Chamber and committees

While timescales can be subject to change, a policy announcement on right to buy is expected before the end of June 2013.

Owners of private property, including private landlords, are primarily responsible under the terms of their title deeds for meeting the cost of any work needed to improve their property. Local authorities have broad discretionary powers to assist owners who need help to improve their properties. Scottish Government funding to help private sector landlords improve the energy efficiency of their properties is available through both SME (small and medium enterprise) Loans and Green Homes Cashback schemes offered through Home Energy Scotland who can be contacted on 0800 512 012. In addition we recently announced our Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland Schemes which will use £79 million of our funding and leverage in energy company funding to support energy efficiency measures to fuel poor areas and households to create potential funding of £200 million for energy efficiency measures in Scotland.

Registered Social Landlords, working with their partners, such as local authorities and the police, can use a range of powers to tackle persistent antisocial behaviour. These powers can be targeted at the person exhibiting the behaviour, their premises, or other places and can include anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs), closure orders, dispersal notices, seizure of vehicles that are being used antisocially, and Fixed Penalty Notices for antisocial behaviour.

In cases of persistent antisocial or threatening behaviour Registered Social Landlords have powers to:

Apply to the courts for an ASBO; serve a notice on a tenant converting the tenancy to a Short Scottish Secure Tenancy, where the tenant or a member of the tenant’s household is subject to an ASBO and raise proceedings in court for recovery of possession of the tenancy, the grounds for which include cases where the tenant or their household have behaved antisocially to neighbours.

We publish the approvals, starts and completions for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme as part of the quarterly housing statistics and we will continue to do this. We are also happy to meet with stakeholders to reassure them that our programme to deliver 30,000 homes over the lifetime of this parliament is currently on track. For example, all of the approvals we plan to make through the three year Resource Planning Assumptions to local authorities are expected to complete by March 2015.

Annual Outturn Reports have been published on the Scottish Government website since 2008-09. Please see link below to the outturn report for 2011-12:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/investment/ahip/AHSP2011-12Report

At present Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) is developing a Smart product for use on the Glasgow Subway. This project is at an advanced stage with the system expected to go live later this year. No further details of SPT plans for bus or rail are presently available.

A pilot Smart ticket has not yet been introduced, Transport Scotland is currently working with a system supplier to develop the technology needed for Local Authorities to update National Entitlement Cards with appropriate ticket products, with a view to partial delivery in the early part of 2014.

No timescale has been agreed at present. Transport Scotland continue to seek a suitable opportunity to instigate a project.

A Smart ticket product has been created and a small pilot group is being developed. Transport Scotland is engaging with vendors and operators to update operator’s ticketing infrastructure in order to facilitate operation of the product, with a view to start delivery in the early part of 2014.

National Express Dundee, in partnership with Transport Scotland, Dundee City Council and Dundee College has introduced a Smart ticketing product which allows students to use part of their bursary to pay for city-wide bus travel. The product is currently in use by around 85 students and the college anticipate a significant take up by the August/ September student intake. As a result of the success of this project, National Express Dundee have plans to release a range of commercial Smart ticketing products.

Transport Scotland is currently working with both local authorities and First Group to develop the system. It is anticipated that this project will be completed in the first half of 2014.