Chamber and committees

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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: S6O-03846

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the participation of disabled people in the economy is of significant benefit.

Question reference: S6O-03865

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve public consultation on renewable energy projects by energy companies.

Question reference: S6W-29304

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 23 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of an increase in NHS Ayrshire and Arran's accident and emergency waiting times with reported figures for June 2024 showing its lowest monthly performance on record over the past eight years.

As with Health Services across Scotland and the rest of the UK, NHS Ayrshire & Arran are experiencing sustained pressure on their Urgent Care Services with some patients waiting longer than we would wish. I recognize that NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s A&E performance in June was below the level I and the Board expect. It is important to note that fluctuation in performance figures is not unusual. Monthly figures for July show that Ayrshire & Arran’s performance increased by more than five percentage points and was the Board’s highest monthly performance this year.

Through our Urgent and Unscheduled Care Collaborative Programme we continue to support NHS Boards, including NHS Ayrshire & Arran, to improve patient flow through acute sites and reduce A&E delays. Key actions include: strengthening arrangements to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions such as Same Day Emergency Care services; optimising Flow Navigation Centres; enhancing the discharge process - focusing on discharge planning; and reducing length of stay.

Question reference: S6W-30489

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations of Shelter Scotland and Engender's recent joint report, Gender and the Housing Emergency, what engagement has it had with (a) local authorities and (b) third sector organisations to develop print and online resources for women experiencing domestic abuse that detail their housing options and signpost to sources of support.

Through Equally Safe, we are working closely with local government and third sector partners to ensure victims and survivors of domestic abuse are aware of all sources of support. This year we are providing over £7.5m to Women’s Aid groups in Scotland, through our Delivering Equally Safe Fund, that provide vital and sometimes lifesaving support through a range of channels, including online and print materials. In addition to this we are also supporting Scotland's Domestic Abuse & Forced Marriage Helpline with over £550,000 funding to also ensure this information is widely available to those who need it.

The Scottish Government also funds the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre, which provides online guidance on legal and housing options available to women experiencing domestic abuse.

Question reference: S6W-30378

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many eviction order applications from private landlords were (a) submitted to and (b) granted by the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland in each year since 2019, broken down by the local authority area in which the property was located, for each local authority area in the West Scotland parliamentary region.

(a) The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) has published the number of applications for eviction received in their Scottish Tribunals Annual Reports. For ease of reference, this is set out in the following table.

Financial year	Received
2019 - 2020	1742
2020 - 2021	767
2021 – 2022	1251
2022 – 2023	2252
2023 - 2024	2687

(b) The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) are the relevant body in relation to processing eviction applications and determinations in Scotland. They are, therefore, best placed to answer how many eviction orders were granted in each year since 2019.

Question reference: S6W-30280

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of section 315(2) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, which local authorities have (a) applied to the Scottish Ministers for the dispensation of the making of byelaws with respect to accommodation for seasonal workers and (b) been (i) granted and (ii) denied such a dispensation, in each year since 1999; whether it will provide the dates on which any such applications were made by local authorities, and what equivalent information it has on any such applications made to the Secretary of State prior to 1999.

Question reference: S6W-30490

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations of Shelter Scotland and Engender's recent joint report, Gender and the Housing Emergency, what action it is taking to provide appropriate, safe housing and accommodation solutions for women who have no recourse to public funds.

The previous UK Government’s No Recourse to Public Funds policy prevents local and national government in Scotland from being able to provide appropriate, safe housing and accommodation solutions for women who have restricted immigration status. It is not acceptable that people, including women are fleeing domestic abuse, face destitution or are forced to remain in unsafe conditions because of their immigration status. Scottish Ministers raised this issue repeatedly with the previous UK Government and will continue to engage with the new UK Government to urge change to these policy conditions.

The Scottish Government and COSLA continue to work together to deliver the vision and principles of Ending Destitution Together, to improve access to support and services for people who are subject to UK Government immigration policies, as far as is possible within devolved powers. During 2024-25, the Scottish Government provided £440,000 to Fair Way Scotland to enable the increased capacity of case workers across Scotland, supporting those who are risk of, or experiencing homelessness and destitution. This investment will help people exercise their rights to eligible public funds and access emergency cash support.

Question reference: S6W-30488

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations of Shelter Scotland and Engender's recent joint report, Gender and the Housing Emergency, what action it is taking to ensure that housing officers and front-line services undertake mandatory training on domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women.

Our code of guidance on homelessness is designed to give the best possible support to frontline practitioners in their work to prevent homelessness. It sets out the importance of staff training for homelessness officers, particularly in the requirements of the homelessness legislation, the code of guidance, anti-discrimination legislation and the relevant local authority's housing and homelessness policies.

More recently we have supported the development of a housing options training toolkit. The toolkit is a learning and development resource platform for housing officers and frontline staff to aid them in providing housing options advice, including to people experiencing domestic abuse.

Additionally, as part of the homelessness prevention duties within the Housing (Scotland) Bill, we will work with stakeholders and delivery partners to identify the training and guidance required to support relevant bodies to meet their new obligations.

Question reference: S6W-30426

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to help mitigate Glasgow's reported affordable housing supply shortage, in light of the £78.7 million reduction in the funding being provided to the city through the national affordable housing programme.

The Scottish Government Affordable Housing Supply Programme allocation for Glasgow City Council for this year is £90.231m. This comprises the original allocation of £78.687m and the additional £11.544m made available as part of efforts to boost affordable housing supply by acquiring properties to bring into use for affordable housing and to help reduce homelessness. The funding made available to Glasgow City Council last year through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme was £103.683m, so this years funding represents a decrease of £13.452m. As well as the additional £11.544m made available to Glasgow City Council this year, the Council and Scottish Government officials meet regularly and will continue to work closely in order to maximise affordable housing delivery in the city.

Question reference: S6W-30396

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support registered social landlords to maintain their wider remit investment in prevention services for people with wider care and support needs, such as welfare rights, tenancy sustainment and housing support.

The Scottish Government fully recognises the role of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) in prevention and the importance of tenancy sustainment and housing support. That is why we are supporting this work in a variety of ways.

The Scottish Government continues to provide funding to help RSLs deliver adaptations for older and disabled people. The Adaptations Programme budget for 2024-25 is £8.245 million. Individual funding awards have now been issued to RSLs to support the delivery of housing adaptations for disabled tenants. My officials are in contact with RSLs directly to support them through this process.

Through our Investing in Communities Fund, we are providing £3,671,900 between 2023-26 to 16 RSLs to support the delivery of projects that include activities such as family support, food insecurity support, training and skills development and financial capability support.

Welfare and Debt advice services are critical for supporting communities across Scotland. That is why in 2024-25 the Scottish Government has allocated £12 million to support welfare, debt and income maximisation advice services. This investment includes support for the Advice in Accessible Settings Fund, which delivers advice within or alongside a range of other services. This year the fund is supporting a wide range of organisations, including 20 RSLs, to provide advice to their tenants and clients.

Housing support enables tenants to live as independently as possible in their communities and is a key part of the work delivered by RSLs. These services are commissioned locally through Health and Social Care Partnerships and Local Authorities, as they are best placed to assess and respond to local needs.

We are also widening responsibility for homelessness prevention through the Housing (Scotland) Bill. Services such as tenancy sustainment, welfare rights and housing support are already key features of the work RSLs do with their tenants. We want to build on this so there is a consistent, robust and sector wide approach across Scotland.

Parliament dissolved ahead of election

Chamber and committees

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