- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many Empowering Communities Programme grant awards for 2023-24 were paid to organisations in each month since April 2023, also broken down by the (a) recipient organisation and (b) amount of each grant award, and what the total value was of these awards.
Answer
The Empowering Communities Programme (ECP) comprises two community funding programmes - the Investing in Communities Fund and Strengthening Communities Programme – as well as grants to strategic delivery partners. In 2023-24 222 organisations within the ECP have been offered grants with a total value of £13,855,118.50.
As grant claims are invited on a quarterly basis in arrears we do not collate information on grant claims paid on a monthly basis at an organisational level and are therefore unable to provide this information in the format requested. Data on the amount of grant paid is currently available from the 1 April 2023 up to the period ending 31 January 2024. The total amount of grant paid for the ECP for this period is £9,030,517.
A table including the list of grant awards made for each organisation within the ECP has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. Number 64909)
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 29 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the latest year for which data is available, what the cost was of administering the Empowering Communities Programme, and what the (a) headcount, (b) FTE staff count, (c) total number of staffing hours and (d) total cost of staff salaries was.
Answer
We are unable to provide all the information in the form requested. This is because members of staff involved in the administration of the Empowering Communities Programme (ECP) undertake a variety of duties relating to the delivery of Scottish Government business including supporting Ministers. We do not routinely record the time spent or staff costs incurred related to the different elements of our work.
However we can advise that 5 members of staff, with an FTE of 4.6, spend the majority of their time supporting the delivery of the ECP, which includes the administration.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 28 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21426 by
Paul McLennan on 2 October 2023, whether it will provide updated tables, based
on the latest information available.
Answer
The following tables shows applications and homes formally approved since 19 September to 31 January, including grant offered split by registered social landlord and local authority in 2023-24. It should also be noted that discussions have taken place to support additional acquisitions with other providers but formal applications have either not yet been received or are in the process of being approved.
We have not been able to provide purchase price information at this stage as, although approved, all properties have not yet been purchased:
Date Range 19 September 2023 to 31 January 2024 | | | | | |
Registered Social Landlords (RSL) | No. of Applications Received | No. of Homes Applied For | No. of Homes Approved | SG Grant Approved (£) | Average Grant per Home (£) |
Ark HA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 140,000.00 | 140,000.00 |
Buidheann Tigheadas Loch Aillse | 1 | 1 | 1 | 85,000.00 | 85,000.00 |
Castle Rock Edinvar HA | 2 | 30 | 30 | 2,601,000.00 | 86,700.00 |
Govan HA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 101,894.88 | 101,894.88 |
Irvine HA | 1 | 7 | 7 | 280,000.00 | 40,000.00 |
Kingdom HA | 1 | 8 | 8 | 602,734.00 | 75,341.75 |
Larkfield HA | 1 | 4 | 4 | 160,000.00 | 40,000.00 |
Lochfield Park HA | 1 | 4 | 4 | 345,020.00 | 86,255.00 |
Ore Valley HA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100,000.00 | 100,000.00 |
Shettleston HA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 81,664.00 | 81,664.00 |
The Highland Housing Alliance | 4 | 28 | 28 | 2,484,000.00 | 88,714.29 |
Tollcross HA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 201,740.46 | 201,740.46 |
West Of Scotland HA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 120,012.00 | 120,012.00 |
Total RSL | 17 | 88 | 88 | 7,303,065.34 | 82,989.38 |
| | | | | | |
Local Authority | No. of Applications Received | No. of Homes Applied For | No. of Homes Approved | SG Grant Approved (£) | Average Grant per Home (£) |
Edinburgh | 1 | 20 | 20 | 3,286,000.00 | 164,300.00 |
Highland | 5 | 11 | 11 | 935,405.18 | 85,036.83 |
Moray | 2 | 2 | 2 | 103,263.00 | 51,631.50 |
Shetland Islands | 1 | 1 | 1 | 83,000.00 | 83,000.00 |
Total LA | 9 | 34 | 34 | 4,407,668.18 | 129,637.30 |
| | | | | | |
Total 19 September 2023 to 31 January 2024 | 26 | 122 | 122 | 11,710,733.52 | 95,989.62 |
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 February 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 27 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20844 by Paul McLennan on 13 September 2023, how many applications from (a) registered social landlords and (b) local authorities have been (i) received and (ii) approved for the National Acquisition Plan since its answer.
