Chamber and committees

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.

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Question reference: S6W-01696

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases there have been of property factors operating without the appropriate (a) registration, and (b) approval through the property factor register, in each year since 2011.

It is not possible to know how many factors have been operating without registration each year.

Where the Scottish Ministers are made aware of a property factor operating without registration we will take action where there is evidence to support the allegation.

Operating as a factor without registration is a criminal offence and as such the investigation of such matters is for Police Scotland. Where concerns have been raised with the Scottish Government and we believe these require investigation by the Police, we will provide information of these concerns to the Police and cooperate with their investigations. We would encourage any property owner who considers that their factor is operating without registration to report the matter to Police Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-01598

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to make it easier for homeowners to take action against housing developers for poor construction.

In the UK warranties for new-build residential homes typically consist of a two-year ‘developer warranty’, followed by a further eight years of structural cover. A warranty on a new build property is a type of insurance policy, meaning that any changes to the existing time periods for which such a warranty would apply falls within the remit of the UK Government as a reserved matter in line with Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998.

Question reference: S6W-01601

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to increase the warranty offered on new-build residential developments, beyond two years.

The Scottish Government is working with the UK Government to explore how the proposed New Homes Ombudsman scheme, within the UK Building Safety Bill, could operate in Scotland. The aims of the scheme are to provide better protection to consumers purchasing new build homes and to make access to remediation simpler and easier. The Scottish Government is committed to continuing to work with the UK Government as the Bill moves through its amendments process, to try to achieve a UK-wide scheme that works for the people of Scotland and respects the devolution settlement.

Question reference: S6W-01700

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 4 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the cases considered by the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland housing and property chamber were found in favour of the (a) complainant and (b) property factor since 2011.

Question reference: S6W-01703

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 4 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on which property factors have been issued property factor enforcement orders in each year since 2011, also broken down by how many orders each factor was issued with.

Question reference: S6W-01694

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 4 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many property factor enforcement orders have been challenged in the Sheriff Court, and, of those challenges, how many were successfully challenged by property factors.

Question reference: S6W-01702

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 29 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many property factor enforcement orders have been made against property factors by the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland housing and property chamber in each year since 2011.

Question reference: S6W-01599

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to strengthen the regulation of building standards for new-build residential developments.

The Building Standards Futures Board was established in 2019 to provide guidance and direction on the development and implementation of recommendations made by the Compliance and Enforcement and Fire Safety Review Panels.

The Futures Board covers a number of work streams, one of which (Compliance Plan Approach) aims to reduce the risk of non-compliance with the building regulations for all building types including new-build residential developments.

Scottish Government has recently strengthened guidance on the roles and responsibilities of any person undertaking new building work. The Building Standards Procedural Handbook, published on 1 October 2019, emphasises the importance of regular and effective communication and partnership working to improve compliance with building regulations. It also recommends the use of more formal customer agreements and pre-warrant discussions between the applicant and verifier to discuss all the key aspects of design, and the importance of carrying out safety checks on critical design elements during construction.

We intend to consult on further proposals to strengthen the building standards system and reduce the risk of non-compliance in late summer/autumn 2021.

Question reference: S6W-01219

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed the implications of the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 on the Deposit Return Scheme.

The UK Internal Market Act was imposed on the rest of the UK by the UK Government, despite the refusal of consent from the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, and poses a direct threat to Scotland’s ability to exercise devolved decision-making across a wide range of devolved policy areas including environmental policy.

We are currently analysing the text of the Act to understand how it could interact with Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme.

Question reference: S6W-01698

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 28 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints against property factors have been brought to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland housing and property chamber in each year since 2011, and, of these, how many were brought as a result of the property factor failing to (a) carry out their duties and (b) comply with the standards in the Code of Conduct (section 17(1) of the 2011 Act).