Question reference: S6W-12902
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 6 December 2022 Registered interest
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Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 January 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on administering the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund.
Answer
The total spend on administration of the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund is £433,886.88.
Admin costs 2020-21 = £240,217.20 inclusive of VAT
Admin costs 2021-22 = £162,210.30 inclusive of VAT
Admin costs 2022-23 (until October 2022) = £31,459.38 inclusive of VAT
This is the administration costs for loan fund awards with a total value of £733,894.
The Tenant Hardship Loan Fund was one part of a range of support and interventions put in place to help people who were struggling with rent because of changes to their finances caused by the Pandemic.
To enable the loan fund to be delivered quickly given the infra-structure and resource requirements, an existing contract with Energy Savings Trust for administration of the loan was extended.
Administration costs for the fund are based on a contractually agreed annual management fee, dependant on whether the scheme is open or closed, combined with a cost per application, regardless of whether the application resulted in a successful award or not.
The loan fund was demand led and affordability and ability to repay a loan was a key part of the assessment of all applications to protect applicants from unsustainable borrowing.