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-20672

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 6 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reportedly growing and significant demand that exists in Edinburgh for more social housing and more housing generally as a result of population growth, how it is working with the City of Edinburgh Council to deliver its current Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) in Edinburgh, as part of the affordable housing supply programme, and whether there are discussions taking place or plans to seek to build more social housing than set out in the current SHIP and/or to do so faster than set out in the current SHIP.

The announcement of five year resource planning assumptions for all local authorities for this parliament provides a clear demonstration of this Government’s commitment to support the delivery of affordable housing.

Affordable Housing Supply Programme investment in the City of Edinburgh will be at a record level of £234m over the parliamentary period and an additional £10m of funding has already been made available in the first two financial years of this parliament to deliver more social and affordable homes in the city.

Scottish Government has also approved a grant of £1.72m through the Ukraine Longer Term Resettlement Fund to support City of Edinburgh Council to bring 100 void homes back into use. These will be used to house Ukrainian Displaced Persons for up to 3 years, after which they will revert back into the wider social housing supply in Edinburgh. My officials continue to work closely with the City of Edinburgh Council on a number of other opportunities to further boost the supply of social rented homes for those fleeing the invasion of Ukraine. I would continue to encourage the Council to speak to my officials about any projects they can identify that meet the criteria for the Fund.

I have met with the City of Edinburgh Council Housing Convener to discuss housing issues in the city, and my officials regularly meet with colleagues from the Council to discuss progress with the delivery of the Strategic Housing Investment Plan through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme. These discussions focus on maximising the delivery of as many social and affordable homes as possible.

Question reference: S6O-02480

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the City of Edinburgh Council and other organisations to provide suitable temporary accommodation and more social housing in Edinburgh.

Question reference: S6W-20039

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Paul McLennan on 19 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it will progress its commitment to work with local government and other partners to reduce the number of people living in temporary accommodation.

As set out in our response , published today, to the report of the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group, we will begin by prioritising a number of actions to reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation by 2026. We will:

invest at least £60 million this year through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme to support a national acquisition plan
maintain momentum in delivering our Affordable Housing Supply Programme
work with social landlords to deliver a new programme of stock management
implement targeted partnership plans with the local authorities facing greatest pressure.

These actions build on the clear commitment in the Policy Prospectus to respond to the Task and Finish Group’s recommendations to support more people more quickly to a settled home and progress our work to end homelessness in Scotland. Work to set the conditions for effective delivery has been progressing in parallel to preparing our response and we are ready to hit the ground running in implementing these actions.

We will build on engagement undertaken in the lead up to the publication of our response which has helped inform the detail of these actions. We call on our partners in local government and across the housing sector to work with us to respond to the housing pressures we are seeing across the sector and to deliver on our shared public responsibility to both prevent homelessness and support more households to a settled home.

Question reference: S6W-19385

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shona Robison on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what additional funding has been provided to local authorities to support the pay offers made by COSLA to the local government workforce since the 2023-24 Budget was published.

As set out in Annex A of the Medium-Term Financial Strategy, the Scottish Government has already confirmed to COSLA that a total of £343 million of additional funding will be made available to councils to support pay deals in 2023-24 over and above the allocation published in the Scottish Budget 2023-24.

Of this: £188.8 million was made available to fund the multi-year pay deal agreed by teachers; the additional £100 million for the Scottish Joint Council workforce was confirmed at Stage 3 of the Budget Bill; and Ministers have also provided reassurance to COSLA that a further £55 million, for a total of £155 million, will be provided through in-year budget management processes.

This £155 million of additional funding for the SJC workforce has already been factored into the existing COSLA pay offer and Ministers would encourage both sides to conclude negotiations as swiftly as possible.

As in previous years those transfers will be given formal effect during the annual budget revisions.

Question reference: S6O-02412

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any implications for refugees from Ukraine, whether it will provide an update on the disembarkation of the MS Victoria, prior to the ship’s planned departure from the port of Leith on 11 July 2023.

Question reference: S6O-02345

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting City of Edinburgh Council with the Trinity Academy redevelopment.

Question reference: S6O-02171

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the regeneration and development of Granton Waterfront.

Question reference: S6O-02137

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it and its agencies have had with Leith Theatre.

Question reference: S5W-17127

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 20 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-09168 by Joe Fitzpatrick on 22 May 2017, to what extent the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 applies to private companies.

As set out in my answer to S5W-09168, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 ('the Act') covers private companies if they are wholly-owned by a public authority listed in schedule 1 of the Act.

The Act can also be extended to organisations, including private companies, undertaking 'functions of a public nature'. Private companies brought within scope of the Act include private prison contractors and providers of secure accommodation for children. A draft order extending the Act to Registered Social Landlords is currently under consideration.

Question reference: S5W-17320

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 June 2018
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Kevin Stewart on 19 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support the delivery of more affordable housing.

Today, I will announce the positive outcome of the Mid-Market Rent (MMR) Invitation, a further innovative initiative designed to expand the supply of affordable homes through long term loan investment.

£47.5m of Scottish Government loan funding is being provided to the Placemaking and Regeneration Group, Places for People for a proposal which will deliver 1,000 affordable mid-market rent homes and attract Institutional Investment to deliver a total funding package of around £150m into the Scottish Economy.

Places for People have set up a residential real estate fund which will own and deliver mid-market rent homes, supporting people on low and modest incomes to access high quality rented accommodation at affordable rent levels.

The Fund has been established as a Scottish Limited Partnership, managed by PfP Capital, the Financial Conduct Authority authorised fund management business for Places for People. A number of safeguards have been put in place to ensure that there is absolute transparency on who investors are and how the Fund will operate.

This is one of a number of Scottish Government supported schemes that will continue to expand the delivery of affordable mid-market rent housing, where required, to ensure that those on low to moderate incomes have access to high quality homes at affordable rent levels.

We will continue to work with local authorities to deliver such housing through innovative funding models that can attract significant levels of private investment, and support grant funded mid-market rent housing delivered through housing associations and their subsidiaries.