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-20644

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 12 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Young Patients Family Fund and its predecessor, the Neonatal Expenses Fund, what the (a) budget and (b) expenditure has been, and how many (i) claims have been received and (ii) families have been supported, in each year since 2018.

The Neonatal Expenses Fund (NEF) ran from April 2018 to July 2021. The Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) was launched on 26 July 2021 and the new fund subsumed the NEF to create a single unified fund.

Part (a) With regard to the budget to date for NEF/YPFF I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18481 on 14 June 2023. 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

Part (b)

Financial year/fund type	Actual spend	Claims received	Families supported
2018-19 (NEF)	235,321.00	3,149	1,179
2019-20 (NEF)	269,454.17	2,947	1,134
2020-21 (NEF)	652,819.09	2,801	1,214
2021-22 (NEF/YPFF)	1,486,464.65	4,983	3,130
2022-23 (YPFF)	2,692,814.42	8,437	3,757

Question reference: S6W-20670

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 11 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how frequently its Innovative Finance Steering Group meets; on what dates it has met since it was established; what its full (a) remit and (b) membership is; whether its remit extends beyond the affordable housing supply programme, and where the minutes of its meetings can be accessed.

The Innovative Finance Steering Group was established to support the delivery of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 by providing strategic advice to the Scottish Government on opportunities for innovative finance models to support the affordable housing sector (Registered Social Landlords and Local Authorities) over the next 9 years. The Group convened at the end of 2022 to agree an approach to governance and its work. Members of the Group participate in horizon scanning to identify priority areas for further development and the group is expected to formally convene later in the year to discuss the opportunities highlighted and exchanged to date.

The group consists of members from ALACHO, SFHA, CoSLA, Wheatley Group, Link, Scottish Futures Trust, Scottish National Investment Bank, Glasgow West Scotland Forum, UK Finance and Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government will publish high level updates on the work of the Group on the Scottish Government’s websites as appropriate and recognising the commercial nature of this work.

Question reference: S6W-20627

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 11 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17172 by Patrick Harvie on 11 May 2023, whether it will provide (a) a breakdown of the 10 applications and the reasons that they have been rejected, invited to resubmit following feedback or referred to alternative funding sources and (b) details of any additional applications since the question was answered.

A breakdown of the unsuccessful applications for the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund between August 2020 and May 2023 are given in the following table:

Application	Reason
1	Applicant did not respond to clarification questions
2	Project did not have match funding and could not meet delivery timescales
3	Application was for new build and not retrofit for existing stock
4	Project work had already begun
5	Project area had potential for a heat network
6	Proposed heat system was not eligible
7	Proposed costs of project were not accurate
8	Proposed heat system was not zero emission
9	Project area had a potential for a heat network
10	Application lacked detail and required feasibility work to be completed

A further 13 applications have been received since question S6W-17172 was answered. Of these applications 6 have been successful, 5 have been rejected and a further 2 are under consideration. The reasons that the 5 applications were rejected are given in the following table:

Application	Reason
11	Application was not fully completed and scored under threshold for support
12	Application lacked project detail and scored under threshold for support
13	Application lacked enough detail to be appraised and scored under threshold for support
14	Application for phase 2 of a project. Project invited to resubmit on completion of existing project.
15	Project did not spend grant this financial year

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

Question reference: S6W-20421

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 11 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the report of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers, Housing in Scotland: Current Context and Preparing for the Future, which was published in July 2023, what its response is to the recommendation that the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022 should be replaced with "bespoke legislation to overcome the failings exposed in the recent ... Court challenge to City of Edinburgh Council's scheme [for short-term lets]", and the statement that "not doing so risks the collapse of the licensing of short term lets".

Councils are responsible for developing their licensing policies in line with powers and duties under The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022, as amended in 2023, and they can add proportionate conditions to address local needs and concerns. We continue to work closely with COSLA, SOLAR and licensing authorities on the implementation and monitoring of the short term lets licensing legislation. We are therefore aware that the City of Edinburgh Council has acted on the Judgement made on 8 June 2023 to revise its local licensing policy and information for applicants. We remain confident that licensing of short-term lets can be operated effectively by councils so as to respect the rights of hosts and guests in short-term let accommodation, and is appropriate for the whole of Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-20733

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 6 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-20290 and S6W-20295 by Paul McLennan on 17 August 2023, at what point in the conveyancing process the local area team would be able to agree grant funding for an acquisition under the national acquisition plan.

Question reference: S6W-20732

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 6 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-20290 and S6W-20295 by Paul McLennan on 17 August 2023, how quickly it expects area team offices to (a) handle applications and (b) agree grant funding for acquisitions under the national acquisition plan.

Question reference: S6W-20674

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what anticipated financial slippage the affordable housing supply programme has identified for the current financial year.

Question reference: S6W-20675

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates it has discussed issues and identified any possible actions with Homes for Scotland in relation to slowing social rented approvals and starts, and what the outcomes of any such discussions were.

Question reference: S6W-20636

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the affordable homes supply programme target was increased to 110,000 in the Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party Shared Policy Programme but did not set a specific revised mid-point target.

Question reference: S6W-20669

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) headcount and (b) FTE staffing level was of its More Homes Division in each quarter since May 2021.

The number of directly employed staff with More Homes Division in each quarter since May 2021 is shown in in the following table, for both headcount and full time equivalent (FTE).

Quarter ending	Headcount	Full-time Equivalent (FTE)
30 June 2021	84	79.1
30 September 2021	82	77.0
31 December 2021	77	73.2
31 March 2022	75	71.2
30 June 2022	78	73.9
30 September 2022	75	70.9
31 December 2022	75	70.5
31 March 2023	75	70.5
30th June 2023	71	66.7