Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-03596

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes assessed to be at high risk from fire as part of a home fire safety visit have had a fire and smoke alarm system installed that is compliant with the new standard as a result of the £1 million funding provided through the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in the period 2018-20.

To protect the most vulnerable, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) will fit interlinked alarms into owner-occupied homes where the individuals or households are assessed as high risk through their Home Fire Safety Visit assessment process. As of 20 October 2021, SFRS have installed 9,363 linked smoke alarms, 3,506 linked heat alarms and 1,733 CO alarms. This is a total of 3,482 homes assisted to comply with the new standard.

Question reference: S6W-03598

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what loan support it offers homeowners for the purpose of installing a fire and smoke alarm system that is compliant with the new standard.

The Scottish Government does not provide loans to home owners for the purpose of installing fire alarms that are compliant with the new standard. Local authorities have broad discretionary powers to provide assistance to home owners, in connection with work on private homes, including assistance by way of loans. Local authorities are best placed to determine what types of assistance are provided in their area, subject to local resources and priorities.

We recognise that some owners will have more difficulty, particularly with the option to fit alarms themselves, and we have provided £0.5 million additional funding for Care and Repair Scotland to provide help installing alarms for older and disabled home owners. We have also provided £1 million to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to provide alarms for owners who are considered most vulnerable to the risk of fire.

Question reference: S6W-03478

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what evidence requirements it will set for self-catering premises owners seeking to register their property for non-domestic rates to demonstrate that the let is (a) available for 140 days and (b) actually let for 70 days in a financial year, in order to remain on the valuation roll; how these requirements will be enforced, and how enforcement will be funded.

The Scottish Government accepted recommendation 22 of the independent Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates, which proposed a condition to tackle a known tax avoidance measure that all owners or occupiers of self-catering properties must provide evidence of 70 days of actual letting per year in order to qualify as non-domestic.

The Scottish Budget 2021-22 stated: “Due to COVID-19, the implementation of the requirement that self-catering properties be let for 70 days or more in order to be classed as non-domestic, as recommended by the independent Barclay Review of non-domestic rates, was initially delayed and will now be in place for 2021-22.” The Scottish Government will shortly lay secondary legislation with the Scottish Parliament to deliver this change although how the changes will be administered is a matter for independent Local Assessors.

The valuation of all non-domestic property is a matter for Scottish Assessors, including requests for information pertaining to the non-domestic property. Assessors may request information from a proprietor, tenant or occupier of a property as well as any other relevant person for the purposes of valuation and a response is required by legislation to be returned within 28 days. These information provision obligations are applied to all non-domestic properties, including self-catering properties. As set out in the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act, failure to respond within that period may result in a civil penalty.

In 2020-21 and 2021-22, Assessors received additional resources to support the implementation of the Barclay Review.

Question reference: S6W-03479

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much non-domestic rates income has been forgone in 2021-22 where Small Business Bonus Scheme rates relief has been claimed for self-catering units broken down by (a) 100%, (b) 25% and (c) 0% (where they were not eligible due to having a number of properties with a combined rateable value of £35,000) of income forgone, also broken down by (i) assessor and (ii) local authority.

The following tables presents the estimated value of Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) relief as at 1 June 2021, awarded to self-catering properties, broken down by assessor and local authority, for properties receiving 100% SBBS, 25% SBBS, and other percentages of SBBS (e.g. when combined with other reliefs). These tables include all self-catering properties in receipt of SBBS relief. The Scottish Government cannot reliably estimate the cumulative rateable value for each ratepayer and can therefore not state the number of self-catering units with a combined rateable value of £35,000 in receipt of the Small Business Bonus Scheme relief. However, ratepayers with a combined rateable value of £35,000 may still be eligible for SBBS relief where the individual property has a rateable value up to £18,000.

Table 1: Value (£ thousands) of SBBS relief awarded to self-catering properties by assessor area and SBBS rate, as at 1 June 2021

Valuation Joint Board	SBBS awarded at 25%	SBBS awarded at 100%	Other SBBS percentages	Total
Ayrshire	2	853	0	855
Central	12	605	-	617
Dumfries & Galloway	4	1,084	-	1,089
Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute	41	2,070	-	2,111
Fife	7	785	1	793
Glasgow	8	304	-	311
Grampian	20	1,212	1	1,233
Highland & Western Isles	76	6,174	1	6,251
Lanarkshire	2	88	-	91
Lothian	77	3,460	7	3,544
Orkney & Shetland	-	497	-	497
Renfrewshire	-	19	-	19
Scottish Borders	3	793	-	796
Tayside	18	1,507	-	1,525
Scotland	271	19,452	10	19,733

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 June 2021; local authority reliefs information as at 1 June 2021.