Answer
The following table shows the number of homes approved from applications received from (a) registered social landlords (b) local authorities since the National Acquisition Programme was announced on 19 July 2023. This information is to 31 January 2024:
National Acquisition Programme | Applications for nos. of homes received | No. of homes approved |
Registered Social Landlord | 184 | 133 |
Local Authority | 232 | 83 |
Total | 416 | 216 |
The figures above show that there were applications still under active appraisal during January. Some of these homes may now have been approved but information to end February is not yet available. It should also be noted that, in addition, applications were also received and approved prior to the announcement on the 19 July.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 26 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-24818 by Angela Constance on 5 February 2024, whether it will provide clarification on whether anyone has been convicted of offences under section 56 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 since it came into force.
Answer
As of 9 February 2024, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Services have confirmed to Scottish Government that no charges have been reported to them under Section 56 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 and there are subsequently no convictions.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 29 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government to where within the education budget it reallocated
any unused funds for teaching bursaries in 2023-24.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 29 February 2024
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 20 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government who the single point of contact is in (a) the Scottish Government and (b) local government for the National Acquisition Plan.
Answer
There is no single point of contact in the Scottish Government for the National Acquisition Programme. The programme is part of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme and managed at a local level by More Homes Division Area Teams who work with local authorities and Registered Social Landlords to plan and progress acquisitions through the programme. The More Homes central Programme Management Team monitors and reports on the progress of the programme. There is no single point of contact in local government for the national acquisition programme. It is for local authorities to agree their policy position and approach to acquisitions as outlined in our published National Acquisition Programme information .
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 19 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the objectives set out in policy priority mandate letter from the First Minister to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, what its position is on whether the the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice is making acceptable progress on the delivery of affordable homes towards its 2032 target of 110,000 affordable homes.
Answer
From 23 March 2022 to end September 2023, 15,765 homes have been delivered towards the 110,000 affordable homes target, of which 12,188 (77%) are homes for social rent. The next set of quarterly statistics, to end December 2023, will be published towards the end of March.
Inflationary pressures, Brexit impacts and wider market conditions have combined to trigger various issues including rising construction costs and workforce challenges. The housing sector has done incredible work to deliver homes in these circumstances and we continue to work with partners to mitigate these impacts.
We remain focused on delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 and to support that we will bring forward the review scheduled for 2026-27 to 2024, which will concentrate on deliverability.
And we are accelerating work with the financial community in Scotland, and elsewhere, to boost private sector investment and help deliver more homes.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 26 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 7 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has reportedly not sought the input of the short-term let industry advisory group members regarding the implementation update on short-term let regulations, in light of VisitScotland not enabling meetings to resume since the last meeting in October 2023, and whether it will ensure that individual members are not barred from providing input to the list of legislative and non-legislative operational matters.
Answer
The Scottish Government has sought views regarding the implementation update on Short Term Let Licensing from the Short Term Let Industry Advisory Group (IAG). The group most recently met with all members in attendance on 19 January 2024 and subsequently shared further feedback, in addition to that already gathered throughout the development of the scheme. We will continue to work with stakeholders to monitor the operation of the scheme and that is why we have committed to providing an update to Parliament on licensing implementation early this year. I wrote to the Local Government Housing and Planning Committee on 30 Jan 2024 to set out progress we have made to date.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 7 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what the average time taken to determine a major housing development application has been in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority.
Answer
The average time taken to determine planning applications for major housing developments is provided Table 1.
