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: S7W-01260

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 21 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with mortgage lenders, brokers and underwriters to ensure that its First Time Buyer Fund can be consistently applied in mortgage assessments, what assessment it has made of any barriers identified by the sector and how they have been addressed.

Question reference: S7W-01225

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26978 by Paul McLennan on 7 May 2024, how (a) much funding spent through the National Acquisition Programme there has been and (b) many social homes have been delivered in each year since June 2023, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S7W-01223

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 July 2026

Question reference: S7W-01224

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 July 2026

Question reference: S7W-01128

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) the total cost to date has been, (b) the total budgeted cost is, and (c) the average monthly cost is of "waking watch" measures implemented in any buildings affected by unsafe cladding, and how much of these costs have been met directly by the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S7W-00751

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 17 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what modelling it has carried out of the construction sector’s capacity to deliver housing at scale, including what estimate it has made of the number of firms capable of delivering developments of (a) 50 to 99 and (b) 100 or more homes, and how this has changed over the last decade.

The Scottish Government recognises the role of developers of all sizes in contributing to new housing delivery, including both large-scale housebuilders and small and medium-sized enterprise developers.

More broadly, we continue to engage with the Construction Leadership Forum’s Skills and Workforce Group as they consider potential opportunities for government and industry to work together even more to sustain and enhance a skilled and competent workforce for Scotland, and we are working to further improve both access to the Construction Industry from Further Education and apprenticeship retention.

Through the establishment of the new national housing agency, More Homes Scotland, we will take a strategic, system-wide approach to increasing housing delivery, working with developers and others to help deliver the homes that Scotland needs.

Question reference: S7W-00753

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 16 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of trends in productivity in Scotland’s construction sector, including what information it holds on output per (a) worker and (b) firm, and what analysis it has made of the relationship between growth in the number of construction businesses and overall sector output.

The Scottish Government monitors productivity trends in Scotland’s construction sector using a range of sources, including data published by the Office for National Statistics and Scottish Government publications.

Information on output per job is available from the Scottish Annual Business Statistics (SABS), which includes estimates of Gross Value Added (GVA) per head for the construction sector. These provide a proxy for output per job, noting that they are not strictly measures of output per worker.
The Scottish Government also publishes labour productivity estimates, including GVA per hour worked and GVA per job, at Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) section level, including construction. These statistics are currently designated as official statistics in development, reflecting data quality considerations relating to underlying labour market survey sources, and no construction-specific analysis has been undertaken using these measures.
Information on the number of construction enterprises is available from the Businesses in Scotland publication. While this shows changes in the number of firms over time, the Scottish Government has not undertaken specific analysis of the relationship between the number of construction businesses and overall sector output, and a consistent measure of output per firm is not held.

Question reference: S7W-00750

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 16 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what modelling it has carried out of the number of apprenticeships and training places in construction that are required to meet projected workforce demands, and how the current provision compares with this, including what assessment it has made of any shortfall.

Sectoral Skills Assessments (SSAs), produced by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) in partnership with stakeholders, provide a consistent evidence base to inform strategic skills investment planning and understanding of workforce demand and supply across sectors. The most recent Construction SSA was published in October 2025.

Skills Development Scotland routinely assesses demand for apprenticeships throughout the operational year. Modern Apprenticeship places are allocated in line with employer and training provider demand, balanced against Scottish Government priorities. Construction is a priority sector, and Modern Apprenticeship starts in construction frameworks increased in 2025-26 compared to the previous year.

In addition, the Scottish Government has introduced a new skills planning model, being developed with partners, to ensure the post-school education and skills system is more responsive to Scotland’s strategic skills priorities. Construction has been identified as an early area of focus within this model, reflecting current and emerging skills needs and its alignment with national policy priorities.

Question reference: S7W-00694

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 12 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to recycle or reinvest the financial returns generated through previous or current Help to Buy schemes, including any profits or equity stakes, into the delivery of additional housing supply, and, if so, how these funds will be allocated.

Budgets are set annually by the Scottish Parliament: The Scottish Budget Process | Scottish Parliament Website

The Scottish Budget incorporates all money expected to be received from the Barnett determined block grant, borrowing, taxes raised in Scotland and other sources of income including the expected income from the sale of shared equity, including from Help to Buy schemes. This anticipated income then provides the framework for the spending decisions made by Scottish Ministers and set out in the Scottish budget which is then scrutinised voted on by the Scottish parliament.

Income received from Help to Buy Scotland has been, and will continue to be used, to fund the spending decisions made by Scottish Ministers. The Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027 includes anticipated Financial Transaction (FT) Receipts of £80 million which support the Affordable Housing Supply Programme FT budget of £163.4 million. Please refer to the Housing Tab in the supporting Level 4 Workbooks 2026-27 Supporting documents - Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027 - gov.scot.

Question reference: S7W-00768

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 12 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether rent increase notices issued through online document portals meet the legal requirements for valid service under section 22 of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 and the Private Residential Tenancies (Prescribed Notices and Forms) (Scotland) Regulations 2017.

There are no specific requirements under the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 or Regulations for how a rent increase notice is to be served.

The Scottish Government Model Tenancy Agreement includes a section for landlords and tenants to agree how they will communicate during the tenancy including how notices will be served.

Tenants should check their tenancy agreement to see what it says about how notices will be sent during the tenancy.

If an online document portal is to be used by a landlord as a way of emailing the rent increase notice, the landlord should explain this in the tenancy agreement and the tenant should have clear instruction as to how to access and use the online document portal.

If a landlord or tenant is unsure of their legal rights and duties under the tenancy agreement they should seek independent legal advice.