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-24142

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 December 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 16 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish its assumptions regarding the investment needed to deliver the 110,0000 affordable housing supply target.

The Scottish Government have already confirmed plans to bring forward the review of the target from 2026-27 to 2024, with a focus on the timeline for delivery of 110,000 affordable homes. And in parallel we will accelerate work with the financial community in Scotland and elsewhere to boost private sector investment in Scotland year on year, and help deliver more homes. This work will help to inform the assessment of the investment required to deliver the 110,000 affordable homes target.

Question reference: S6W-24138

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 December 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 16 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Affordable Housing Supply Programme is fit for purpose, in light of its reported plans to halve the budget in real terms.

The Affordable Housing Supply Programme is fit for purpose. The UK Government did not inflation-proof their Capital Budget which has resulted in nearly a 10% real terms fall in our UK capital funding between 2023-24 and 2027-28. That means that we cannot deliver on all our capital projects. One of the most difficult choices we have taken is to reduce the funding for our Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

Question reference: S6W-24136

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 December 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 16 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to begin an immediate and urgent external review of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

Question reference: S6W-24139

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 December 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 16 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Affordable Housing Supply Programme can be placed in special measures.

Question reference: S6W-24521

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6T-01731

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 January 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to bring more homes back into use, in light of reports that the stock of empty homes is valued at an estimated £3.4 billion.

Question reference: S6W-23845

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how the additional measures that are available to Rent Service Scotland under the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 will allow tenants to contest any rent increases and help ensure that they are able to afford to live in their home.

Once the rent cap, under Part 1 of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022, is expired rent increases which may be proposed by landlords will proceed under the framework set out in the 2016 Act. Where tenants consider the proposed increase to be unreasonable, the emergency Act provides Scottish Ministers with the ability to temporarily modify how rent increases referred by a tenant are adjudicated. Any proposed modification would be subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament, and the intention of any changes to the adjudication process would be to smooth the transition out of the rent cap and protect tenants from steep rent increases.

It is proposed that, when the emergency rent cap is removed, the rent adjudication process would be amended to require a rent adjudication determination to be based on the lowest of three comparators:

1. open market rent;

2. the new rent proposed by the landlord; and

3. a maximum ‘reasonable’ increase for that tenancy, to be defined by reference to a new ‘taper’ that supports a transition away from the rent cap

Application of such an approach means that market rents would continue to be taken account of in rent adjudication whilst allowing for moderation where the move back to current market rent in a single rent increase would be a significant increase for a tenant.

We are currently consulting with stakeholders on the proposed approach to modifying the rent adjudication process.

Question reference: S6W-23847

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what modelling it has undertaken to consider the potential effect of the expiry of restrictions on evictions, in relation to (a) eviction rates and (b) any increase in (i) staffing costs, (ii) staff workload and (iii) requirements for temporary accommodation, should there be an increase in the number of (A) homeless presentations and (B) applications to the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service for evictions proceedings.

The Scottish Government publishes Homelessness in Scotland statistics on an annual basis, which provides trends for key aspects of homelessness in Scotland including homelessness applications, assessments, the use of temporary accommodation and outcomes. The latest statistics for 2022-23 can be found here: Homelessness in Scotland: 2022-23 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

We continually monitor and report on applications and grounds for evictions to assess the impact of the moratorium, and we will continue to monitor this data as we transition out of the emergency measures. Scottish Government officials are also in regular contact with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service on costs relating to private rented sector cases.

We are also consulting with stakeholders on the proposed approach to modifying the rent adjudication process, to prevent unintended consequences when the emergency measures come to an end.

Question reference: S6W-23843

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether research has been conducted into the potential impact on average rental costs of the expiry of the rent cap, under Part 1 and Schedule 1 of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022.

The latest Private Sector Rent Statistics for Scotland show how rents charged by private landlords in Scotland have been rising for more than a decade, and are yet more evidence of the importance of taking action to make rents more affordable. There is no one solution to addressing housing affordability and our work to introduce long term controls as part of the next Housing Bill is one measure being taken forward.

The emergency Act provides Scottish Ministers with the ability to temporarily modify how rent increases referred by a tenant are adjudicated. Any proposed modification would be subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament. Any changes made to the adjudication process would be intended to smooth the transition out of the rent cap and protect tenants from steep rent increases which could be experienced if there is a sudden move to open market rent from rent levels that have been supressed.

We are currently consulting with stakeholders on the proposed approach to modifying the rent adjudication process and will publish further information in due course.

Question reference: S6W-23846

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether rent officers working for Rent Service Scotland will use new benchmarks to assess rent increase proposals from landlords, after the expiry of the rent cap.