- Asked by: Mary Mulligan, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 7 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive why interim targets have not been set towards the shared commitment to ending child poverty by 2020 in Achieving our Potential, the Scottish Government’s anti-poverty framework.
Answer
The Scottish Government remains committed to doing all it can, within the devolved powers available to it, to contribute to the UK Government target of halving child poverty by 2010 as well as ending child poverty by 2020.
- Asked by: Mary Mulligan, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 7 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the economic and financial climate, whether it plans to review the qualifying criteria for the Homestake initiative.
Answer
The New Supply Shared Equity (NSSE) Scheme and the Open Market Shared Equity Pilot (OMSEP) form part of the Scottish Government''s Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT), which was established in October 2007. These schemes replaced the former Homestake scheme.
For the NSSE scheme, eligible target client groups are set at the local level, in discussion with the relevant local authority and based on local housing needs. Registered social landlords (RSLs) can agree with the Scottish Government or, for properties in Glasgow or Edinburgh, with Glasgow City Council or the City of Edinburgh Council to widen the range of previously agreed target client groups where appropriate. In December 2008, a procedure note was issued to Scottish Government regional teams and to Glasgow City Council and the City of Edinburgh Council to ensure that (a) the marketing of properties is based on realistic valuations and (b) to clarify that properties which cannot be sold within a reasonable timescale should be considered for conversion to mid market rent or social rent. The procedure note was welcomed by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations.
Like NSSE, OMSEP is principally targeted at allowing first time buyers on low to moderate incomes to access entry-level home ownership. The number of households buying properties through the scheme is rising all the time. To provide further support to first time buyers in the continuing difficult economic climate, we are extending OMSEP, currently available in 10 local authority areas, to the whole of Scotland for a 12 month period from Spring 2009.
- Asked by: Mary Mulligan, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 7 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have applied to take part in the Scottish Government’s Mortgage to Rent scheme in 2008-09.
Answer
Participation in the Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme is voluntary and landlords are approached by the MTR team on a rotational basis to consider buying properties of applicants for MTR in their area.
In 2008 a total of eight local authorities were approached to buy properties through the scheme.
- Asked by: Mary Mulligan, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 7 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the £18 million brought forward under the accelerated housing programme, how the average amount paid per site compares with the projected cost of sites set out in Firm Foundations, The Future Housing of Scotland, A discussion document.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-18741 on 7 January 2008. £8.036 million is to be directed at acquisition of sites from the £18 million announced. This will fund 16 sites at an average purchase price of £0.502 million per site. These sites will have the capacity for around 475 new homes. This equates therefore to £0.017 million purchase price per home.
Firm Foundations does not project the costs of sites but refers to historic total development costs and makes projections on how they would increase if left unchecked. The cost of sites is dependent on the market conditions and also on the site conditions and will differ from project to project.
All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.
- Asked by: Mary Mulligan, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 7 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have been successful in obtaining funds from the Mortgage to Rent scheme in 2008-09.
Answer
In 2008-09, the local authorities who have obtained funds from the Mortgage to Rent scheme to buy properties are as follows:
Aberdeen City Council
City of Edinburgh Council
East Lothian Council
Midlothian Council
North Ayrshire Council
North Lanarkshire Council
Perth and Kinross Council
Stirling Council.
- Asked by: Mary Mulligan, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 5 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many properties intended to be part of the shared equity programme are presently unoccupied.
Answer
We do not record this information as a matter of course as it will change on a daily basis. However, a review was carried out November/December 2008 and returns indicated 278 completed and unsold new supply shared equity units at that time.
- Asked by: Mary Mulligan, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 5 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to reduce the number of empty properties intended to be part of the shared equity programme.
Answer
We issued revised guidance on 12 December 2008 to ensure that marketing is based on realistic valuations but also to enable properties which cannot be sold within a reasonable timescale to be converted to mid-market rent or social rent, rather than remain empty.
The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations has welcomed this guidance saying:
We are delighted that the Scottish Government has listened to our members concerns and revised guidance. A number of housing associations who have developed shared equity houses have experienced difficulties caused by the economic downturn. Our members have alerted us to the issues and an extremely productive meeting has led to this revised guidance.