Figures rounded to the nearest £1,000. Actual zeros are represented as “-“, while figures greater than zero but lower than 500 are represented as “0”.

Table 2: Value (£ thousands) of SBBS awarded to self-catering properties by local authority and SBBS rate, as at 1 June 2021

Local authority	SBBS awarded at 25%	SBBS awarded at 100%	Other SBBS percentages	Total
Aberdeen City	-	19	-	19
Aberdeenshire	9	754	1	764
Angus	3	249	-	251
Argyll & Bute	39	2,000	-	2,039
City of Edinburgh	76	3,016	7	3,099
Clackmannanshire	-	31	-	31
Dumfries & Galloway	4	1,084	-	1,089
Dundee City	-	92	-	92
East Ayrshire	-	41	-	41
East Dunbartonshire	-	12	-	12
East Lothian	1	311	-	312
East Renfrewshire	-	5	-	5
Falkirk	-	78	-	78
Fife	7	785	1	793
Glasgow City	8	304	-	311
Highland	74	5,501	1	5,576
Inverclyde	-	11	-	11
Midlothian	-	62	-	62
Moray	11	439	-	450
Na h-Eileanan Siar	2	673	-	675
North Ayrshire	2	566	0	567
North Lanarkshire	-	30	-	30
Orkney Islands	-	328	-	328
Perth & Kinross	15	1,167	-	1,182
Renfrewshire	-	4	-	4
Scottish Borders	3	793	-	796
Shetland Islands	-	169	-	169
South Ayrshire	-	246	-	246
South Lanarkshire	2	58	-	61
Stirling	12	496	-	508
West Dunbartonshire	2	59	-	60
West Lothian	-	71	-	71
Scotland	271	19,452	10	19,733

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 June 2021; local authority reliefs information as at 1 June 2021.

Figures rounded to the nearest £1,000. Actual zeros are represented as “-“, while figures greater than zero but lower than 500 are represented as “0”.

Question reference: S6W-03481

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many self-catering (a) units on the non-domestic rates roll and (b) unit owners received Small Business Bonus Scheme rates relief in 2021-22 at (i) 100%, (ii) 25% and (iii) 0% (where they were not eligible due to having a number of properties with a combined rateable value of £35,000), also broken down by (A) assessor and (B) local authority.

The following table presents the estimated number of self-catering units receiving Small Business Bonus Scheme(SBBS) relief as at 1 June 2021, broken down by assessor and local authority, for properties (unit owners cannot be reliably identified from the information held) receiving 100% SBBS, 25% SBBS, and other percentages of SBBS (e.g. when combined with other reliefs). These tables include all self-catering properties in receipt of SBBS relief. The Scottish Government cannot reliably estimate the cumulative rateable value for each ratepayer and can therefore not state the number of self-catering units with a combined rateable value of £35,000 in receipt of the Small Business Bonus Scheme relief. However, ratepayers with a combined rateable value of £35,000 may still be eligible for SBBS relief where the individual property has a rateable value up to £18,000.

Table 1: Number of self-catering properties receiving SBBS as at 1 June 2021, by percentage of SBBS and assessor area.

Valuation Joint Board	Self-catering properties	Not receiving SBBS	SBBS awarded at 100%	SBBS awarded at 25%	Other SBBS percentages	Total SBBS recipients
Ayrshire	836	110	720	10	0	730
Central	618	60	530	30	-	560
Dumfries & Galloway	1,395	150	1,220	20	-	1,240
Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute	2,359	470	1,770	120	-	1,890
Fife	703	70	610	20	0	640
Glasgow	197	40	150	10	-	160
Grampian	1,153	100	1,020	30	0	1,050
Highland & Western Isles	5,609	530	4,910	170	0	5,080
Lanarkshire	123	10	100	10	-	110
Lothian	1,842	620	1,150	70	0	1,220
Orkney & Shetland	695	60	640	-	-	640
Renfrewshire	77	50	30	-	-	30
Scottish Borders	812	90	710	20	-	720
Tayside	1,440	210	1,190	40	-	1,230
Scotland	17,859	2,560	14,740	550	10	15,300

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 June 2021; local authority reliefs information as at 1 June 2021.

