Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02346 on 2 September 2026. 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.

There are no plans review the buildings identified in the Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland to identify potential opportunities to unlock and accelerate affordable housing delivery in empty town and city centre buildings.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting local authorities and communities to tackle persistent vacant and derelict land and empty town and city centre buildings.

This is supported through our regeneration investment programmes which are providing up to £52 million in resource and capital programmes for community-led regeneration across Scotland in 2026-27. This may be used to transform vacant and derelict land and empty buildings into homes. Local authorities may also choose to use Affordable Housing Supply Programme grant to convert empty properties into housing.

Additionally as part of ongoing work to support the establishment of More Homes Scotland, we are undertaking an exercise alongside local authorities to understand potential opportunities to unlock and accelerate affordable housing delivery on vacant and derelict land and in empty town and city centre buildings.

Local authorities have responsibility for delivering local housing development and local regeneration. They are best placed to develop the right partnerships to deliver regeneration and to identify suitable sites and funding for regeneration activity.

As more services move online, it is important that people are not excluded and that non-digital routes remain available for those who cannot or do not wish to use digital services.

Our Sustainable Public Services Delivery Plan sets out how services will be designed around the needs of people and communities to be accessible and inclusive. To complement this work, we are developing a Digital Inclusion Delivery Plan to be published later this year. This will set out clear actions to address the wider barriers that prevent people from participating digitally and how we will work with partners, including local government, to achieve this.

Since 2024, the Scottish Government has committed more than £870,000 in grant funding to support over 50 local digital inclusion projects across Scotland. We also continue to work with Ofcom and delivery partners to raise awareness of affordable connectivity options, including social tariffs.

Alongside this work, we are continuing to improve access to reliable broadband across Scotland through investment of more than £600 million in the Reaching 100% (R100) programme and our key role in delivering Project Gigabit in Scotland.

The UK Government’s Emergency Alerts service can be used in Scotland to provide warning and advice in a life-threatening emergency. The Scottish Government works with the UK Government and resilience partners to support the use of the system in Scotland where required. People who cannot receive an Emergency Alert can still be informed through other means used by emergency responders, and the system does not replace local news, radio, television or social media.

The Ancient Woodland Inventory is to be replaced in 2027 by the Register of Ancient Woodlands. There are therefore no plans to publish an update to the Inventory as it will be archived. However, much of the data contained in the Inventory will be reviewed and where appropriate updated for possible inclusion in the Register.

Between April to 28 August 2026

A) 604 calls were received and supported by the administering agent on the First Homes Fund

As of COP 7 September 2026:

B) 444 applications have been submitted

C) 372 have had their applications approved

D) 372 received an offer of support

E) 53 have entered into a shared equity agreement

F) 53 have completed a purchase of a property using support from the Fund.

The First Homes Fund is a demand led scheme and the Scottish Government is committed to delivering this fund alongside our other wider package of home ownership support to help first-time buyers including our popular Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE) Scheme which reopened last month.

Ahead of phase two of the First Homes Fund roll-out, we are committed to learning lessons and making the Fund as accessible as possible including planned additional marketing and working closely with key stakeholders in the finance and housing sectors.

In 2026-27 £42 million of the local government General Capital Grant will be allocated to flood resilience activity. Local authorities are responsible for developing and delivering flood protection schemes in their areas and funding provided to local authorities this year has been provided on a flexible basis to support local needs and priorities.

I wrote to the Parliament’s Rural Affairs Committee on 3 September 2026 to notify them of my intention to bring forward a Scottish statutory instrument which, subject to Parliament’s consideration, will amend the number of Land Commissioners at the Scottish Land Commission from five to four. We expect the instrument to be laid in early October. The letter can be found on the Parliament’s website https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-7/rural-affairs-committee/correspondence/2026/land-reform-scotland-act-2016-of-3-september

Ministers will continue to comply with the requirements of the 2016 Act, including having regard to the desirability of the Commission, taken as a whole, having expertise or experience across the areas set out in the 2016 Act when making future appointments.

A draft Code of Practice on investigative functions under section 57 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 was prepared and is being adjusted following earlier consultation with statutory consultees, the public, and internal review within COPFS.

Before the Code can be finalised and laid before the Scottish Parliament, I must further consult the statutorily mandated consultees on the final draft. Thereafter, the draft Code will be issued for public consultation.

The aim is to complete the remaining consultation and publication process by early 2027. That timeframe will be kept under review in light of responses to the consultation required, and any amendments required to the draft Code as a result.

There are currently no plans to require property factors to hold formal qualifications. However, the Scottish Government has committed to reviewing the property factor framework during this Parliamentary term and will consider, in light of evidence and stakeholder views, whether changes to the current regulatory arrangements are needed to ensure the framework continues to meet the needs of homeowners and supports the effective delivery of factoring services.

There is an administration fee of £650 charged to all buyers. This is collected after the Award Letter has been issued and no later than three weeks before the expected settlement date. If the transaction falls after payment of the fee, the fee is to be refunded to the buyer in full.

Any other costs incurred during the home buying process are not set by the Scottish Government.