- Asked by: Mary Mulligan, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 5 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive where the empty properties are that are intended to be part of the shared equity programme.
Answer
We do not record this information as a matter of course as it will change on a daily basis. However, a review was carried out in November/December and returns indicated 278 completed and unsold new supply shared equity units at that time.
These 278 reported properties were located as follows:
| Perth and Kinross | 31 |
| Fife | 8 |
| Scottish Borders | 3 |
| Angus | 5 |
| Stirling | 2 |
| Dundee | 14 |
| Highland | 29 |
| Aberdeenshire | 8 |
| East Ayrshire | 27 |
| North Ayrshire | 7 |
| North Lanarkshire | 24 |
| South Lanarkshire | 10 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 9 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 1 |
| Argyll and Clyde | 1 |
| Edinburgh | 60 |
| Glasgow | 39 |
- Asked by: Mary Mulligan, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 17 December 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18139 by Stewart Stevenson on 5 December 2008, whether it will list the housing associations that (a) attended and (b) did not attend the seminars about Energy Performance Certificates.
Answer
Invitations were issued to 197 housing associations. Robust records have not been kept of attendance at the EPC awareness-raising seminars held by the Scottish Government''s Building Standards Division. However, the 51 housing associations that reserved places at the events are listed in the following table:
| Aberdeenshire Housing Partnership | Craigdale Housing Association | Millbank Housing Association |
| Abertay Housing Association ltd | Dunedin Canmore Housing Association | North View Housing Association |
| Almond Housing Association | Eildon Housing Association | Ochilview Housing Association |
| Angus Housing Association | Fairfield Housing Co-operative | Paragon Housing Association ltd |
| Argyll Community Housing Association | Forth Housing Association | Parkhead Housing Association ltd |
| Ark Housing Association | GHA | Perthshire Housing Association ltd |
| Ayrshire Housing Association | Glen Housing Association | Queens Cross Housing Association |
| Barony Housing Association | Govan Housing Association | Rural Stirling Housing Association |
| Barony Housing Association | Hanover Housing Association | Sanctuary Scotland Housing Association |
| Bellsmyre Housing Association | Hillcrest Housing Association | Scottish Federation of Housing Association |
| Bield Housing Association | Horizon Housing Association | Scottish Veterans Housing Association |
| Cairn Housing Association | Key Housing Association ltd | Servite Housing Association |
| Castlehill Housing Association | Kingdom Housing Association ltd | Trust Housing Association ltd |
| Cernach Housing Association | Loreburn Housing Association | Weslo |
| Clyde Valley Housing Association | Manor Estates Housing Association ltd | West Lothian Housing Partnership |
| Clyde valley Housing Association | Margaret Blackwood Housing ltd | Williamsborough HA |
| Clydesdale Housing Association | Melville Housing Association | Wishaw & District Housing Association |
- Asked by: Mary Mulligan, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 17 December 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18139 by Stewart Stevenson on 5 December 2008, how many and which local authorities attended the seminars about Energy Performance Certificates.
Answer
Invitations were issued to all 32 local authorities. Robust records have not been kept of attendance at the EPC awareness-raising seminars held by the Scottish Government''s Building Standards Division. However, the 18 local authorities that reserved places at the seminars are listed in the following table:
| Angus Council |
| City of Edinburgh Council |
| Dundee City Council |
| East Ayrshire Council |
| East Dunbartonshire Council |
| East Lothian Council |
| East Renfrewshire Council |
| Falkirk Council |
| Fife Council |
| Glasgow City Council |
| Inverclyde Council |
| North Lanarkshire Council |
| Renfrewshire Council |
| Scottish Borders Council |
| South Ayrshire Council |
| South Lanarkshire Council |
| West Lothian Council |
| West Dunbartonshire Council |
In addition to the seminars, a further workshop was held at the end of November in Stirling with 30 of the 32 local authorities represented and in excess of 100 local government officials in attendance.
