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-12687

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many dwellings have an unoccupied exemption from council tax, broken down by the exemptions provided for by Schedule 1 of the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Scotland Order 1997, as amended.

Question reference: S6W-12634

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many assessments for the continuation of properties on the valuation roll in accordance with the Council Tax (Dwellings and Part Residential Subjects) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 have taken place since the regulations came into force, broken down by (a) assessor and (b) local authority area.

The valuation of non-domestic premises is a matter for the Scottish assessors who are independent of central and local government. The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many assessments have taken place in relation to the requirements for self-catering holiday accommodation set out in the Council Tax (Dwellings and Part Residential Subjects) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021.

Question reference: S6W-12632

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many civil penalties have been issued for failure to comply with the Council Tax (Dwellings and Part Residential Subjects) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 since the regulations came into force, broken down by (a) assessor and (b) local authority area.

The Council Tax (Dwellings and Part Residential Subjects) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 introduced a 70-day per financial year letting requirement for premises to be classed as self-catering holiday accommodation, in addition to the previous requirement that they be available for let for 140 days or more. If a property does not meet the requirements set out in the regulations for self-catering holiday accommodation entered on to the valuation roll, then it will instead be classed a dwelling included on the Council Tax Valuation List.The Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act 2020 provides for civil penalties for failure to respond to assessor information notices, however this is not directly related to The Council Tax (Dwellings and Part Residential Subjects) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021. The Scottish Government does not hold information on any civil penalties issued under this Act.

Question reference: S6W-12688

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 8 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) repossessed and (b) empty dwellings have an unoccupied exemption from council tax, and how many have had that exemption for (i) six months or more, (ii) 12 months or more and (iii) two years or more.

Question reference: S6W-12689

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 8 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many repossessed dwellings have received an exemption from council tax in each month since May 2016.

Question reference: S6T-01023

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that local government directors of finance have written to the finance secretary regarding an unprecedented £1 billion budget gap, and of COSLA stating that the current spending plans will lead to job losses.

Question reference: S6W-12420

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information is has on how many people are in receipt of (a) Adult Disability Payment or (b) Personal Independence Payments in Scotland as a result of COVID-19 or Long COVID.

Due to Adult Disability Payment being in the early stages of delivery, we have not commenced publication of statistics relating to clients’ specific disabilities or conditions. This information will be included in future statistical publications.

As of July 2022, the number of people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment in Scotland for which COVID-19 or Long COVID is recorded as the client’s primary disability or condition was 307.

Question reference: S6W-12633

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties have been (a) entered on and (b) deleted from the valuation roll in accordance with the Council Tax (Dwellings and Part Residential Subjects) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 since the regulations came into force, broken down by (i) assessor and (ii) local authority area.

The Scottish Government does not hold information regarding the reason(s) for the addition of a property to, or removal from, the Valuation Roll. The valuation of all non-domestic properties is a matter for the Scottish Assessors, who are independent of central and local government.

To note in addition, as there are more than 70 days left until the end of the financial year, properties which have not yet met the criteria set out in the Council Tax (Dwellings and Part Residential Subjects) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 may still do so before the end of the financial year.

Question reference: S6W-12311

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government in which year each building in the high rise inventory was (a) constructed or (b) upgraded with Aluminium Composite Material (ACM), also broken down by ACM category.

Question reference: S6W-11958

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the £6 million of reduced Buildings Standards expenditure identified on page 23 of the Emergency Budget Review was originally assigned to.

The budget allocated to the Cladding Remediation programme is £400 million in total, this includes the £6 million identified in the Emergency Budget Review. The focus of funding in this financial year has been on expanding our pilot towards 100 surveys, surveys cost less than remediation but are a key commitment and an essential step before remediation work can start. There has been no impact on projects or on the overall budget.

Sept 2016	Sept 2017	Sept 2018	Sept 2019	Sept 2020	Sept 2021	Sept 2022
495	430	384	433	245	160	295

Not known	7
1950	24
1960	351
1970	138
1980	9
1990	8
2000	206
2010	35
2020	1