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: S5W-18093

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 30 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure value for money for home owners and landlords who utilise funding through public funding routes for energy efficiency measures.

The Scottish Government fund Home Energy Scotland (HES) to provide free and impartial energy advice to all callers via a Freephone number and can offer face to face support where this is the best option for the householder. Our programmes use qualified assessors to identify suitable measures for the property and installs must be carried out by contractors who comply with national industry standards such as PAS 2030.

The Scottish Government believes that consumer protection and quality assurance must underpin delivery of an energy efficient Scotland. In the route map we published in May, we adopted the principles of robust consumer protection; high standards of quality; customer care; competence, skills and training: as well as health and safety. We have set up a Short Life Working Group with sector stakeholders that will use these principles to develop a new quality assurance framework that will be operational in 2020.

Question reference: S5W-18091

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 30 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering penalties for private rented sector landlords that fail to comply with energy performance certificate (EPC) regulations and, if so, whether it will provide details of these.

Landlords are required to provide Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) at the point of rental under the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2008, as amended. Regulation 17 of the Regulations provides enforcement authorities with the power to impose a penalty charge notice. The amount payable for dwellings or buildings that are ancillary to dwellings is £500.

We consulted in 2017 on proposals to require a minimum EPC rating in private rented properties, including a proposal that local authorities would be able to issue civil fines to landlords whose properties failed to meet minimum standards. The Energy Efficient Scotland Route Map confirmed that we will bring forward standards which will apply from April 2020. Detail of the enforcement process, including relevant penalties, will be set out in draft regulations in 2019.

Question reference: S5W-18096

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 30 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it will support owner-occupiers who are unable to obtain a loan for funding energy efficiency measures.

All households in Scotland are entitled to apply for an interest free loan to improve the energy efficiency of their home. Our domestic energy efficiency loans are administered by the Energy Saving Trust (EST). A small number of applicants may be refused a loan if they have an unsatisfactory credit score and fail the credit assessment. In these cases customers have the option of appealing their initial credit assessment by going direct to the credit reference agency and completing a free report online that can be sent for further review. This service gives the customer a chance to give more detailed information and correct any inaccuracies that may have impacted the score in their initial report. EST can also carry out a manual review of applicants financial circumstances, reviewing bank statements payslips etc. to determine affordability. And finally, other individuals can act as a guarantor to the applicant.

All unsuccessful applicants are referred back to Home Energy Scotland, the Scottish Government funded advice and support service, to see if alternative support, including grants or equity loans, are available or appropriate including advice on how to reduce their fuel bills.

Question reference: S5W-18131

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 17 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications the First Tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) has received for evictions and civil proceedings for rent arrears (rule 70) since 1 December 2017; how many of these applications have received a hearing, and how many of these hearings have been successful in securing reimbursement of rent arrears.

Question reference: S5W-18129

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 17 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much unpaid rent has been disputed through the Sheriff Court in each year since 2012.

Question reference: S5W-18132

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 17 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications the First Tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) has received for evictions and civil proceedings for notice to quit (rule 66) since 1 December 2017; how many of these applications have received a hearing, and how many of these hearings have been successful in securing an eviction.

Question reference: S5W-18128

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 17 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much unpaid rent has been disputed through the First Tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) since 1 December 2017.

Question reference: S5W-18097

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 17 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many Property Factor Enforcements Orders have not been complied with each year under the First Tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber); how many of these have been referred to Police Scotland and/or the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and how many of these referrals have been taken to court, broken down by the outcome.

Question reference: S5W-17367

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 13 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates the Building Standards (Compliance and Enforcement) Review Panel has met; when it will next meet, and by what date it will issue its recommendations.

The Building Standards (Compliance and Enforcement) Review Panel met on 27 November 2017, 12 February 2018 and 23 April 2018. The minutes of these meetings can be found at https://beta.gov.scot/publications/building-standards-compliance-and-enforcement-review-panel/ .

The Chair of the Panel, Professor John Cole, has now published the recommendations and this document is now available on the Scottish Government website, at https://beta.gov.scot/publications/report-review-compliance-enforcement/

The next meeting of the Review Panel is expected to be held in October 2018.

Question reference: S5W-17053

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making with its plans to establish low emissions zones; where these will be located, and what the timescale is for their implementation.