Table 1 - Major housing applications not subject to a processing agreement |
| | 2022-23 | 2021-22 | 2020-21 |
Planning Authority | Overall average time (weeks) | Overall average time (weeks) | Overall average time (weeks) |
Aberdeen City | n/a | 28.1 | 45.9 |
Aberdeenshire | 17.0 | 38.4 | n/a |
Angus | 22.9 | n/a | 36.1 |
Argyll and Bute | 46.6 | 76.3 | 19.5 |
Cairngorms National Park | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Clackmannanshire | 6.4 | 43.4 | 514.1 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 26.1 | 31.2 | 44.0 |
Dundee City | 15.0 | 25.7 | 46.7 |
East Ayrshire | 42.1 | 87.9 | 94.1 |
East Dunbartonshire | 11.1 | 19.9 | 53.4 |
East Lothian | 8.9 | 8.0 | 7.0 |
East Renfrewshire | 59.7 | 31.4 | 59.7 |
City of Edinburgh | 50.1 | 21.6 | 15.9 |
Falkirk | n/a | 92.0 | 104.9 |
Fife | 16.3 | 55.4 | 32.6 |
Glasgow City | 31.9 | 39.7 | 42.3 |
Highland | 82.9 | 118.0 | 31.8 |
Inverclyde | 24.0 | 52.8 | n/a |
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park | n/a | n/a | 66.4 |
Midlothian | 50.2 | 17.0 | 99.3 |
Moray | n/a | n/a | 12.7 |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | n/a | 50.0 | 9.4 |
North Ayrshire | 14.1 | n/a | 9.6 |
North Lanarkshire | 32.6 | 52.8 | 28.3 |
Orkney Islands | 20.3 | n/a | n/a |
Perth and Kinross | 18.6 | 40.3 | n/a |
Renfrewshire | 7.4 | 14.6 | 42.6 |
Scottish Borders | n/a | 19.7 | 20.9 |
Shetland Islands | n/a | 45.4 | n/a |
South Ayrshire | n/a | n/a | n/a |
South Lanarkshire | 51.9 | 62.3 | 130.9 |
Stirling | 109.6 | 124.7 | n/a |
West Dunbartonshire | 13.4 | 10.3 | 8.0 |
West Lothian | 66.7 | 137.0 | 59.7 |
SCOTLAND | 39.3 | 54.3 | 54.8 |
Note: Figures for the years 2020-21 and 2021-22 were impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic and this should be borne in mind when comparing these to other years.
The figures in Table 1 do not include major housing applications subject to a processing agreement with the local authority. Where major housing applications were subject to a processing agreement, the percentage of applications where the agreed timescale was met, is set out in Table 2.
Table 2 - Major housing applications subject to a processing agreement |
| | 2022-23 | 2021-22 | 2020-21 |
Planning Authority | % determined within agreed timescales | % determined within agreed timescales | % determined within agreed timescales |
Aberdeen City | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Aberdeenshire | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Angus | 0.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Argyll and Bute | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Cairngorms National Park | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Clackmannanshire | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Dumfries and Galloway | n/a | 100.0% | n/a |
Dundee City | n/a | n/a | n/a |
East Ayrshire | n/a | 100.0% | n/a |
East Dunbartonshire | n/a | n/a | n/a |
East Lothian | 100.0% | n/a | 100.0% |
East Renfrewshire | n/a | n/a | n/a |
City of Edinburgh | 50.0% | 0.0% | 20.0% |
Falkirk | 100.0% | n/a | 50.0% |
Fife | 50.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Glasgow City | 50.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Highland | 33.3% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Inverclyde | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Midlothian | 0.0% | 0.0% | n/a |
Moray | 33.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | n/a | n/a | n/a |
North Ayrshire | 100.0% | n/a | 33.3% |
North Lanarkshire | 100.0% | 33.3% | 33.3% |
Orkney Islands | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Perth and Kinross | 100.0% | 66.7% | 100.0% |
Renfrewshire | n/a | 0.0% | 100.0% |
Scottish Borders | 100.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% |
Shetland Islands | n/a | n/a | n/a |
South Ayrshire | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
South Lanarkshire | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Stirling | 0.0% | n/a | n/a |
West Dunbartonshire | n/a | n/a | n/a |
West Lothian | 0.0% | 50.0% | 50.0% |
SCOTLAND | 63.4% | 48.9% | 54.5% |
Planning application statistics are published on a 6 monthly basis. Further information is available on the Scottish Government website at: https://www.gov.scot/collections/planning-statistics/
