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-10678

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government on 12 May 2022 on cladding remediation, what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding funding for the removal of combustible materials in Scotland, and on what dates any such discussions were held.

Officials are engaged in regular discussion with Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities colleagues on a number of matters including the block grant expenditure and the possibility of further funding for cladding remediation. The Inter Ministerial Group, which last met in May this year, agreed that official level engagement on areas of policy of mutual interest on cladding safety would be increased. The next Inter Ministerial Group will meet again in Autumn where matters of building and fire safety and finance will be discussed.

Question reference: S6W-10637

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2022
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-10634

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

To ask the Scottish Government whether it still plans to deliver the first half of its affordable housing programme, including at least 38,500 homes for social rent, by 2026-27, as first outlined in Housing to 2040 and expanded in the Scottish Government and Scottish Green Shared Policy Programme.

Housing to 2040 outlined that we would focus the first five years (up to 2026-27) on delivering 50,000 homes and the latter five years (up to 2031-32) on delivering a further 50,000 homes. The overall target includes at least 70% for social rent to be delivered by 2032. The Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party - Shared Policy Programme increased that target to 110,000 affordable homes, but did not set a specific revised mid-point target.

We will carry out a review at the mid-point of this target period to assess if plans should continue unchanged or be adapted. This will be important to support local authorities, who are key in this process and currently plan for housing through their Local Housing Strategies on a five-yearly cycle.

Question reference: S6O-01403

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2022
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-10921

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government which mortgage lenders it has met in 2022 to discuss the implications of the cost of living crisis for homeowners with mortgages on their property.

Question reference: S6W-10922

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government on which dates it has met representatives of the mortgage lending industry to discuss the implications of the cost of living crisis for homeowners with mortgages on their property.

The Deputy First Minister met with the financial services sector at the quarterly Financial Services Growth and Development Board (FISGAD) on 30 August 2022 and discussed measures industry and government can partner on to support households and businesses in Scotland.

Officials also regularly engage with UK Finance (representative body for the banking and Finance Industry) to discuss a range of issues affecting the mortgage sector including at their quarterly Board meetings in Scotland, last held on 10 June 2022, and on 1 September 2022 where discussions included the cost crisis, and the support lenders can offer customers in difficulty.

The Scottish Government remain in contact with the financial services sector on a regular basis in the current period and expect to engage regularly in the future.

Question reference: S6W-10920

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many representatives of the mortgage lending industry it has met in 2022 to discuss the implications of the cost of living crisis for homeowners with mortgages on their property.

Scottish Ministers and officials regularly meet with representatives of the financial services sector, including lenders, to discuss a range of matters including measures to support households and businesses.

The Deputy First Minister met with the financial services sector (the quarterly Financial Services Growth and Development Board (FISGAD)) on 30 August 2022. Details of the membership of the Board can be found at https://www.gov.scot/groups/financial-services-growth-and-development-board/

Officials also regularly engage with UK Finance (representative body for the banking and Finance Industry). Details of UK Finance membership can be found at https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/

Attendees at such meetings vary according to representatives' availability.

Question reference: S6W-10686

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) unique households, (b) advice interactions, including advice provided to customers during telephone or email advice discussions and (c) low-income, potentially fuel-poor clients who were offered support Home Energy Scotland (i) has had capacity to support and (ii) has actually supported, in each year of its operation.

Please find data below for Home Energy Scotland advice interactions. Prior to 2013, fuel poverty was not a separate focus for advice services. Specific fuel poverty advice services figures are only available from 2013.

	2013-14	2013-14	2014-15	2014-15	2015-16	2015-16	2016-17	2016-17	2017-18	2017-18
	target	actual	target	actual	target	actual	target	actual	target	actual
Unique households	125,000	90,887	120,000	98,998	110,000	94,411	95,000	92,618	85000	93,962
Advice interactions	200,000	182,158	180,000	326,600	165,000	333,609	260,000	305,672	260,000	313,170
Low-income, potentially fuel poor clients offered support	55,000	49,404	55,000	45,932	55,000	43,148	55,000	33,322	35,000	31,598

	2018-19	2018-19	2019-20	2019-20	2020-21	2020-21	2021-22	2021-22	2022-23
	target	actual	target	actual	target	actual	target	actual	target
Unique households	87,500	89,018	87,500	92,681	77,000	90,468	120,000	114,392	132,000
Advice interactions	260,000	315,912	260,000	314,989	260,000	345,344	400,000	424,083	440,000
Low-income, potentially fuel poor clients offered support	35,000	30,920	35,000	38,737	35,000	46,369	36,000	42,092	44,000

Question reference: S6W-10919

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of options that it discussed with representatives of the mortgage lending industry regarding the implications of the cost of living crisis for homeowners with mortgages on their property, and what the policy outcomes were of those discussions.

Oversight and regulation of mortgage lenders is a reserved matter, as a result the Scottish Government has no powers or authority to intervene in the operation of the mortgage market, nor control mortgage or general borrowing rates.

However, the Scottish Government is committed to using levers it has available to support households through the Cost Crisis. Scottish Ministers and officials regularly meet with representatives of the financial services sector, including lenders, to discuss a range of matters including measures to support households and businesses in Scotland and have committed to continued collaboration throughout the cost crisis to tackle the immediate challenges and address key underlying structural issues.

Question reference: S6W-10685

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what Home Energy Scotland’s (a) budget and (b) actual spend has been to support (i) unique households, (ii) advice interactions, including advice provided to customers during telephone or email advice discussions, and (iii) low-income, potentially fuel-poor clients who were offered support in each year of its operation.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07387 on 30 March 2022. 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

This includes the funding provided to the Home Energy Scotland Advice Service in each year of operation. In each of the years listed Home Energy Scotland has fully used the allocated budget. Please note spend covers the main Home Energy Scotland funding relating to advice delivery cost.

A Home Energy Scotland advisor supporting an inbound enquiry from a new “unique” household will result in multiple separate advice interactions with that enquirer. Advisors also field calls from multiple different types of clients, including potentially fuel-poor clients. It is not feasible therefore to split the cost of delivering advice into the separate parameters requested.