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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 2082 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-10637

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to ensure the delivery of the social homes it has committed to provide, including how it will overcome any challenges to doing so.

£3.6 billion of funding is being made available in this Parliamentary term towards the delivery of affordable homes providing the certainty and assurance that the housing sector needs to plan and deliver the ambitious affordable homes programme.

We are aware of the global issues affecting construction which are impacting affordable housing delivery. We are working closely with the construction industry and housing partners to mitigate these where possible.

We have now started to deliver against our commitment to 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which at least 70% will be available for social rent and 10% will be in our remote, rural and island communities.

Question reference: S6W-10733

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 September 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Home Owners' Support Fund Mortgage to Rent scheme, what the (a) total and (b) average purchase expenditure was, and how many purchases have been made under the scheme, in each year of operation.

Under the Mortgage to Rent scheme, the Scottish Government subsidise up to 60% of the property value. The total grant includes the purchase subsidy and the cost of repairs required to bring the property up to the Scottish Housing Quality Standard. Further details on how subsidies are calculated can be found in the linked guidance HOSFGN/005 . The following table shows the total and average subsidy paid by the Scottish Government to Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) for each year of operation of Mortgage to Rent.

Mortgage to Rent
Financial Year	Total Subsidy Expenditure (£m)	Average Subsidy Expenditure (£m)	No. of Homes Purchased
2008-09	15.226	0.065	233
2009-10	19.600	0.060	303
2010-11	20.097	0.052	374
2011-12	14.500	0.041	325
2012-13	9.871	0.035	288
2013-14	8.274	0.031	228
2014-15	5.661	0.029	192
2015-16	3.079	0.038	80
2016-17	2.980	0.046	65
2017-18	1.127	0.029	39
2018-19	1.536	0.040	32
2019-20	1.191	0.058	28
2020-21	0.303	0.044	8
2021-22	Figures will be published shortly

Figures for 2021-22 will be published shortly.

Question reference: S6W-10228

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 September 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions or consultation it had with the sheriffs principal regarding the Management of Summary Cause Proceedings Housing Scotland Act 2001 guidance note prior to its publication on 1 July 2022; whether the sheriffs principal have advised it of the business case for the changes; what assessment it has made of the estimated number of actions, claimants and respondents that may be affected, and what estimates it has made of the costs and benefits of the changes.

We have had no discussions with the Sheriffs Principal regarding the Management of Summary Cause Proceedings Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 guidance note prior to its publication on 1 July 2022. The courts and judiciary are independent of Government. As such the Government has no role in the development of guidance issued by Sheriffs Principal. It is up to the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service itself to assess the business case for any changes it makes.

Question reference: S6W-10762

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the third iteration of the High Rise Inventory (HRI) data set as discussed at the June 2022 meeting of Building and Fire Safety Working Group, whether officials have provided further advice to ministers and developed communications on the reasoning for the pause to the HRI; if so, whether ministers have considered that advice; if so, what the outcome was of that consideration, and when a final ministerial decision will be publicised.

The HRI is a central source of information on key aspects of the construction and fire safety features of high rise domestic blocks; this information was not previously collected or published prior to 2020. The second report was published on 8 November 2021 and there were minimal changes to the inventory following a further year of data collection. The frequency of further data collection is currently under review. It is likely that this data will be integrated within a Register of Safe Buildings, which is being created as part of the Cladding Remediation Programme.

Question reference: S6O-01403

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many households it has written to promoting the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme since the start of the cost of living crisis.

Question reference: S6W-10467

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the updated affordable housing supply investment benchmarks will be, in light of the June 2022 reported findings in relation to the Scottish Social Housing Tender Price Index that tender prices rose by 8.3% compared with Q4 2020-21, the highest quarterly growth in the last four years, and that underlying construction costs of labour, materials and plant increased by 1.2% quarter-on-quarter in Q4 2021-22, and by 10.5% compared with the same quarter in the previous year.

Question reference: S6W-10462

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government in which quarter it will publish new affordable housing investment benchmarks, based on the Scottish Social Housing Tender Price Index.

Question reference: S6W-10466

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking to determine the resilience of the affordable housing supply programme, in light of reported findings in relation to the Scottish Social Housing Tender Price Index that total new work output in Scotland in Q4 2021-22 fell by 9.3% on the previous quarter, and by 12.4% compared with Q4 2020-21, and that there is a divergent relationship between tender prices and demand.

We are aware of the global issues affecting construction and their impact on the pace of delivery of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme. The submission of Scottish Social Housing Tender Returns is an important tool in helping inform the Scottish Social Housing Tender Price Index and the annual review of investment benchmarks. The latest Scottish Social Housing Tender Price Index was based on analysis of ten projects and results are provisional. We rely on partners providing timely and good quality Housing Tender Returns to enable comprehensive analysis to be undertaken. We operate a flexible grant system and continue to work closely with partners to ensure the delivery of affordable housing as quickly as practically possible.

Question reference: S6W-10464

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many proposed (a) homes and (b) projects included in affordable housing supply programme grant applications that it has agreed to have been (i) below and (ii) above benchmark, also broken down by baseline benchmark type, in each month since the new benchmarks were set.

Question reference: S6W-10463

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many proposed (a) homes and (b) projects included in affordable housing supply programme grant applications that it has received have been (i) below and (ii) above benchmark, also broken down by baseline benchmark type, in each month since the new benchmarks were set.