The Scottish Parliament

Question reference: S7W-02302

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-26978 by Paul McLennan on 7 May 2024 and S6W-42254 by Mairi McAllan on 15 December 2025, how (a) much funding has been spent through the National Acquisition Programme and (b) many social homes have been delivered in each local authority area in the year 2025-26.

In 2025-2026 a total of £118.426 million was spent and a total of 1,683 affordable homes were delivered through acquisitions. The following table provides a breakdown of these figures by local authority area.

Table 1: Acquisition Funding

Local Authority Area	Total Spend (£m)	Total Homes Delivered	Of Which Social Rented	Targeted £80m only spend	Targeted £80m only Homes	Of Which Social rented
Aberdeen City	0.083	11	10	0.083	11	10
Aberdeenshire	1.195	12	12	0.155	2	2
Angus	0.920	15	15	0.184	3	3
Argyll & Bute	0.413	9	9	0.241	4	4
City of Edinburgh	28.816	374	374	28.816	374	374
Clackmannanshire	2.572	20	20	0.302	6	6
Dumfries & Galloway	0.067	2	2	0.067	2	2
Dundee City	0.845	20	20	0.845	18	18
East Ayrshire	4.599	65	65	0.209	0	0
East Dunbartonshire	0.336	4	4	0.336	4	4
East Lothian	3.312	45	33	0.746	7	7
East Renfrewshire	1.359	21	21	0.866	11	11
Falkirk	4.605	81	81	1.246	19	19
Fife	5.761	76	76	4.436	62	62
Glasgow City	20.462	129	129	19.495	35	35
Inverclyde	0.056	12	12	0.081	6	6
Midlothian	4.255	44	44	2.401	27	27
Moray	1.050	15	15	0.174	3	3
na Eilean Siar	0.000	0	0	0.000	0	0
North Ayrshire	0.976	11	11	0.134	4	4
North Lanarkshire	6.634	196	196	1.538	33	33
Orkney Islands	1.781	18	18	0.388	4	4
Perth & Kinross	6.136	143	143	0.105	2	2
Renfrewshire	1.465	42	42	0.346	10	10
Scottish Borders	0.630	12	10	0.238	5	5
Shetland Islands	1.279	0	0	0.000	0	0
South Ayrshire	1.803	38	38	0.503	8	8
South Lanarkshire	7.220	136	136	3.286	80	80
Stirling	1.058	20	15	0.826	6	1
The Highland Council	3.494	55	40	1.322	16	16
West Dunbartonshire	1.799	41	41	0.629	11	11
West Lothian	3.444	16	16	2.301	16	16
Total	118.426	1683	1648	72.298	789	783

Please note:

The figures are local authority and housing association acquisitions only.

These figures do not include voids.

Inverclyde spend figure includes a receipt.

Figures are based on management information and may be subject to update.

Due to the way the Affordable Housing Supply Programme operates, grant payments can be drawn down across multiple financial years. As a result, expenditure in any given year does not necessarily correspond to the number of homes completed in the same year, as homes are only recorded as complete once the entire project has concluded.

We will continue to provide updates on delivery through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme as part of the published quarterly housing statistics.

Question reference: S7W-02307

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the acquisitions and voids funding package that it announced to reduce homelessness, how much funding was (a) allocated and (b) spent on voids activity in each local authority area in (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26, and how many social rented homes were brought back into use through that funding, broken down by (A) local authority area and (B) year.

In 2024-25 the Scottish Government announced £40 million for acquisitions and voids, followed by a further £80 million in 2025-26, bringing the total funding commitment to £120 million. This funding is being delivered through local authority Resource Planning Assumptions (RPAs). No separate allocation was made specifically for voids.

The following tables provides details on how much funding was spent on voids in each local authority area in (i) 2024 and (ii) 2025-26.

Table 1: Voids 2024-2025

Local Authority Area	Acquisitions targeted £40m spend - VOID SPEND ONLY £(M)	Acquisitions targeted £40m spend - VOID HOMES ONLY	Of which Social rented
City of Edinburgh	4.000	565	565
Glasgow City	1.382
West Lothian	0.400	50	50
Total	5.782	615	615

Table 2: Voids 2025-2026

Local Authority Area	Acquisitions targeted £80m spend - VOID SPEND ONLY £(M)	Acquisitions targeted £80m spend - VOID HOMES ONLY	Of which Social rented
Glasgow City	0.934	5	5
Stirling	0.081
Total	1.015	5	5

Please note:

Figures are based on management information and subject to minor change.

These figures do not include acquisitions.

Due to the way the Affordable Housing Supply Programme operates, grant payments can be drawn down across multiple financial years. As a result, expenditure in any given year does not necessarily correspond to the number of homes completed in the same year, as homes are only recorded as complete once the entire project has concluded.

Question reference: S7W-02241

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what measurable increases in the take-up of benefits by older people have been recorded each year since 2019, broken down by benefit where such information is available.

The Scottish Government does not currently produce a breakdown of annual take-up rates by age group. Where breakdowns are published for specific groups, this is led by user demand and requires the ability to robustly estimate the number eligible for a benefit in each group.

The Scottish Government publishes annual estimates of take-up for devolved benefits where a robust methodology is available. The most recent publication did not include benefits specifically targeted at older people. We do not currently publish take-up estimates for disability benefits, including Pension Age Disability Payment, but continue to explore how these could be developed.

For reserved benefits, we are reliant on DWP data. Analysis published in October 2025 shows that Scotland had the highest Pension Credit take-up rate in Britain in 2023-24, but this does not allow changes over time to be measured.

Question reference: S7W-02584

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has met its commitment to support 2,000 households through the First Homes Fund within the first 100 days of the current parliamentary session and, if so, how many households have been supported at the 100-day point.

Question reference: S7W-02585

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its commitment to support 2,000 households through the First Homes Fund within the first 100 days of the current parliamentary session, how many households had, as of the 100-day point, (a) made an enquiry, (b) submitted an application, (c) received approval in principle, (d) received an offer of support, (e) entered into a shared-equity agreement and (f) completed the purchase of a property using support from the scheme.

Question reference: S7W-02583

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what costs may be incurred by applicants to the First Homes Fund, including any application, administration, legal, valuation or other fees, and at what stage in the process any such costs become payable.

Question reference: S7W-02176

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the introduction of shorter target times for the diagnosis and treatment of rapidly progressing cancers.

Question reference: S7W-02175

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of current cancer waiting time standards, specifically for patients with aggressive cancers.

The Scottish Government commitment to ‘carrying out a clinically led review of latest data and evidence to determine whether there is merit in specific additional or alternative cancer waiting times standards for different types of cancer and cancer treatment’ is underway.

A project steering group is being established which will support the review, determining if any amendments to the standards would enhance patient experience and meet the needs of the NHS for the future.

Evidence review commissions were shared with key partners in April with the full clinical consensus review expected to conclude with recommendations within 18- 24 months.

Question reference: S7W-02177

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to undertake a review of whether existing cancer waiting time standards adequately reflect clinical urgency for rapidly progressing cancers.

Question reference: S7W-02187

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have been completed on sites supported through the Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme, and what proportion of these was delivered on sites that had previously been recorded as derelict for more than 25 years.

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