Figures may not sum due to rounding. Some figures are rounded to the nearest 10 for data protection reasons. Rounded figures greater than 0, but lower than 5, are displayed as “0”, while actual zero figures are displayed as “-“.

Table 2: Number of self-catering properties receiving SBBS as at 1 June 2021, by percentage of SBBS and local authority.

Local authority	Self-catering properties	Not receiving SBBS	SBBS awarded at 25%	SBBS awarded at 100%	Other SBBS percentages	Total SBBS recipients
Aberdeen City	25	20	10	-	-	10
Aberdeenshire	663	60	590	10	0	600
Angus	253	40	210	0	-	210
Argyll & Bute	2,280	460	1,710	120	-	1,820
City of Edinburgh	1,487	580	840	70	0	910
Clackmannanshire	33	10	30	-	-	30
Dumfries & Galloway	1,395	150	1,220	20	-	1,240
Dundee City	89	10	80	-	-	80
East Ayrshire	36	10	30	-	-	30
East Dunbartonshire	11	-	10	-	-	10
East Lothian	241	30	210	0	-	220
East Renfrewshire	11	0	10	-	-	10
Falkirk	92	10	90	-	-	90
Fife	703	70	610	20	0	640
Glasgow City	197	40	150	10	-	160
Highland	4,892	480	4,250	170	0	4,420
Inverclyde	16	0	10	-	-	10
Midlothian	55	10	50	-	-	50
Moray	465	30	420	20	-	440
Na h-Eileanan Siar	717	50	660	10	-	670
North Ayrshire	498	20	470	10	0	470
North Lanarkshire	37	0	30	-	-	30
Orkney Islands	430	20	410	-	-	410
Perth & Kinross	1,098	160	900	40	-	940
Renfrewshire	50	40	10	-	-	10
Scottish Borders	812	90	710	20	-	720
Shetland Islands	265	40	230	-	-	230
South Ayrshire	302	80	230	-	-	230
South Lanarkshire	86	10	60	10	-	80
Stirling	493	50	410	30	-	450
West Dunbartonshire	68	10	60	0	-	60
West Lothian	59	10	50	-	-	50
Scotland	17,859	2,560	14,740	550	10	15,300

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 June 2021; local authority reliefs information as at 1 June 2021.

Figures may not sum due to rounding. Some figures are rounded to the nearest 10 for data protection reasons. Rounded figures greater than 0, but lower than 5, are displayed as “0”, while actual zero figures are displayed as “-“.

Question reference: S6W-03480

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many self-catering units have been registered on the non-domestic rates roll on 30 September in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) assessor and (b) local authority.

The following tables presents the number of self-catering properties on the Valuation Roll as at 1 October 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 (30 September data is not available), broken down by assessor and local authority.

Table 1: Number of self-catering properties as at 1 October 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, by assessor area.

Valuation Joint Board	01 October 2017	01 October 2018	01 October 2019	01 October 2020	01 October 2021
Ayrshire	640	721	764	792	828
Central	456	510	575	625	651
Dumfries & Galloway	1,179	1,255	1,311	1,381	1,414
Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute	1,896	2,015	2,103	2,323	2,419
Fife	519	550	587	663	745
Glasgow	152	216	201	198	198
Grampian	867	983	1,065	1,088	1,230
Highland & Western Isles	4,443	4,736	5,181	5,513	5,814
Lanarkshire	76	110	117	126	128
Lothian	1,591	1,800	2,020	1,978	1,831
Orkney & Shetland	632	689	726	696	714
Renfrewshire	36	48	64	59	76
Scottish Borders	604	644	707	756	849
Tayside	1,086	1,197	1,322	1,421	1,485
Scotland	14,177	15,474	16,743	17,619	18,382

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 October 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Figures may not sum due to rounding. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Figures greater than 0, but lower than 5, are displayed as “0”, while actual zero figures are displayed as “-“.

Table 2: Number of self-catering properties as at 1 October 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, by local authority.

