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: S5W-02330

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 20 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01610 by Kevin Stewart on 8 August 2016, whether it and the Joint Housing Policy and Delivery Group have determined the level of credit required to increase the pace and momentum of housing delivery in order to meet the 50,000 new homes target.

Question reference: S5W-02334

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 20 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many of its 33,490 affordable homes were delivered by the Wheatley Group in the fourth parliamentary session.

Question reference: S5W-02338

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 20 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01595 by Kevin Stewart on 8 August 2016, whether strategic housing investment plans require local authorities to advise how many (a) sites of allocated land there are and (b) housing unit consents remain outstanding where development has not been brought forward.

Scottish Planning Policy (2014) sets out the Scottish Government's policy on enabling the delivery of new homes. It sets out that local authorities, through their development plans, should address the supply of land for all housing, maintaining at least a five-year supply of effective housing land at all times. Planning authorities should prepare an annual housing land audit as a tool to review and monitor the availability of effective housing land, the progress of sites through the planning process, and housing completions. This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. Local authorities are not required to provide this information in their Strategic Housing Investment Plans.

Question reference: S5W-02329

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 20 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01610 by Kevin Stewart on 8 August 2016, whether the Joint Housing Policy and Delivery Group has raised concerns about the availability of credit (a) to increase the pace and momentum of housing delivery to meet the 50,000 new homes target, and (b) since the UK voted to leave the EU.

Minutes from previous meetings of the Joint Housing Policy and Delivery Group can be viewed on the Scottish Government website: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/reform/jhpdg/jhpdg-meetings

The most recent meeting of the Joint Housing Policy and Delivery Group was on 22 June 2016. The Group has not met in plenary since the UK voted to leave the European Union. The next meeting of the Group will be in November 2016.

Question reference: S5W-02336

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 20 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether acquisitions made by registered social landlords are subject to Land and Building Transaction Tax if those acquisitions are made without the assistance of grants or other financial assistance.

Schedule six of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013, as amended by The Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Addition and Modification of Reliefs) (Scotland) Order 2015, provides relief for certain acquisitions by registered social landlords. Paragraph two of schedule six sets out the qualifying conditions. If these conditions are not met then relief will not be available.

Question reference: S5W-02333

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 20 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01610 by Kevin Stewart on 8 August 2016, whether the Joint Housing Policy and Delivery Group plans to consider the Wheatley Group's credit downgrade by Standard & Poor's on 6 July 2016.

Question reference: S5W-01952

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 1 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-29352 by Annabelle Ewing on 29 January 2016, whether it will provide an update on how the scheme will apply in Scotland.

While we have yet to receive final details of the financial settlement that the Scottish Government will receive from the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in 2017, we are aware of the importance of engaging with employers in Scotland in shaping our response.

Our engagement with employers has focused on developing an approach which covers a range of ways in which the use of Levy funding coming to Scotland might support our wider social and economic ambitions while protecting our current Modern Apprenticeship commitments.

Over the summer we undertook further consultation with employers and other interested parties, the terms of which were informed by the prior engagement. We received over 350 responses to this consultation which closed on 26 August 2016.

We will consider responses as swiftly to ensure arrangements are in place to use the levy as soon as possible.

Question reference: S5W-01600

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what mechanism will be used to allocate financial assistance to local authorities to strengthen their skills and capacity in housing delivery.

The Scottish Government has committed over £3 billion of grant funding to support the delivery of 50,000 affordable homes in Scotland (35,000 for social rent), during this parliamentary session. As part of its on-going engagement with local authorities in their role as strategic housing authorities, the Scottish Government has recently held discussions to identify any areas where more support could be provided to strengthen skills and capacity on housing delivery in the short term. The Scottish Government is currently considering the outcome of these discussions and the range of support it may provide, including, where appropriate, financial assistance. Further details on this, including any financial assistance that has been identified, will be set out this autumn.

Question reference: S5W-01603

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many planning practitioners have been employed in each local authority in each year since 2011.

Data on planning authority staffing have only been collected since 31 March 2013 as part of Planning Performance Frameworks. The information collected is staffing at all levels across planning authorities including planning staff, planning technicians and administrators. Not all authorities have provided information.

Staffing Numbers

Authority	2015-16	2014-15	2013-14	2012-13
Aberdeen City	57.9	58.5	53.5	58
Aberdeenshire	134.7	162.2	95	108
Angus	33	33.5	33	N/A
Argyll and Bute	43	44.5	44.5	49.5
Cairngorms NP	10	11	9.5	10
Clackmannanshire	7	6.5	7.5	N/A
Dumfries and Galloway	40.9	40.9	46.75	50.25
Dundee City	24.5	25.5	25.5	30.5
East Ayrshire	N/A	32.5	32.5	28
East Dunbartonshire	28	29	32	N/A
East Lothian	26	24.6	24.6	24.2
East Renfrewshire	29.5	27.3	24.3	30
Edinburgh	N/A	151	165	137
Falkirk	36.7	41	44.5	43
Fife	67.5	79	66	73.4
Glasgow City	97.5	112.4	119.95	148
Highland	N/A	87	84	N/A
Inverclyde	20	20	21	20
LLTNP	17	18.6	20.6	23.2
Midlothian	29.63	27.83	27.4	54
Moray	27.5	27.5	27.5	25.5
Na h-Eileanan Siar	16.6	16.5	16.5	19.5
North Ayrshire	22.2	22.2	22.2	22.2
North Lanarkshire	54	56.5	82.8	71
Orkney	20.9	20.3	20.3	20.3
Perth and Kinross	55	51	53	53
Renfrewshire	N/A	N/A	28.3	35.5
Scottish Borders	70	72	31	N/A
Shetland	26.5	23.97	25	22.97
South Ayrshire	N/A	30.5	30.5	27.5
South Lanarkshire	55	53	59	60
Stirling	28.8	27.8	27.8	21
West Dunbartonshire	15.5	14.5	14.5	18
West Lothian	24.02	23.02	30	25
All Scotland	1118.9	1471.6	1445.5	1308.5

Question reference: S5W-01601

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what level of financial assistance (a) it has provided since 2011 and (b) will be provided to each local authority to strengthen their skills and capacity for housing delivery.