- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 15 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will continue to support the Homestake shared ownership housing grant scheme.
Answer
The ScottishGovernment is currently considering how best to support those who aspire tohome ownership, but who are unable to become owner-occupiers with their ownresources, and will look at the Homestake shared equity scheme in that context.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 15 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it would support a restricted occupancy policy, similar to that adopted by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, or a two-tier housing market structure, as is operated in Guernsey, to alleviate the shortage of affordable housing for local people.
Answer
The Scottish Governmentis currently assessing a broad range of housing issues across the country and isaware of the pressures on affordable housing in some areas. It is for local planningauthorities to determine whether they wish to employ specific planning measuresin order to intervene in local housing markets.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 15 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will address the issue of temporary accommodation, in light of its responsibilities under the Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act 2003.
Answer
Powers undersection 9 of the Homelessness etc. Scotland Act 2003 were exercised in 2004 tobring into force the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order 2004.
As a consequenceof this Order, local authorities placing homeless households with children orpregnant women into temporary accommodation must ensure that such accommodationcomplies with the standards set out in the Order unless exceptional circumstances(also defined in the Order) apply.
Six-monthlyofficial statistics bulletins on homelessness are published by the Executive,and the latest bulletin can be found at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/03/12095510/0.Information onlocal authorities’ offers, and homeless households’ take-up, of temporaryaccommodation as well as monitoring of local authorities’ compliance with the orderis reported in the bulletins.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 15 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to reduce housing waiting lists.
Answer
The Scottish Governmentis acutely aware of the importance of meeting Scotland’s wide range of housing needs,and is currently taking stock of the action required to ensure that sufficient housingis available for those on housing waiting lists who are in need.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 15 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it will commit to the provision of affordable homes in the forthcoming spending review.
Answer
Decisions onaffordable housing investment beyond 2008 will depend on the outcome of the spendingreview later this year.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 15 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to assist first-time buyers to get on to the property ladder.
Answer
We are acutelyaware of the importance of meeting Scotland’s widerange of housing needs. We are looking carefully at potential action to helpfirst time buyers. One of our key aims is improving measures to help moreindividuals and families who are currently excluded from the housing market byunaffordable prices. We are considering a range of measures to do this,including grants and a Scottish Housing Support Fund for shared equityprovision.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 14 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executivewhen it intends to publish the report on the evaluation of the Rural Voices programme which funded action research projects in rural communities and whether it will consider reviving Rural Voices as part of the new Scottish Rural Development Programme.
Answer
The Scotland Rural DevelopmentProgramme will open up new opportunities for rural communities. We are looking forways to encourage capacity building within those communities to ensure they cantake full advantage of these opportunities.
Ministers have not yet been ableto consider the evaluation of the Rural Voices pilot programme. The evaluation reportwill be published as soon as they have done so.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 3 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reconsider its decision not to allocate aggregates levy proceeds on a geographical basis or in proportion to the amount raised by the levy in a particular area.
Answer
Part of the proceeds of the aggregates levy is available to support communities affected by aggregates extraction through community environmental renewal grants. Grants are available to projects which address the environmental effects of past or present aggregates extraction involve the local community and have demonstrable social and/or economic benefit to the local community. It is open to any community affected by aggregates extraction to devise a project in accordance with the criteria.Grants were allocated according to merit by a Grants Panel, rather than on a geographical basis or in proportion to the amount raised by the levy in a particular area. The panel included representatives from COSLA, community councils, the aggregates industry, Scottish Natural Heritage and Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Any geographical or pro rata allocation of the proceeds of the levy would to some extent be arbitrary. For example, basing allocations on the current proceeds of the levy would disadvantage those areas that are affected by former extraction sites no longer in production. For that reason, we believe that a single national scheme to which all communities have equal access is the best approach.Further grants will be available in 2003-04. I will be looking to Forward Scotland, who will administer the 2003-04 scheme, to promote the scheme to communities which have not benefited from grants this year.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 3 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any underspend in 2002-03 in respect of the aggregates levy community environmental renewal grants will be rolled forward and added to the 2003-04 budget.
Answer
The Grants Panel allocated £922,000 for community environmental renewal grants to 38 projects. We believe that there is demand for the grant scheme and that there are good projects which can come forward. Were there to be any carry forward, then its use would be a matter for the incoming administration after the election.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Elaine Murray on 20 January 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31036 by Dr Elaine Murray on 8 November 2002, when Historic Scotland expects year-round public access to Castle Tioram to be restored.
Answer
I have asked Graeme Munro, Director and Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to reply. His response is as follows:Castle Tioram was open to the public until its ownership changed hands in 1997. The question of allowing public access rests with the owner of the monument, not with Historic Scotland. Public access could be restored were consolidation works to the monument to be undertaken and the owner permitted such access.