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: S5O-01837

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the Scottish Police Authority has access to a diverse and wide cross-section of skills and experience, including from those who have experience of operational policing matters in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-14538

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what requirement there is for members of the Scottish Police Authority board to have policing experience, and how many board members have this.

Question reference: S5W-14327

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 19 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether barrier-free housing standards offer full accessibility for wheelchair users.

Barrier free design is not intended to be a substitute for dwellings designed specifically for wheelchair users who need the full benefits that specially designed and equipped houses can give.

That is why Action 63 of A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People - our Disability Delivery Plan to 2021 states that we will ensure that the grant subsidy arrangements for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme do not prevent specialist housing identified by local authorities as a priority from being built. This includes wheelchair accessible homes to help disabled people to live independently.

In addition, Housing for Varying Needs guidance is used as the basis of required standards in relation to Scottish Government grant-funded affordable housing. This offers good practice in the design of housing so that newly-built, refurbished or adapted buildings achieve a degree of flexibility, suit people of different abilities, are convenient to use and fit for their purpose.

Question reference: S5W-14325

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 19 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing an additional grant subsidy for the provision of wheelchair-accessible homes.

The Scottish Government wants disabled people in Scotland to have access to homes that enable them to participate as full and equal citizens. A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People - Our Disability Delivery Plan launched in December 2016 set out a number of housing related commitments that support this ambition.

In particular, with reference to Action 63, our grant subsidy arrangements for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme continue to be sufficiently flexible to support the development of higher cost, specialist housing which is identified by local authorities as a priority – this includes wheelchair accessible homes to help disabled people to live independently.

Question reference: S5W-14329

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 19 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it provides for local authorities to improve their provision of accessible housing.

The Scottish Government has allocated more than £2.5 billion from the Affordable Housing Supply Programme in resource planning assumptions to local authorities over the five-year period to March 2021 to deliver their strategic housing priorities. This funding will be directed to housing associations and councils to allow them to deliver additional, affordable homes - the majority of which will meet Housing for Varying Needs standards, thereby ensuring that the completed housing is accessible, fit for purpose and adaptable for different needs. Latest available statistics show that 91% of homes built by housing associations and councils in 2016-17 met Housing for Varying Needs standards. We would expect a similar level of compliance to continue going forward.

In addition, the Scottish Government has allocated £10 million of funding in 2017-18 to help those Registered Social Landlords which have stock in areas outside of Edinburgh and Glasgow to meet the cost of adapting homes so that older people and disabled people can continue to live safely and independently at home in accessible properties which meet their needs. This level of funding will be maintained in
2018-19. (Registered Social Landlords with stock in Edinburgh and Glasgow receive funding for adaptations directly from the relevant local authority through the Local Government Settlement.)

Question reference: S5W-14328

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 19 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that all local authorities are able to provide information regarding the number of disabled people on their housing waiting list.

The way in which social landlords, including local authorities, hold information on their housing lists is a matter for each organisation. The Scottish Government’s Social Housing Allocations: A PracticeGuide includes advice on collecting information from applicants, including applicants applying on health and disability grounds.

The guidance is available on the Scottish Government’s website at: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/social-housing-allocations-a-practice-guide

Question reference: S5W-14326

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 19 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the number of accessible properties available to wheelchair users.

Current SG guidance for local authorities on developing a statutory Local Housing Strategy (LHS) encourages local authorities to ensure they provide a wide range of housing types to suit the needs of people of all ages, including the need for accessible housing and housing related services to allow people to live as independently as possible.

Work is currently underway to develop guidance for local authorities and other stakeholders on the need to set a realistic target for the delivery of wheelchair accessible housing across all tenures. This will be incorporated into the Local Housing Strategy guidance, which will be reviewed later this year.

Question reference: S5W-14073

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 8 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the role and work of justices of the peace.

Question reference: S5O-01783

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 8 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its policy objective is for mid-market rents.

The Scottish Government is committed to the expansion of mid-market rent housing, where required, to ensure that those on low to moderate incomes have access to high quality homes at affordable rent levels. We will continue to work with local authorities to deliver such housing through innovative funding models that can attract significant levels of private investment, and support grant funded mid-market rent housing delivered through housing associations and their subsidiaries.

Question reference: S5W-14330

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 7 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it issues to local authorities regarding the minimum proportion of new-build properties that should be accessible.

It is the responsibility of local authorities to determine the appropriate housing required in their areas, based on the findings from their Housing Need and Demand Assessment and the policies set out in their Local Housing Strategy.

The current SG guidance for local authorities on developing a Local Housing Strategy (LHS) encourages local authorities to provide a wide range of housing types to suit the needs of people of all ages, including the need for accessible housing and housing related services to allow people to live as independently as possible.