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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-07424

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 24 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review its processes and relationship with Energy Saving Trust in light of the views included in the Home Energy Efficiency Equity Loan Pilot: Feedback survey assessing the impacts of the pilot on loan holders: analysis of responses that there was (a) room for improvement in timescales associated with the Equity Loan, (b) frustration with the Scottish Government’s externally contracted lawyers, involving poor communication and lengthy waits for action, (c) an excessive degree of complexity in relation to legal processes and (d) lags in day-to-day communication, with this accumulating to create a longer overall delay.

The Home Energy Efficiency Equity Loan Pilot is now closed to new applicants. The Call for Evidence and Homeowner Feedback Survey conducted last year have ensured that we have captured both the positive and negative impacts of this pilot, as well as gathering potential actions that can be taken to modify and enhance the process to ensure optimal and sustainable outcomes in all aspects of delivery, should the decision be taken to proceed with progressing the pilot to a national scheme in the future.

Question reference: S6W-07168

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its (a) rationale and (b) modelled size is of the priority groups eligible for the (i) open market and (ii) new supply shared equity schemes.

Priority groups for the Open Market Shared Equity and New Supply Shared Equity schemes were established following discussions with a range of stakeholders. In 2017 people aged 60 and over were included further to a Programme for Government commitment to assist older people to move into accommodation more suited to their needs.

Applications to the schemes are demand led and assessed against the scheme criteria including income. Applicants can often fall into more than one category for example first time buyer and disabled person. Eligibility is not known until assessments have been carried out and this includes whether or not the person is applying as a priority access group.

Question reference: S6W-07060

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many full single building assessments (a) have been completed and (b) will be completed by the end of the financial year 2021-22.

Question reference: S6W-06924

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the pipeline of around 9,000 Build to Rent homes in major cities, which are referred to in the Housing to 2040 strategy, are at the more affordable end of market rents.

The Scottish Government does not gather information on the affordability of rents in the Build to Rent sector.

Build to Rent is recognised as a mainstream housing delivery mechanism and can complement existing housing models.

Build to Rent can be characterised by:

Single institutional ownership and professional on-site management of the entire development;
Individual units are self-contained and separately let;
Resident access to shared, communal facilities and on-site amenities integrated as part of the development.

Question reference: S6W-06947

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties it has supported the purchase of through the New Supply Shared Equity scheme, and, of those, how many it (a) has taken and (b) retains a “golden share” in, broken down by local authority area.

Annual New Supply Shared Equity (NSSE) sales are published as part of the attached Affordable Housing Supply Programme Out-turn Reports.

More homes: Affordable Housing Supply Programme - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The number of NSSE sales with a golden share attached and retained are included in the following table by local authority.

Local Authority	Number of properties purchased with a golden share attached	Number of properties with golden share retained
Argyll & Bute	67
East Renfrewshire	32
Glasgow	17
Highland	681	675
Orkney	24	11
Renfrewshire	28
Shetland	11	11
Western Isles	77	77

Question reference: S6W-06970

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how the Single Building Assessment will align with the proposed Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022.

Question reference: S6W-06971

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 March 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring it conducts of the characteristics of households and tenancy arrangements in the operational build-to-rent sector, and the affordability of, and tenancies offered in, proposed developments.

The Scottish Government does not conduct monitoring of the characteristics of households and tenancy arrangements in the build to rent sector.

Build to Rent is recognised as a mainstream housing delivery mechanism and can complement existing housing models.

Build to Rent can be characterised by:

Single institutional ownership and professional on-site management of the entire development;

Individual units are self-contained and separately let;
Resident access to shared, communal facilities and on-site amenities integrated as part of the development.

Question reference: S6W-07046

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is the case that the New Supply Shared Equity scheme cannot be used for private new supply, and, if so, for what reason.

Question reference: S6W-07055

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the name is of the new cladding stakeholder group that it has formed with industry representatives and a homeowner representative; how frequently it meets; on what dates it has met; what its full remit is; what its full membership is, and where the minutes of its minutes can be accessed.

The Cladding Stakeholder Group was formed in June 2021 and meets monthly. The Group provides a forum for discussion, partnership working, continuous improvement and constructive challenge to support the Single Building Assessment and Cladding Remediation programme. Membership reflects the interests of homeowners as well as the finance, insurance, home building and professional advice sectors. Under its terms of reference, material generated by the Group should remain confidential.

Meeting Dates 2021-22

30 June

19 August

15 September

20 October

17 November

15 December

19 January

16 February

Question reference: S6W-07047

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what it has done to raise awareness of, and market for, the Open Market Shared Equity and New Supply Shared Equity schemes, in each of the last five years, and what its plans are for 2022-23.