Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-23103

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to the reported rising number of people who are rough sleeping in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Scotland has the strongest rights in the UK for people experiencing homelessness and local authorities have a legal duty to provide accommodation and advice to anyone experiencing or at risk of rough sleeping.

This year we have provided £713,228 of funding to City of Edinburgh Council and £1,471,795 to Glasgow City Council for implementation of their rapid rehousing transition plans (RRTPs) which aim to support people experiencing homelessness into settled accommodation as quickly as possible, including through Housing First.

We continue to work closely with both local authorities and third sector partners to ensure emergency accommodation and support is available for people at risk of rough sleeping, including through the operation of rapid rehousing welcome centres (RRWCs) over the winter months. This year we have provided £215,471 of funding to support the operation of RRWC’s in Glasgow and Edinburgh, with £1,120,021 million of funding provided to support these services since 2020.

The Scottish Government has also made £50,000 of personalised budget funding available to frontline third sector organisations in Glasgow and Edinburgh this year. This funding allows frontline staff to meet the immediate needs of people at risk of, or experiencing, rough sleeping and provide them with support in a dignified and person-centred way.

We know that a proportion of people rough sleeping in Scotland are doing so as a result of the UK Government’s no recourse to public funds policy, which prevents people from accessing statutory homelessness assistance. We will continue to call on the UK Government to change this policy, which is pushing people into destitution and is one of the biggest barriers to eradicating rough sleeping in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-22942

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the cost of bringing back into use council houses that are currently unoccupied.

Question reference: S6W-22941

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many council houses that are currently unoccupied have been assessed to establish the cost of bringing them back into use.

Question reference: S6W-22948

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how much each local authority has spent on people living in temporary accommodation, in each year since 1999.

The vast majority of homelessness funding provided to Scottish local authorities since 1999 has been included in the block grant of annual local government finance settlements [1] .

In February 2017, the ‘temporary accommodation management fee’ funding from the UK Government was devolved to the Scottish Government. In 2017-18, the Scottish Government allocated the full amount of £22.5 million provided through this arrangement to Scottish local authorities. Since 2018-19, Scottish local authorities have received an annual share of £23.5 million.

In 2023-24, this budget was augmented by a £7 million former Hostels Grant to create the new £30.5 million Homelessness Prevention Fund. Each local authority receives their annual share of this settlement through an in-year transfer.

It is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the financial resources available to it on the basis of local needs and priorities having first fulfilled its statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities. It is therefore not possible for the Scottish Government to ascertain how much each local authority spends each year on temporary accommodation.

[1] Local government finance circulars - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6W-22940

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what audit of public land has been undertaken to identify potential sites that are currently available for affordable housing development.

There has been no audit carried out of public land to identify sites to deliver affordable homes. The Scottish Public Finance Manual and the NHS Scotland Property Transactions Handbook provide guidance on the procedures and safeguards required when handling the disposal of surplus land, buildings and other rights in property. Prior to advertising on the open market, bodies must notify the Scottish Government in order that the surplus asset can be advertised internally via the trawl process. While most surplus assets advertised through the trawl are not deemed suitable for affordable housing, some have been purchased for this purpose.

Question reference: S6W-22943

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many temporary accommodation facilities have been in breach of the standards and outcomes that social landlords should aim to achieve when performing housing activities, as set out in the Temporary Accommodation Standards Framework, which was published in April 2023.

As compliance with the Temporary Accommodation Standards Framework is not yet mandatory, no formal data collection has been established to gather information on breaches.

The Temporary Accommodation Standards Framework was published in April 2023 and replaced the advisory standards [1] published in the Homelessness Code of Guidance in 2019. The new standards for temporary accommodation were produced by a short term working group, which also considered how the standards could be regulated and legally enforced.

Although the framework has been agreed, the route of legal enforcement remains under consideration. Before the standards can be legally enforceable, they will first have to be formally consulted on.

In the meantime, before the framework becomes legally enforceable, local authorities and social landlords are expected to work towards meeting the standards. Social landlords are already voluntarily complying by making improvements to their temporary accommodation supply, providing the necessary training for their staff and ensuring new processes are implemented in line with the revised standards

[1] The advisory standards were based on the Guidance on Standards for Temporary Accommodation published in 2011 by the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland and Shelter Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-22938

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to provide for exemption schemes in the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill for passengers stranded on islands due to ferry cancellations.

As set out in the Policy Memorandum, accompanying the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill, the policy intention is that a local authority can establish exemptions to a visitor levy scheme in its area as it believes are appropriate. The Bill therefore provides for a local authority to put such exemptions in place, which will be informed by advice in national guidance being developed by local government and business organisations in the Visitor Levy Expert Group.

Question reference: S6W-22939

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to provide for exemption schemes in the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill for NHS and other healthcare workers.

As set out in the Policy Memorandum, accompanying the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill, the policy intention is that a local authority can establish exemptions to a visitor levy scheme in its area as it believes are appropriate. The Bill therefore provides for a local authority to put such exemptions in place, which will be informed by advice in national guidance being developed by local government and business organisations in the Visitor Levy Expert Group.

Question reference: S6W-22937

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to provide for exemption schemes in the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill for people working in agriculture and aquaculture.

As set out in the Policy Memorandum, accompanying the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill, the policy intention is that a local authority can establish exemptions to a visitor levy scheme in its area as it believes are appropriate. The Bill therefore provides for a local authority to put such exemptions in place, which will be informed by advice in national guidance being developed by local government and business organisations in the Visitor Levy Expert Group.

Question reference: S6W-23077

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) capital and (b) recurrent funding it has committed as part of the UK’s bid dossier for the 2028 UEFA European Football Championships, and what the business case is for the return on any such investments.

The Scottish Government is continuing to work in partnership with governments and football associations across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland following confirmation of the successful EURO 2028 bid on 10 October.

Funding contributions of all partners are commercially sensitive as the next phases of planning take place. The Scottish Government will undertake to notify the Scottish Parliament on developments in due course.

The bid was carefully considered by all partners and the event is predicted to generate cumulative socio-economic benefits of up to £2.6 billion across the UK and Ireland.

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