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: S6W-11180

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 30 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to complete (a) property and (b) disclosure checks for properties and individuals hosting people through its Super Sponsor scheme.

We are working closely with local authorities and COSLA to speed up the matching process and increase the numbers of displaced people moving into host accommodation. We are asking councils to ensure all private offers in their area have been subject to disclosure checks before being paired with a displaced person. We are also ensuring accommodation checks are carried out so that properties being offered are appropriate for the matched guests. And of course, new hosts continually come into the process.

The Scottish Government has committed £11.2 million in funding to increase capacity of resettlement teams, support refurbishment of properties, and enhance the pace of host checks.

The Scottish Government has published statistics on the number of displaced people being supported in welcome accommodation, progress in conducting checks on volunteer hosts, and the performance of the national matching service: Key points - Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . This information will be published on a regular basis.

Question reference: S6W-10998

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 29 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the process is for re-matching Ukrainian refugees from one household to another through the Super Sponsor scheme.

The Scottish Government recognises that there may be instances where a host relationship breaks down. Where a relationship breaks down, the displaced person can make contact with their local authority who will re-enter them to the matching process and find a suitable alternative accommodation.

It is important to recognise that matching people with hosts is a complex process. Time must be taken to ensure that the needs of both the host family and Ukrainians are met, and that both are suitably supported to make a decision that is right for them. Their housing and support needs and preferences will be assessed and the matching service will seek to match them with accommodation suitable for their needs. Where additional needs are identified, they will be directed to specialist local authority support teams.

We have made £11.2m of additional funding available to local authorities, which they can use to bolster their resettlement teams, enhance the pace of host checks, and support refurbishment of properties. In addition we have funded additional staff in local authorities to speed up the process and we are also introducing a new digital matching tool to support the matching process. We are currently reviewing the operation of the super sponsor scheme, including measures to improve matching.

Question reference: S6W-10997

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 29 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many Ukrainian refugees have been re-matched with different households through the Super Sponsor scheme.

The Scottish Government recognises that there may be instances where a host relationship breaks down. Where a relationship breaks down, it is the responsibility of local authorities to re-enter a displaced person into the matching process and find a suitable alternative accommodation.

On 22 September, the Scottish Government published its first summary of the latest Scotland-level data and information on people displaced by the war in Ukraine coming to Scotland through the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme visa schemes which provides detail on matching progress: Key points - Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Question reference: S6O-01443

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 September 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates a conclusion to the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry.

Question reference: S6W-11022

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 28 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents of fraud committed against pensioners' households have been reported in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of reported fraud incidents committed against pensioner households. Some information is available from a 2018-19 study into police recorded fraud in Scotland, the findings of which were presented within the Recorded crime in Scotland 2018-19 National Statistics .

Further analysis from this study suggests that an estimated 1,260 crimes of recorded fraud (or 13% of all fraud that year) had a victim of pensionable age (specifically those aged 66 and over).

Question reference: S6W-10996

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 27 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it will take in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023 to support the social enterprise sector.

The Scottish Government’s Social Enterprise Strategy was launched in 2016 and sets out a wide-ranging, ambitious and long-term programme to develop the potential of Scotland's social enterprise sector.

The latest Social Enterprise Action Plan was published on 24th March 2021 and covers the period 2021-24 and is available at: Social enterprise: action plan - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

In 2021-22 we spent over £7M in supporting social enterprise and expect to spend over £6M in 2022-23. £15M was distributed through COVID support funds in 2021-22.

Funding is provided to third sector organisations, including social enterprises, from across Scottish Government portfolios and is not collated centrally.

Question reference: S6W-10995

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 26 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it will take in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023 to tackle isolation.

The Scottish Government recognises that Social Isolation and Loneliness is a public health issue, which has been exacerbated because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and will continue to be affected by the ongoing cost crisis.

As part of the COVID response, £1 million was allocated by the Directorate for Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights to organisations working to tackle social isolation and loneliness up to the end of March 2022. This funding has supported work including helplines, befriending, and practical support. The Scottish Government is also providing funding to 48 organisations through the Equality and Human Rights Fund (2021-2024); many of these organisations make a valuable contribution to tackling social isolation.

In addition, £21 million has been spent in 2021-22 via the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, which helps to tackle priority issues including social isolation and loneliness. This fund has been continued for 2022-23 with a further £15 million.

A total of £48 million has been spent via the Connecting Scotland programme to improve connectedness through digital inclusion.

Tackling social isolation and loneliness is a shared responsibility across government and the wider public sector, as well as the private and third sectors. There is a range of work being carried out across Scottish Government which will also make a positive impact on social isolation and loneliness in the short, medium and longer term. This work will be referenced in the forthcoming Social Isolation and Loneliness Plan.

I have continued to meet regularly with the Social Isolation and Loneliness Advisory Group during 2022. The Advisory Group has been instrumental in developing the Social Isolation and Loneliness Plan referred to above. Engagement with the Advisory Group, and work to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and the cost crisis on groups most adversely affected by social isolation and loneliness, will continue during 2023 and beyond.

Question reference: S6W-10808

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many communal night shelters are currently still operating in Scotland.

There are no local authority commissioned communal night shelters currently operating in Scotland and we are not aware of any congregate night shelters being operated by third sector organisations in Scotland.

We have worked closely with local authorities and third sector partners to end the need for communal night shelters in Scotland by scaling up rapid rehousing and Housing First, which was a key commitment in our Ending Homelessness Together action plan.

Given that some form of emergency accommodation will always be needed, since 2020 we have provided over £690,000 of funding to support local authorities and third sector partners to establish rapid rehousing welcome centres (RRWCs) in Glasgow and Edinburgh as an alternative to night shelter provision. RRWCs provide short-term, safe and self-contained rapid access accommodation alongside multi-agency services, with the aim being to support people at risk of rough sleeping to move on to more settled accommodation.

Question reference: S6W-10521

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 22 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is developing any policies to encourage people to keep natural garden spaces, as opposed to paving, decking, artificial grass or gravel.

The Scottish Government wants to see an increase in pollinator friendly gardens as opposed to hardscaping of garden space in towns and cities. We place significant value on high quality blue and greenspace and play spaces. Addressing the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss requires a ‘whole of government’ and ‘whole of society’ approach. Everyone can play their part and the NatureScot ‘Make Space for Nature’ campaign provides practical tips for everyone in making space for nature, reverse nature loss and fight climate change.

Through our Draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) we proposed draft new planning policies and proposals to expand blue and green infrastructure, biodiversity and natural spaces to make places greener, healthier and more resilient to climate change.

Question reference: S6T-00856

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out regarding the implementation and potential impact of short-term lets legislation.