Local authority	01 October 2017	01 October 2018	01 October 2019	01 October 2020	01 October 2021
Aberdeen City	32	32	26	25	25
Aberdeenshire	505	551	612	627	699
Angus	171	202	223	248	264
Argyll & Bute	1,840	1,947	2,026	2,243	2,338
City of Edinburgh	1,327	1,505	1,688	1,629	1,473
Clackmannanshire	24	25	31	35	35
Dumfries & Galloway	1,179	1,255	1,311	1,381	1,414
Dundee City	27	45	66	84	97
East Ayrshire	19	25	27	30	39
East Dunbartonshire	5	9	11	11	11
East Lothian	190	216	233	240	246
East Renfrewshire	4	5	9	10	11
Falkirk	24	42	62	85	99
Fife	519	550	587	663	745
Glasgow City	152	216	201	198	198
Highland	3,930	4,151	4,503	4,801	5,053
Inverclyde	14	22	22	16	16
Midlothian	35	35	49	50	54
Moray	330	400	427	436	506
Na h-Eileanan Siar	513	585	678	712	761
North Ayrshire	417	456	475	485	490
North Lanarkshire	10	32	34	40	40
Orkney Islands	383	421	439	431	448
Perth & Kinross	888	950	1,033	1,089	1,124
Renfrewshire	18	21	33	33	49
Scottish Borders	604	644	707	756	849
Shetland Islands	249	268	287	265	266
South Ayrshire	204	240	262	277	299
South Lanarkshire	66	78	83	86	88
Stirling	408	443	482	505	517
West Dunbartonshire	51	59	66	69	70
West Lothian	39	44	50	59	58
Scotland	14,177	15,474	16,743	17,619	18,382

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 October 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Figures may not sum due to rounding. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Figures greater than 0, but lower than 5, are displayed as “0”, while actual zero figures are displayed as “-“.

Question reference: S6W-03469

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 29 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-01541 by Shona Robison on 10 August 2021, whether a full response has now been received and, if so, whether it will provide an update on the information provided.

Further the government’s answer to question S6W-01541 by Shona Robison on 10 August, my officials have now received a complete response from members of the Building Standards (Fire Safety) Review panel.

Of those responses:

1 member of the 2018-19 panel (21 members) and 3 members of the 2020-21 panel (26 members) had a role in designing BS 8414; and
1 member of the 2018-19 panel (21 members) and 3 members of the 2020-21 panel (26 members) have worked for organisations that carry out BS 8414 fire tests on behalf of commercial sponsors.

Question reference: S6O-00316

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a report from Falkirk Council that states that the average cost of building a new affordable home is set to rise to £240,000, from £144,823 in 2014.

Question reference: S6W-03433

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 01 October 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 27 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it is aligning the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund with its recently announced grant funding for tenants in rent arrears.

The £10m Tenant Grant Fund is part of a package of measures available to local authorities to prevent homelessness, alongside other support such as Discretionary Housing Payments and advice on maximising income. The grant will co-exist alongside the £10 million Tenant Hardship Loan Fund and be open to eligible private and social tenants.

As there is no one single solution, both the loan and grant can provide support to different people in different circumstances, to assist them during the pandemic recovery period.

The Grant is available for local authorities, who can consider all the circumstances and support available, to pay rent arrears for those most in need with the aim of preventing homelessness and creating sustainable tenancies.

In comparison, the Loan fund will continue to offer loans responsibly to applicants who can demonstrate that they can afford to make future loan repayments spread over a number of years. The loan is not suitable for all but, where it is, the interest free terms and long repayment period can help tenants who are struggling but not necessarily at risk of losing their tenancy, to get back on their feet.

We want people to access the most appropriate form of support for them and encourage tenants in difficulty to seek advice and assistance on their housing circumstances as soon as possible.

Question reference: S6W-03434

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 01 October 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 27 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how regularly it will publish statistics on the use of its recently announced grant funding for tenants in rent arrears, which show the number of (a) grants given, (b) households supported and (c) tenancies maintained.

We have worked closely with CoSLA and others to develop this fund. Local authorities will report progress with administering the Tenant Grant Fund to the Scottish Government, on a quarterly basis. This means the first official reports from local authorities on their use of the Tenant Grant Fund, will be available early next year. In the meantime, we will remain in close contact with CoSLA to ensure that this new grant fund reaches those in need.

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