Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-20623

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 31 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many repossessions the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service has recorded in each quarter since April 2018.

Repossession involves the retaking of property when a borrower is in breach or default of a mortgage or loan secured on the property.
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The first table shows the number of repossessions registered by the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services since April 2018, split by residential and non-residential and unoccupied property.

		Initiated cases		Disposed cases
Year	Quarter	Non-residential or unoccupied property	Residential property	Non-residential or unoccupied property	Residential property
2018	Apr - Jun	11	416	6	417
	Jul - Sep	14	437	12	381
	Oct - Dec	6	381	10	382
2019	Jan - Mar	7	597	3	405
	Apr - Jun	12	699	3	564
	Jul - Sep	9	511	6	512
	Oct - Dec	8	407	6	396
2020	Jan - Mar	16	542	4	357
	Apr - Jun	1	18	0	8
	Jul - Sep	5	6	17	22
	Oct - Dec	3	13	2	28
2021	Jan - Mar	5	40	4	61
	Apr - Jun	3	85	4	128
	Jul - Sep	5	281	3	205
	Oct - Dec	8	307	2	260
2022	Jan - Mar	13	485	13	356
	Apr - Jun	10	313	5	382
	Jul - Sep	10	370	7	325
	Oct - Dec	10	305	7	334
2023	Jan - Mar	8	326	5	302
	Apr - Jun	11	347	11	304

The second table details the residential repossessions cases disposed by the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services since April 2018, split by disposal type.

			Disposal Type
Year	Quarter	Total residential disposals	Absolvitor	Allowed or granted 1	For pursuer defended	For pursuer Undefended	Decree by default	Summary decree	Dismissed 2
2018	Apr - Jun	417	1	0	34	200	8	1	173
	Jul - Sep	381	1	3	30	197	6	5	139
	Oct - Dec	382	1	1	21	219	11	8	121
2019	Jan - Mar	405	1	1	32	246	5	8	112
	Apr - Jun	564	2	1	25	318	30	20	168
	Jul - Sep	512	1	4	18	296	8	9	176
	Oct - Dec	396	1	3	34	194	8	8	148
2020	Jan - Mar	357	1	5	32	161	4	7	147
	Apr - Jun	8	0	0	0	1	0	0	7
	Jul - Sep	22	1	0	1	3	0	0	17
	Oct - Dec	28	1	0	1	9	0	1	16
2021	Jan - Mar	61	1	0	10	9	0	1	40
	Apr - Jun	128	3	1	8	54	0	1	61
	Jul - Sep	205	0	1	16	88	3	11	86
	Oct - Dec	260	1	1	15	136	2	7	98
2022	Jan - Mar	356	0	0	18	196	4	9	129
	Apr - Jun	382	2	3	15	203	0	5	154
	Jul - Sep	325	5	1	10	176	1	3	129
	Oct - Dec	334	2	2	15	171	2	8	134
2023	Jan - Mar	302	1	4	17	147	2	13	118
	Apr - Jun	304	1	3	19	135	1	7	138

Notes

1. Includes any disposals of 'decree for pursuer'

2. Includes any disposals of 'decree for defender'

Question reference: S6O-02458

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with trade unions to ensure that it includes workers' voices in its policy development.

Question reference: S6W-20626

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 30 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many evictions the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service has recorded in each quarter since April 2022 as a result of a property being sold by a lender, including where the property is a tenanted property or the landlord's own property.

Question reference: S6W-20362

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 28 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much non-domestic rates income has been forgone where Small Business Bonus Scheme rates relief has been claimed for self-catering units, broken down by (a) 100%, (b) 25% and (c) 0% (where they were not eligible due to having a number of properties with a combined rateable value of £35,000) of income forgone, in each year since 2011.

Eligibility for non-domestic rates reliefs, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS), is set out in legislation and it is for local authorities to administer reliefs to eligible properties in accordance with that legislation.

Table 1 presents the estimated value of SBBS relief awarded to self-catering units in each year since 2011-2012, broken down by the level of SBBS awarded, for properties receiving 100% SBBS, 25% SBBS, and other proportions of SBBS (e.g. when combined with other reliefs). These tables include all self-catering properties in receipt of SBBS relief.Data for 2014-2015 and 2017-2018 is not available. Data for 2023-2024 is not yet available.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on reasons why properties may be ineligible for reliefs.

The rateable value thresholds for SBBS changed over the requested period. Details on current and historical thresholds are available in Table 14 of Non-domestic rates relief statistics 2022 .

Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand. The data is derived from the Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll, and local authorities’ billing data, as at: end March 2011, end April 2012, 1 October 2013, 8 October 2015, 5 October 2016, 1 June 2018, 31 May 2019, 1 July 2020, 1 June 2021, and 1 July 2022.

