absolute priority. On that basis Scottish Government is identifying and assessing buildings through our Single Building Assessment Programme; focusing public funding on remediating so called ‘orphan’ buildings and pressing developers to do the right thing and take responsibility for funding the remediation of their buildings. We will assess the effectiveness and impact of the Building Safety Developer Loan Scheme to consider its applicability in Scotland.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 20 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how frequently the Accessible Housing and Independent Living Stakeholder Group will meet, and on what date it will publish its terms of reference.
Answer
Our Accessible Housing and Independent Living Stakeholder Group will meet a minimum of twice yearly, to advise on the relevant commitments in the Scottish Government’s Housing to 2040 strategy document in relation to housing for older people and disabled people.
The Terms of Reference have yet to be agreed but a draft will be considered by the group at their next meeting which is scheduled to take place in June. The agreed Terms of Reference will be published on the Scottish Government website once they have been considered and approved by the group.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 18 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much additional revenue it anticipates that local authorities would be able to raise, in light of its reported proposals to enable them to double council tax on second homes.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 18 April 2023
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 20 March 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether any Unique Property Reference Numbers, that are used in the property registers held by Registers of Scotland or any other publicly available property registers for which it is responsible, match across all of the registers, and what information it has on whether these numbers match with any Unique Property Reference Numbers used in the Scottish Energy Performance Certificate Register.
Answer
This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland (RoS). She advises me that Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) are used in the following land and property registers held by RoS:
- Land Register
- Scottish Landlord Register
- Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land
These registers use the same UPRN identifiers as the Scottish Energy Performance Certificate Register.
Entries held in the different registers can therefore be matched using the UPRN where it is available.
87% of titles in the Land Register have a UPRN.
95% of properties in the Scottish Landlord Register have a UPRN.
46% of land references in the Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land have a UPRN.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 20 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government which (a) property registers held by Registers of Scotland and (b) other publicly available property registers for which it is responsible, use Unique Property Reference Numbers, and what information it has on whether the same of similar Unique Property Reference Numbers are used in the Scottish Energy Performance Certificate Register.
Answer
This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland (RoS). She advises me that Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) are used in the following land and property registers held by RoS:
- Land Register
- Scottish Landlord Register
- Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land
The Scottish Energy Performance Certificate Register uses the same UPRN identifiers.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
-
Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 12 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when the Accessible Housing and Independent Living Stakeholder Group was formed, and what its (a) membership and (b) remit is.
Answer
Invites to join our Accessible Housing and Independent Living Stakeholder group were sent in October 2022 and the group had a productive first meeting on 3 November 2022, giving constructive feedback to our Housing for Varying Needs review.
a) Membership of the group includes the following:
- Age Scotland
- Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers
- Carers Trust
- Care & Repair Scotland
- Chartered Institute of Housing
- Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
- Disability Equality Scotland
- Health and Care Directorate
- Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living
- Glasgow Disability Alliance
- Hanover Housing Association
- Healthcare Improvement Scotland
- Housing Options Scotland
- Homes for Scotland
- Housing Support Enabling Unit
- Motor Neuron Disease Scotland
- Our Positive Voice
- Regional Networks Tenant Representatives
- Royal College of Occupational Therapists
- Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors
- Scotland’s Housing Network
- Scottish Association of Landlords
- Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities
- Scottish Federation of Housing Associations
- Scottish Older People’s Assembly.
b) The Terms of Reference have yet to be agreed in detail by the group, but its purpose is to advise on the relevant commitments in the Scottish Government’s Housing to 2040 strategy document in relation to Housing for older people and disabled people.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
-
Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 12 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the date was of the planned March meeting of the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group, and whether it took place.
Answer
The second meeting in 2023 of the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group was scheduled for 30 March. Following the announcement of the SNP leadership contest, this meeting was postponed and rescheduled for 20 April 2023.