Table 1: Estimated value of SBBS relief awarded to self-catering premises in 2011-2012 to 2022-2023

Year	100% SBBS ‎ (£)	25% SBBS ‎ (£)	Other % SBBS ‎ (£)
2011-2012	5,496,000	96,000	165,000
2012-2013	6,446,000	90,000	103,000
2013-2014	7,452,000	102,000	116,000
2014-2015	no data available	no data available	no data available
2015-2016	8,795,000	140,000	127,000
2016-2017	9,674,000	155,000	142,000
2017-2018	no data available	no data available	no data available
2018-2019	16,896,000	271,000	13,000
2019-2020	19,426,000	202,000	65,000
2020-2021	21,332,000	291,000	4,000
2021-2022	19,452,000	271,000	10,000
2022-2023	21,069,000	277,000	4,000

Question reference: S6W-20363

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 25 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19656 by Patrick Harvie on 31 July 2023, when it made the decision that it would not be able to make more fundamental changes to the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 with respect to joint tenancy arrangements in the emergency Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022.

The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 (‘the 2022 Act’) is emergency legislation and is intended to provide support to tenants through stabilising rents and providing additional evictions protections for a time limited period. The provisions it contains are temporary, with the ongoing necessity to review the measures to make sure they remain proportionate in relation to the cost crisis.

Whilst we are committed to taking forward longer-term reform to the rented sector, the 2022 Act would not have been an appropriate legislative vehicle to take forward more fundamental changes to the rented sector. Parliament agreed to an accelerated timescale for the Bill, recognising the urgency of the circumstances and the temporary nature of the provisions. More fundamental reforms would not have been consistent with that urgency and with the highly-focused scope of the Bill.

The 2022 Act ensured that the majority of tenants - including those who are part of a joint tenancy in an applicable private rented sector tenancy - are protected by the temporary emergency measures, by capping in-tenancy rent increases.

We remain committed to delivering a New Deal for tenants. As part of that consultation, we sought views on the existing approach to ending joint tenancies and any impact this is has on tenants to inform our considerations.

Question reference: S6W-20396

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 25 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how its housing policies aid and promote downsizing in the social and private sectors.

Housing to 2040 sets out a vision for what the Scottish Government wants homes and communities to look and feel like for the people in Scotland. We set out an ambitious vision that by 2040 everyone living in Scotland would have access to a safe, warm, affordable, high quality and energy efficient home that meets their needs in the place they want to be.

The 2014 Housing (Scotland) Act introduced a provision for 'tenants of houses which are held by a social landlord and which the social landlord selecting its tenants considers to be under-occupied' as one of the reasonable preference groups social housing landlords must take into account when allocating tenancies. This supports social landlords to make best use of their housing stock and giving priority to social rented sector tenants who are under-occupying their home is one way of doing this, by encouraging downsizing and releasing larger homes for households who need them.

We recognise that downsizing is a personal choice, and that people may find it difficult to leave a property that has been their home for some time. Scottish Government guidance to social landlords encourages them to take a proactive approach to support tenants to consider whether their current home meets their needs and to consider whether a move might help them live independently for longer.

The private rented sector can provide tenants with greater flexibility in terms of size and location, and enable a tenant to rent a property which meets their needs and circumstances and downsize when appropriate. Where a tenant is eligible for Local Housing Allowance (LHA), the LHA rate and the amount of support they receive depends on their individual circumstances. This may influence the size of property they can afford to rent.

Question reference: S6W-20403

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 18 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what comparable support to the UK Government's Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service it provides for people facing eviction or repossession of their home, and what level of funding it commits to any such service.

The Scottish Government recognises the pressure on household budgets which is why both last year and this, we have allocated almost £3 billion, to support policies which tackle poverty and to protect people as far as possible during the ongoing cost of living crisis.

We are continuing to support free welfare, debt and income maximisation advice services with funding of over £12.3 million allocated this year.

In particular, the Scottish Government is investing over £6.67 million of funding to support free debt advice services in Scotland, part of our wider package of funding for income maximisation, welfare and debt advice services.

A further £2.3 million is being made available, through the Scottish Legal Aid Board under the Early Resolution and Advice Programme (ERAP), to offer direct assistance and legal representation for people at risk of or facing court action connected to debt related eviction or repossession. This includes in-court advisors based in Sherriff courts across Scotland.

Additionally, the Home Owners Support Fund, currently the only such scheme in the UK, offers support to those on low incomes who are at risk of falling behind on their mortgages and facing repossession or eviction. The Fund sits alongside advice services and legal aid support for homeowners.

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 suits their needs.

Question reference: S6W-20291

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 28 July 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the full list of changes in Affordable Housing Supply Programme: Process and procedures MHDGN 2023/01 compared to MHDGN 2022/02.

Question reference: S6W-20290

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 28 July 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons the national acquisition programme was announced without advice on how purchases from landlords in the private rented sector with tenants in situ would take place.

We are continuing to work through technical and practical points around purchases from landlords in the private rented sector with tenants in situ, and further information will be communicated as soon as possible. Any council or Registered Social Landlord that is currently exploring any such purchase – where this meets a clear strategic purpose and where the tenant is at risk of homelessness – should contact their local More Homes Division area team office.

Question reference: S6W-20295

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 28 July 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any benchmarks or grant limits attached to the £60 million national acquisition programme.

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